Calling All Sheep!

Lately, I have been craving comfort food.  Never mind that temperatures are astronomical here in Texas.  I want down home, hot, filling.  It's the weirdest thing.

Despite my love of meat and potatoes, I never had Shepherd's Pie until I went to Ireland in 2009.  (I mean, if you're gonna do it, go all out, right?)  Oh, it was such a revelation.  Meat and vegetables in a thick gravy smothered in mashed potatoes.  Um, yes.  YES, PLEASE!!  I don't know if traditional versions of this dish were actually cooked in pie shells (Can you imagine adding a flaky crust to this?!?  Drool!!!) but the “pie” I had in Ireland was more like a casserole.  That particular serving came in its own single serving ceramic baking dish.  The mashed potatoes were crispy on the top but creamy underneath and the meat filling was meaty and juicy and FANTASTIC!

I made a trial run of this for my boyfriend a few weeks ago, and we both liked it so much, I decided it deserved a repeat performance and blog post.  My parents were the happy recipients of this go-round.  Everyone had two servings.  This is really easy and so hearty and delicious.

Shepherd's Pie
For the potato topping:

1.5-2 pounds russet potatoes

1/4 cup half-and-half

4 T butter

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I had a three-cheese blend on hand)

1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper to taste

For the meat and veg:

2 T extra virgin olive or coconut oil

1 cup diced onion

3 carrots, peeled and diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 t minced jarred garlic

1.5-2 pounds red meat of choice (I used 1lb lamb and 1/2lb venison)

2 T all-purpose flour

2 t tomato paste

1 cup chicken broth

1 t Worcestershire sauce

2 t fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

1 t fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch dice.  Place in a pot and cover with cold water, lightly salted.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  (Start meat and veg prep now!)  Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to medium and cook until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the pot.  Place the half-and-half and butter in a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until butter is mostly melted, about 35 seconds.  Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until you've reached desired creaminess and then add the half and half and butter and stir to combine.

Taste for seasoning, and then add salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese and egg yolk stirring to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the meat and veg.  In a large sauté pan, heat your oil of choice over medium high heat.

When the oil is hot (drop a piece of veg in it... it should sizzle), add the onion and carrots and sauté just until they begin to wilt and take on color, approximately 3-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir to combine.

Add the meat, salt and pepper to taste and cook until mostly browned and cooked through, approximately 3-5 minutes.  (The meat will have further opportunity to cook so if there's still some pink left, it's OK.)

Sprinkle the meat with the flour and stir to coat, continuing to cook for another minute or so.  Make sure all of the flour is absorbed.

Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Remove meat and veg mix from the heat and add the corn and peas.  Stir to combine.

Spread meat and veg evenly into an 11x7-inch glass (or stoneware) baking dish (or slightly bigger if you have it).

Dollop mashed potatoes on top.

Using the back of a spoon, start smooshing the potatoes around the edges of the baking dish to create a seal to prevent the meat/veg from bubbling over and then smooth out the remainder.

Just for cleanliness' sake, place the baking dish on a baking sheet (foil or parchment lined if you like) and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown.  Let your casserole cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

When you do dig in to this dish, might I ask for a moment of silence?  Breaking through the potato crust makes such a fantastic sound.  It deserves to be observed.  :o)