Shepherds Pie
The only thing better than warm and melty mashed potatoes when you are going through a rough time is turning the mashed potatoes into a Shepherd`s Pie.
I feel like we all need some comfort right now and unfortunately, we don`t have a lot of options at the moment. So why not spend the next hour making food so good that it makes you forget about what`s happening out there for a few minutes. Because of that, I cannot express how important it is to wash all of your produce and your hands thoroughly, and not place any packages on your cutting board. Let`s not take any chances.
If you ever wonder what the ingredients of a basic shepherd`s pie are, search for “Family Guy Shepherd`s Pie” on Youtube and let Peter tell you.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Small dice carrot, celery and onions. Heat up a medium pot with 2 Tbsps of oil and sautee the vegetables until tender.
Mince the garlic and chop all the herbs you have available and add them to the pot. Add another Tbsp of oil, the beef, ½ Tbsp of salt and ½ Tbsp of pepper. Let the beef cook through.
Sift the flour on the beef and mix it to coat all pieces of meat evenly. Do the same with the tomato sauce. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the beer to deglaze your pan, make sure to scrape off all the little burnt bits from the bottom of the pot with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon so not to scratch it. Let it cook for another minute.
Add the broth, Worcestershire, and the frozen vegetables to the pot and let the sauce thicken. About 5-10 minutes or until the sauce is creamier and there are no more spots of liquid.
Turn the heat off and reserve it.
Now for the mashed potato portion of it:
Boil a large pot of water with 1 Tbsp of salt. Thoroughly scrub and wash the potatoes and peel them. The potatoes left in our grocery store were not the best quality and we ended up having to throw a lot of bad parts out – which is why our mashed ended up being a lot smaller than expected.
Cut each potato in 6 pieces and cook them for about 12 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked – when you can cut it with a spoon.
Place the half and half and the butter in a microwave safe dish and warm it in 10 second intervals until the butter is mostly melted.
Mix the potatoes with the cream while they`re still hot to finish melting the butter and mix it until smooth.
Pour the beef mixture into a large baking dish. Place the mashed potatoes on top of it carefully with a rubber spatula. Even out as much as you can and make sure to close the sides of the pie, so the beef filling doesn`t boil out of it.
As you can see, we weren`t able to cover the sides because of how little we were left with after cleaning them.
Bake it in the oven for about 25 minutes. Take it out and spread the grated cheese on top. Raise the temperature to 450F. Bake it for another 7 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Shepherd`s Pie
Time: 60-90 minutes.
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
5 Medium Russet Potatoes
½ Cup Half-Half
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
Salt and White Pepper to taste
½ Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese (optional)
Beef Filling
2 Lbs Ground Beef
½ Spanish Onion
½ Carrot
1 Celery Stalk
2-3 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup Frozen Veggie Medley (Green Beans, Corn and Carrot)
Fresh Herbs (2 tsp Thyme leaves, 2 tsp chopped Parsley, 2 tsp chopped Basil, 1 tsp chopped Rosemary or Sage leaves, or half this portion for dried herbs)
2 tsp Worcestershire
1 Cup Beef Broth
100 mL Dark Beer
2 Tbsp AP Flour
2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce or 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Canola Oil
Salt and Black Pepper
Step by Step
Beef Filling
1. Cut Carrot, Celery and Onion into small pieces and sautee in a medium pot with 2 Tbsp of Oil until tender. Medium-high heat.
2. Mince the garlic and add it to the ground beef and herbs, ½ tbsp salt, and ½ tbsp black pepper, add to the pot with another tablespoon of oil. Cook through.
3. Add the flour and stir to coat all the beef and let it cook for about a minute. Add the Tomato Sauce, stir and let it cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the beer and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot. Add Frozen Vegetables, Broth and Worcestershire and let the sauce thicken on medium heat. Once the sauce is thickened and does not have any loose liquid, reserve.
Mashed Potatoes
1. Boil a Large pot of water with 1 Tbsp of salt. Scrub and wash the potatoes, peel and cut them in 6 pieces per potato. Add them to the pot and cook for about 12 minutes or until you can easily cut it with a spoon. Drain the potatoes immediately.
2. Melt butter into the half-half cream in a microwave. Use 10 second intervals until the butter is melted.
3. Mash the potatoes with the cream mixture until fully mixed.
Assembly
1. In a large baking dish, place the beef filling in the bottom and flatten it.
2. Carefully add the mashed potatoes on top and spread them with a rubber spatula all the way, making sure to cover the sides on the dish so the mixture doesn`t boil out of it.
3. Bake in the oven at 400F for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, raise the temperature to 250F and spread the cheese on top of the potatoes, bake for another 7 minutes.
4. Let the pie rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
