Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is one of my absolute favorite cold weather meals. It’s really simple to make and has all the components of a solid meal, just stacked into a layered pie form! 

I like to make shepherd’s pie on weekends, assemble, refrigerate, and then cook later in the week on a busy weeknight. This recipe is based off a shepherd’s pie recipe from the Food Network.

Ingredients:

Potatoes:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 3/4 cup frozen peas

Peel and cut your potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Add to a pot and cover with cold water. Add the pot over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. When boiling, uncover, bring down to a simmer, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and then add back to the pot. Mash the potatoes then stir in the milk, butter, salt, and pepper until smooth.  (You can also make the potatoes in your pressure cooker. Cook with 1 cup water on high pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release. Drain, add back to the pot, mash, and stir in the milk, butter, salt, and pepper.)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. While the potatoes are cooking, add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium high heat. When heated, add the onion and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, stirring to combine. Add in the lamb, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the lamb is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the mixture with the flour, tossing to coat. Cook for another minute. Add in the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme, and stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. remove from heat. (If your potatoes are done, this is a good time to drain, mash, and mix them while waiting for the sauce to thicken.)

Add the peas to the lamb mixture, stirring to combine.

Spread the lamb mixture evenly into an 11×9 baking dish.

Top evenly with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up. Smooth with a spatula. (It still might bubble over. Hence the next direction.) If you’re waiting to cook for a future night, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at this stage. When ready to cook, remove from the refrigerator and let sit for 30 minutes before continuing with the below directions. Remove the plastic wrap before baking.

Add the baking dish to a parchment lined cookie sheet and add to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the potatoes just begin to brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

This is exactly what I crave on cold, rainy winter nights.  It makes plenty for a crowd, but also holds up well, so you can portion out and refrigerate or freeze portions for future meals.

The mashed potatoes are nice and creamy, while the lamb, carrot, onion, and pea mixture has wonderful flavor.  If you’re not a fan of lamb, try this recipe with ground beef. This dish could easily be made vegetarian too: substitute in chopped mushrooms for the lamb; just make sure to cook out as much of the liquid from the mushrooms as you can.