Shepard’s Pie

I like to use a fairly high ratio of vegetables to meat. There are a lot of steps, but the prep goes pretty quickly. You can prepare it in advance and then put it in the over about 40 minutes before you want to eat.

Ingredients

For the potatoes

• 4 large potatoes cooked and mashed
• 1/2c mild
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Salt
• Ground pepper (I like to use white pepper)

For the filling

• 3-4 cups of mashed potatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 cups frozen peas
• Paprika

Directions

Prepare the potatoes.

You can make the mashed potatoes using your preferred recipe. Here is a basic recipe you can use.

1. Peel and dice the potatoes into 1-1.5 inch chunks
2. Cover with water and boil until soft, about 20 minutes
3. Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Add remaining ingredients and mash with a potato masher.

Prepare the filling

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Heat a large pot (I like to use a dutch oven) over medium heat. Melt the butter and EVOO in the pot.
3. Add the onions, carrots, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
4. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook about 1 minute more.
5. Add the meat and cook until most of the pink is gone
6. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute
7. Add the chicken stock, thyme, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens a little.
8. Add the peas and cook until about 3 minutes until heated.

Assemble the Pie

1. Pour the filling into a pie pan.
2. Gently spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the filling. Using the back of a spoon or a spatula spread the potatoes in an even layer being careful not to push them down into the filling.
3. (Optional) Use a fork to draw a design in the potatoes.
4. Sprinkle the top with paprika.
5. Bake for 30 minutes