Shepard’s Pie

With the Polar Vortex bearing down on us last week, I was craving some comfort food.  Nothing says comfort like, Shepard’s Pie.  A hearty meat stew topped with potatoes.  Delicious! This recipe was so delicious that I found myself going for thirds.  Yep, take that seconds.  Hopefully you will enjoy as much as we did.

Shepard’s Pie

Boil 2 pounds of peeled potatoes until tender.

Drain and mix with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until creamy. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

Saute carrots in the olive oil in a large skillet until they start to get tender, Roughly 5 minutes.

Add in the onions and saute for two minutes.

Fold in the meat, black pepper and thyme. Chop it up until browned.

Fold in the butter and frozen peas. Then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine.

Once the flour is incorporated, add the tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.

Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce and then add the chicken stock.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce thickens. As you can see from the pics, you can pull the spatula through the sauce and it leaves a clean trail.  Well a clean trail for at least a couple of seconds.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then remove the stew from the heat.

Grease 9×13 Pyrex dish with vegetable spray and then add the stew.

Layer the reserved mashed potatoes over top of the stew with a spoon.  Do the best that you can.  I found that if I did two layers of potatoes that I ended up with a clean layer on top.  Just spoon half of the potatoes over the stew.  Smooth them out, then spoon a second layer over the top.  Once the potatoes are on the stew, use a fork to etch a little texture into the potatoes.  This will give the potatoes a little area to brown up and give you a nice crispy texture.

Brush the potatoes with the egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Place a sheet pan underneath the dish to catch any tasty bits that boil over. This can save you some scrubbing if the dish boils over a bit.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.

Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

Print

Shepard's Pie

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

A quick and easy Shepard's Pie.

Course: Comfort Food

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: 6

Author: Rex

Ingredients

The Stew

• 1 pound ground beef 80/20
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 carrots diced
• 1 cup peas frozen
• 1 tsp thyme dried
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 tbs butter
• 8 oz red wine
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Russet potatoes
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 3 tbs unsalted butter
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Boil 2lbs of potatoes until tender.
2. Drain and mix with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until creamy. Set aside.
3. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
4. Saute carrots in the olive oil in a large skillet until they start to get tender, Roughly 5 minutes.
5. Add in the onions and saute for two minutes.
6. Fold in the meat, black pepper and thyme. Chop it up until browned.
7. Fold in the butter and frozen peas. Then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine.
8. Once the flour is incorporated, add the tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
9. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce and then add the chicken stock.
10. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer this until the sauce thickens. As you can see from the pics, you can pull the spatula through the sauce and it leaves a clean trail.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then remove the stew from the heat.
12. Grease 9x13 Pyrex dish with vegetable spray and then add the stew.
13. Layer the reserved mashed potatoes over top of the stew with a spoon.
14. Once the potatoes are on the stew, use a fork to etch a little texture into the potatoes. This will give the potatoes a little area to brown up and give you a nice crispy texture.
15. Brush the potatoes with the egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
16. Place a sheet pan underneath the dish to catch any tasty bits that boil over. This can save you some scrubbing if the dish boils over a bit.
17. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.
18. Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

Recipe adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/traditional-irish-shepherds-pie-302120