When the weather gets cold…it’s time for COMFORT FOOD. And I had no idea my Shepherd’s Pie recipe was NOT on my blog. If I’ve verbally given you the recipe before..you may see several changes. As you will remember, I often cook by “feel” and not by recipes…so my ingredients and method may not be the same from one time to the next. But as the old saying goes…”Change is GOOD”…and I think you’ll like my latest version of this old classic.
So here goes…
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| Start CHOPPING! |
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| Boil Potatoes With Garlic Cloves and Salt |
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| Drain, Mash, and Add 1 or 2 Egg Yolks, Parmesan Cheese, Milk and Butter. Set Aside. |
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| Brown the Ground Beef And Remove From Pan |
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| In Same Pan Saute Carrots, Celery, Onion, Garlic, Thyme, Salt and Pepper |
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| Saute the Tomato Paste. The browned ‘bits” are a GOOD thing! (It makes rich sauce later.) |
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| Add Red Wine…and DRINK SOME TOO! 🙂 |
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| Ahhh…A Veggie/Wine Steam Facial… |
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| Add Beef Broth…Cook til Al Dente and Reduced |
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| Add Browned Ground Beef |
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| Add Mushrooms And Cook Several Minutes |
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| Add Frozen Peas…Stir and Immediately Pour Into Casserole Dish |
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| I Made Enough for TWO Meals…Eat One…Freeze One |
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| Bake At 375 Degrees for about 20 Min. BE SURE TO PLACE ON TRAY |
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| YUM… |
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| Serve With A Salad… |
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| Winter? No Problem!! |
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| A Real COMFORT MEAL… |
SHEPHERD’S PIE
Prepare mashed potatoes with butter and milk. Make them garlic or plain…use left-overs or fresh…
Add 1 or 2 egg yolks (depends on how many potatoes you’ve used) and Parmesan cheese..Mix and set aside.
FOR THE FILLING
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
3-4 stalks celery, diced into 1/2 inch chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 box (or more) Portabello mushrooms, sliced
1 C. frozen peas
2 to 3 C. beef broth
2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste
Fresh Parsley, chopped (Can use dried.)
About 1/2 C. red wine (I use Cabernet)
1 Tbsp. (Or even more) Worcestershire sauce
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In large skillet, brown ground beef and remove from the skillet. In same pan combine onion, garlic, celery and carrots, dried thyme and “sweat” until beginning to soften. Make a “well” and add tomato paste so it touches the bottom of the skillet. Stir it and cook several minutes. (This will “cook” the tomato paste and remove the “tin can” flavor from the tomato paste.) Add the red wine and cook several minutes to reduce and remove the “alcohol” taste. Return the beef to the skillet and add the beef broth, mushrooms and fresh parsley, and cook several minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and stir all together to combine.
Pour into greased casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Drag the tines of a fork through the potatoes to make “ridges”…this will help the mixture to brown.
When casserole is bubbly and hot you can stick it under the broiler for a minute for more color if you like. (I didn’t bother with this step…)
Remove from the oven and let stand for several minutes to “firm up” before serving.
I hope this dish will warm you up this winter!
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