Shepherd’s Pie | Imamother

Amarante

Fri, Sep 06 2024, 9:47 am

This was very good - I actually like lamb so I made it with lamb but recipe could be made with ground beef as suggested

You can obviously use your own mashed potato recipe Very Happy

Shepherd’s Pie

Excerpt From: Eitan Bernath - Eitan Eats the World

Serves 4

A real stick-to-the-ribs meal, shepherd’s pie is a classic example of how a mixture of relatively humble ingredients can come together to make one incredible dish. It starts with a super-rich meat-and-vegetable base, flavored with beef stock, red wine, and fresh herbs. You can use lamb or beef in this recipe, but here’s a fun fact: If you use beef, you’re actually making cottage pie! Shepherd’s pie is technically made with lamb (shepherds flock sheep!), but trust me when I tell you that they are equally satisfying.

MEAT FILLING

2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ pounds ground lamb or (80/20) ground beef
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped carrot
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup tomato paste
1½ cups beef stock
½ cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

MASHED POTATOES

1½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes), peeled and cut into large chunks
Kosher salt
½ cup milk (I used plant-based)
½ stick unsalted butter (I used plant-based)
Freshly ground black pepper

1/ MAKE THE MEAT FILLING Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron or oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground lamb and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go, until cooked through. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. To the same pan, add the onion and carrot and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until the edges begin to caramelize.

2/ Stir in the rosemary, thyme, and garlic and cook until fragrant, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook until it begins to caramelize, stirring almost constantly, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir to combine, cooking the flour for 1 minute. Add the beef stock, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce, then deglaze the pan by stirring it with a spatula and scraping to release any bits that have stuck to the bottom. Bring the mixture to a simmer, return the reserved meat to the pan, and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid is cooked out. (If you do not have a cast-iron or oven-safe skillet, transfer the mixture now to a 2-quart baking dish.) Set aside.

3/ MAKE THE MASHED POTATOES Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Generously season the water with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

4/ Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the milk and butter to a very gentle simmer.

5/ Preheat the oven to 400°F and place an oven rack in the middle. Drain the cooked potatoes, return them to the pot, and set over medium-low heat for 1 minute to cook off any residual moisture. Remove from the heat, then pass the cooked potatoes through a ricer, or mash them by hand. Whisk half of the warm milk-butter mixture into the potatoes and, once incorporated, add the remaining liquid and whisk again. Season with salt and pepper.

6/ Spoon the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture and spread to the edges to cover. Bake until the top of the mashed potatoes is golden on the edges, about 25 minutes