Well, my friends, sometimes one has to embrace what life is giving you. If it's supplying you with the doldrums, make something comforting and warming, such as a lovely shepherd's pie. Shepherd's pie, (or cottage pie) is a crustless pie with a meat base and mashed potato toppng. It is delightful and packed with veggies, meat, tomatoes, and potatoes. It's a great thing to make when you have friends coming over, or you could halve the recipe and make a nice meal for two.
In folk etymology, a Shepherd's pie contains lamb, where a cottage pie contains beef. When I make it, I use ground turkey, so I use the terms interchangeably. Ground turkey is really easy to come by and very inexpensive where I live in New York, but if you prefer beef or lamb, I encourage you to use that instead.
Ingredients:
Base
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
5-6 sliced carrots (I often use a bit more, as Pablo loves carrots)
10 oz mushrooms
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
Splash of sherry
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Mashed potato topping
4-5 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup of milk (or half and half)
salt and pepper
Method:
Meat base
1.) In a pan (I use a fairly large oven safe one) sautee the onion, and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Salt the onion a bit so that it doesn't burn.
2.) Add the carrots, allowing them to cook for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
3.) Add the meat, and cook until done.
4.) Add tomato paste and can of chopped tomatoes, and let simmer for a few minutes.
5.) Add the sherry and worcestershire sauce, and simmer for 5-6 minutes, or on low heat until you're ready to assemble the final pie.
Mashed potato
1.) Boil potatoes until soft and drain.
2.) In pan, melt the butter and warm the milk (one mustn't ever add cold butter and milk to potatoes, as it makes them gummy).
3.) Mash the potatoes (I use a potato ricer, or a food mill, but a good old fashioned potato masher will certainly get the job done).
4.) Add the milk and butter to the potatoes and mix; they might be a little loose at first, but they will firm up quickly. Don't be shy about salt and pepper here, as mashed potatoes can be a tad bland without enough.
To assemble:
Smooth the potatoes over the meat base and set the pie under the broiler for 2-5 minutes (depending on your broiler's strength) until the top is slightly browned. Enjoy!
Photo courtesy of my iPhone
