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Best Ever Shepherd’s Pie

I’m a sucker for a good classic recipe. You know those recipes that evoke fond memories and make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside. One of my favourite classic meals is Shepherd’s Pie. It’s not the most “springy” dish out there—I’ll admit—but that doesn’t mean it can’t grace your spring table.

I made this one the other night for my family and was so excited to gobble it down that I forgot to take a photo of it for this post… So the one above comes courtesy of Gordon Ramsay; who inspired the recipe. He may be mad, but the man makes one hell of a good Shepherd’s Pie. Pun completely intended.

Enjoy!

Nicole

 

Best Ever Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

The Filling:

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  • Coconut Oil (2 Tbsp)
  • Ground Lamb or Beef (about 1.5 lbs) Preferably grass fed or organic
  • 1 Large Carrot (grated)
  • 1 zucchini grated
  • 1 Large Onion (grated)
  • Fresh Rosemary
  • Fresh Thyme
  • Minced Garlic (I used 8 cloves but adjust to your tastes)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Tomato Puree or Paste (no more than a small can)
  • Red Wine (several glugs)
  • Chicken Stock (not sure, but it looks like about 1/4 cup)

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In Between layer: Once the meat mixture is in the pan I add frozen peas, organic frozen corn and chopped kale to boost the nutrient content – optional but highly recommended!

The Mash:

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  • Golden Potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)
  • Butter (3 1/2 Tbsp)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Egg Yolks (2)
  • Parmesan Cheese (1/4 cup, minimum) I skip this as I don’t tolerate dairy

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Prep Work:

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  • Dice the garlic
  • Separate your herbs from the stems
  • Separate your Egg Yolks
  • Peel and Slice your potatoes into even pieces
  • Open your wine if it’s not already
  • Open your can of Tomato Paste

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Cooking the Potatoes:

This part is easy as pie (no pun intended), just boil some water, throw some salt and your potatoes in, and set a timer for 15 minutes – start on your filling.  Upon the timer going off, take your potatoes out and strain the water off. Put potatoes back into the pan, or into a medium mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with their ingredients from above and keep warm (your filling should be about done by this point)

Cooking the Filling:

Pour coconut oil into a hot, rather large pan, then add meat. Stir meat as if your life depends on it for a few minutes so it’s nice and brown, and broken into very small pieces. Add your Rosemary, Thyme, and Garlic, then stir some more. Quickly add your Carrot, and Onion, stir a little longer. The idea at this point is to get everything to a minced consistency.

Add  Tomato Puree, stir, add Red Wine and sweat down for a minute or two. Add chicken stock and cook for 3 more minutes.

Final Instructions:

Scoop your meat mixture into a deep casserole or other oven safe dish and then spoon the mash over the top. Spread the mash over the top of the mix with the bottom of the spoon and then sprinkle a generous portion of Parmesan cheese over the top. Poke the top with a fork several times to give it a peaked look and stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to brown the potatoes and set the pie.

Then serve it up and watch people melt!

 

 

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