Shepherds Pie

This time of year is all about comfort food. Flavorful, warming food that makes you feel food from the inside out. These foods are usually made from simple every day ingredients, slow cooked, packed with flavor and fun to eat. Shepherds Pie meat all of those requirements. Traditionally, Shepherds Pie is made with ground lamb or mutton. This is a pie that doesn't have a bottom crust, and is topped with mashed potato which were affordable to the lower class when the dish was first being made. It has lots of veggies and makes a perfect meal on a cold winters night. Don't be daunted by the large ingredient list, it does come together rather quickly and easily. Oh and I almost forgot. I make my mashed potatoes with a few garlic cloves and some cheddar cheese to give this dish an even more incredible flavor!

What You Need:

2 lbs of yukon gold or butter potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 stick butter
1/4 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs veg oil
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs ground beef or lamb
1 1/4 c beef stock
1/2 c red wine
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs flour
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 c frozen peas
Salt and Pepper

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 400

Place the potatoes and 3 cloves of garlic into a large pot, cover with cold water and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked through, drain and return to the hot pot. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted and the milk is hot, making sure that it doesn't boil. Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them using the hot milk/butter. The garlic cloves will get mashed along with the potatoes, allowing the garlic flavor to run through them. Stir in the cheddar cheese and set aside until the rest of the dish is done.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the carrots, celery and onion in the 2 tbs of veg oil until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and ground meat. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the meat is almost cooked through and very little pink is left. Stir in the tomato paste and flour, then the wine, stock, thyme and bay leaf.

 Continue to cook until the meat is done and the sauce is thickened. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the peas. Place in 13x9 baking pan and cover with the mashed potatoes. I like to take a fork and drag it through the potatoes making ridges and area's that are raised a bit because they will brown up when placed in the oven and make the dish look pretty. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and then place the dish in the oven and bake until bubbly and the potatoes start to brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let about 5 minutes before serving.