Shepherd's Pie

Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, it only makes sense that I've got Irish food on the brain. One of the easiest hearty Irish dishes is Shepherd's Pie. I had half of the package of ground beef left over from the meatloaf, and when I did my grocery shopping, I picked up a package of frozen peas and carrots to make some of this yummy stuff. 


What you'll need for the main part of the dish: 

Serves six.

• 1.5 lbs ground beef (traditionally, it's ground lamb, but whatever. Mix the two if you want)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1-12 ounce package frozen peas & carrots 
• 1 beef bullion cube + 1 cup water OR 1 cup beef broth
• Several generous splashes of Worcestershire sauce, about 4 Tablespoons
• All purpose seasoning of your choice, about 1 Tablespoon (I used hamburger grill seasoning because it goes so well with beef)
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper, about 1/2 teaspoon
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tablespoons cold water

And for the potato topping: 

• 2.5 lbs russet potatoes, diced. Peeling is optional. Leave the skins on if you like em in your mashed potatoes.
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons sour cream 
• 1/2-2/3 cup milk or cream
• Paprika
• Parsley

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Drain and add butter, sour cream, milk or cream. Mash until smooth enough to spread but still retaining some texture. Set aside.
4. Brown ground beef in large pan. Drain off excess fat.
5. Add onions, garlic, parsley, black pepper and all purpose seasoning to pan. Cook, covered, until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes or so. 
6. Stir in bullion cube and water or beef broth. If using a cube, cook on medium-high heat until cube is dissolved and liquid boils. If using broth, heat until liquid boils. 
7. Add cornstarch slurry and stir quickly to avoid lumps.
8. Add peas and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat for three minutes or so, just long enough to take the chill off the peas and carrots.
9. Spread potatoes over top of the meat & veggie mixture. Top with a few sprinkles of paprika. 
10. Broil until potatoes have some nice color. 
11. Sprinkle on some parsley for color and flavor. Allow dish to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Unfortunately I don't have my own photos of this. I was too eager to dig in and did just that before I stopped for a photo :D 

This photo is from of Joy of Kosher. 

Don't let the richness of the ingredients scare you away if you're watching your intake. You certainly could lighten it up with ground turkey instead of ground beef. A substitute of chicken or vegetable broth in the potatoes instead of milk or cream could cut a lot of the calories out. I don't recommend using margarine for ANYTHING--EVER--because it's disgusting and has a water content that screws up your food. However, if you're watching your calories, you could consider it...or just cut the butter down by half. Sour cream can be easily replaced by plain non-fat Greek yogurt, or omitted entirely.

You absolutely can cheat with instant potatoes if you have them and are crunched for time. 

Too, make it your own. Add mushrooms if you like them. Broccoli? Corn? Cauliflower? Tomatoes? No meat at all if you wanna go vegetarian? Why not?! It's your dinner...play with it! 

Enjoy!