Title :

Shepherds Pie

Category: Food & Culinary



Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes
2 tablespoons sour cream 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 pounds ground beef or ground lamb
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.

While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
1 head garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup roasted pine nuts
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 to 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled, but not peeled

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup smooth goat cheese
1 cup 35-percent whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms
6 cups wild mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dried du puy lentils cooked

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

First, cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet and bake for 1 1/2 hours. As an alternative, place on a plate and cook in the microwave on high power for about 20 minutes.
Put the garlic head on a baking tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the garlic is very tender.
In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Mix in the pine nuts, the eggs, basil, thyme, and parsley. Put aside.
Mash the potatoes with the butter, goat cheese, cooked garlic puree and cream to make them nice and smooth. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Remove the spaghetti squash flesh with a fork and put it in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
For the vegetables: Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and saute the onions, carrots and celery over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the cooked lentils and the reserved bread crumb mixture. Stir and put aside.
In an 8 by 11-inch/20 by 28-cm baking dish, spoon the vegetable mixture onto the bottom. Layer with the spaghetti squash, then the mashed potatoes and smooth them down. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or so, until the top is slightly browned. Garnish with fried shallots, to taste.