American Shepherd's Pie, known elsewhere as Cottage Pie, is a great way to use up both leftover vegetables and mashed potatoes.

Shepherd's Pie

What a gorgeous few days it has been down here in South Mississippi, and while it's a tiny bit cooler for a couple of days, I'm gonna sneak this Shepherd's Pie in real quick while I can. I actually made it a couple weeks back when I shared it with a few folks who were asking for my recipe, but then it got kinda hot early, so I held off on sharing it here on the site.

Shepherd's Pie is really not much more than a baked meat and vegetable casserole topped with potatoes, often using leftovers. To the best of my knowledge, Shepherd's Pie in the U.S. is actually what would be considered Cottage Pie on the other side of the pond. Gastronomically speaking, an authentic Shepherd's pie is traditionally made using lamb, since, well, that is the animal most associated with a shepherd. Cottage Pie is a similar version made with beef.

In the United States, we don't eat a lot of lamb, so we call the version made with ground beef, Shepherd's Pie, and beef is what most folks here in The South would expect if you were to serve them Shepherd's Pie. Well, considering we Yanks have always been a bit stubborn and somewhat rebellious when it comes to being told what to do, Shepherd's Pie is what I'm gonna call mine too.

Of course, as always with most classic recipes, Shepherd's Pie is widely varied in what ingredients it contains, generally depending on what you grew up with. Mine is pretty much a very basic version. Here's how I make it.

Butter a 2-1/2 quart baking dish and set aside. Brown 2 pounds of ground beef in a skillet, breaking up into smaller pieces; drain off any excess oil.

Add the bell pepper and onion.

Add the garlic and carrots and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add the drained tomatoes.

Add seasonings, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and flour and cook for about 5 minutes longer.

Remove from the heat, stir in the egg.

Add 1 cup of the cheese and the frozen peas; transfer to baking dish.

Spread potatoes on top.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until top is light brown; remove, sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven just until cheese melts. Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Drizzle melted butter on top before serving.

Dig in!

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Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 20 min |Cook time: 30 min |

Yield: About 6 to 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds of ground beef
• 1/2 cup of chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1 (10 ounce) can of mild Rotel tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste
• 1/2 cup of beef stock or broth
• Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheese, divided
• 1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
• 4 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-1/2 quart baking dish and set aside.

Brown ground beef in a skillet, breaking up into smaller pieces; drain off any excess oil. Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and carrots; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and seasonings, stir in the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and flour and cook for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat, stir in the egg, add 1 cup of the cheese and the frozen peas; transfer to baking dish. Spread potatoes on top.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and top is light brown; remove, sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven just until cheese melts. Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Drizzle melted butter on top before serving.

Note: Can substitute a small can of diced or stewed tomatoes for the Rotel. Sauteed, sliced mushrooms and sweet corn are nice additions also.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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©Deep South Dish

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Posted by Mary on April 24, 2012

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