Cottage Pie (aka) Shepherd’s Pie
Growing up we always had “Shepherd’s
Pie” that was made with ground beef, corn and sometimes if we were lucky, a can
of peas would find their way mixed in with the corn, and then it was topped
with mashed potatoes with dollops of butter melted over the top. It was an old time favorite comfort
food.
As an adult, it was still always one of my favorites, but Tall Cool ☺ne didn’t care for it, needless to say it has not been on the menu over the years. This weekend we watched a video on one of my favorite YouTube channels and two things came out of it.
1. I learned something new (I think you should learn something new every day if you can): Shepherd’s Pie is actually made with ground lamb, (which makes perfect sense seeing how shepherds tend the sheep). 2. I’ve now found a pie that can and will be added back to my favorite meals menu. I kind of wonder why they don’t call it “Cattle Pie”, “Heifer’s Pie”, “Moo Pie”, or “Bull Pie”.
I took the ingredients from the
video and used my own quantities (not from his list) so if mine don’t match Kent’s,
don’t hate me.
1¼ lb. ground beef
2 stalks celery, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 orange pepper, shredded
1 lg. onion, shredded
2 tbsp. tomato paste
¼ cup beef broth
½ cup red wine (¼ for the pie and ¼ for the chef)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can white hominy, drained
1 can chili peppers, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used the whole head)
2 egg yolks
3 lbs. potatoes, peeled, cooked, drained, and mashed
½ cup cream (I used half & half)
1½ cups white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
¾ cup fresh parmesan, shredded
Seasonings: oregano, basil, salt, pepper, thyme (I don't have his original seasoning spice yet, but I ordered some for next time).
In cast iron Dutch oven, cook the ground beef and
drain off grease. Add celery, carrots
and onion and cook the moisture out of the veggies, but don’t let the veggies
get brown (5-6 minutes). Add the tomato
paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, wine, and stir to combine and let it
get a little bubbly. Carefully stir in
garlic and hominy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Prepare potatoes.
Once they are cooked and drained and all the liquid is steamed out of
them, mash, mash, mash. Add some cream
(I used half & half) and the egg yolks.
Mash, mash, mash. Add the cheddar
and jack cheese, then stir in the chili peppers.
Preheat oven to 400º
Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish. (I almost missed this tidbit of information.
Tall Cool ☺ne pointed it out to me). Can’t cook
this in the cast iron in a 400º oven or it would burn to a crisp.
Trowel the potatoes over the beef mixture. Make little plops with a spoon for aesthetics,
sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for
45 minutes. Let cool 10-15 before
serving.
So freaking good.
Thank you, Cowboy Kent Rollins.
Enjoy♥
©
Crackerberries 2024
