Shepherd’s Pie

This takes a little work, but it’s worth the effort.

Filling Ingredients:

3 lb ground beef or lamb

2 medium onions, diced

2-3 lg carrots, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

(Can add some diced celery and fennel if you like)

15g salt

250g red wine

50g tomato paste

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2g black pepper

2g thyme leaves

25g flour

450g beef stock

15g chopped parsley

150g frozen peas

Filling Prep:

In a large Dutch oven, cook the meat in a little olive oil until well browned

Add the veggies and salt and cook about 5 minutes until the veggies are lightly softened

Add the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan (deglaze)

Add tomato paste, Worcestershire, pepper and thyme and stir well.

 

Lastly, add the flour. When the pan starts to glaze up again, the beef stock

Bring to a simmer and cook until the veggies are tender and the liquid is reduced by half

Taste and add beef bouillon as needed to the desired salt level

 

Finally add the chopped parsley and frozen peas.

Potato Topping:

Boil the potatoes, whole with skin on until tender, about 30 minutes

Peel the potatoes (or not if you want)

Mash the potatoes with:

1 stick butter

125g sour cream

125g heavy cream

125g grated parmesan

Taste and add salt as needed

lastly, add 3 egg yolks
(You can omit the sour cream is you want, just add more cream until the texture is smooth and fluffy)

Put the meat mixture in a 9 X 13 baking dish, pressing down. Top with the potatoes, roughing up the top to form peaks. Place on a sheet tray and sprinkle a little more Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, then broil a little to brown the top.

Cool 15 minutes before serving.