Shepherd’s Pie Weekend Comfort Food

i promised I would share this shepherd’s pie recipe so share it I will. This is inspired from one of my favorite cookbooks of all time What Katie Ate. The photography is so unique and beautiful and the recipes are simple with complex flavors. I followed this recipe exactly the first few times but have adapted it to what I like over time. for example I add extra beef and using yellow yukon gold potatoes for a creamier topping.

Joe and I make this several times over the fall and winter. The flavors in the beef are so rich and full that there is nothing better than taking a piece of crusty bread across the plate to soak up the sauce. It almost tastes a bit like a fancy sloppy joe. with potatoes on top. baked into a lovely casserole. that will feed you for days and days but you will be ok with it.

what I learned from this recipe is to get things going at the same time. don’t make the beef mixture and then boil the potatoes, start that water first. that way when the meat sauce has thickened the potatoes are mashed you can assemble and toss in the oven.

the other trick i learned is use either a piping bag or a ziplock with the corner cut off to pipe the potatoes over the beef mixture. it makes it easier to spread than dunking it right into the sauce and trying to spread it out.

I showed the meat mixture below in the pan pre potato topping. the next picture will show you the pre baked piped potato topping.

here is what you need for the recipe.

Ingredients:
olive oil for the pan
1 sweet onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic minced
2 lbs of ground beef
2 cups of chicken stock
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/3 cup of worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons of A1 steak sauce
3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. freshly grate it if you can, trust me it makes a HUGE difference.
1 tsp of fresh thyme
salt and pepper

for the potatoes:
salt and white pepper (again makes a huge difference)
2 lbs of yellow yukon gold potatoes (if they are bigger than your thumb cut in half, I leave skins on)
1/2 cup of milk + more if needed
2 tbsp of greek yogurt + more if needed
1/2 cup of parmesan + more if needed.
1 head of roasted garlic 

Potatoes are subjective so I always say as needed to get them the way you want. bottom line is you want these to be light and creamy so they sit on top of the meat mixture.

1. Get this party started. place a pot of water over the stove and toss in the potatoes and get them boiling. Heat oven to 400F and slice the tip of the garlic off and set on a lined baking sheet and top with olive oil. cook for 20ish minutes. let cool. cook potatoes on simmer until you can easily slide a fork through them.
2. While the garlic is cooking and the potatoes are simmering, get out a sauce pan and drizzle with oil, cook the onion until translucent. add the 2 lbs of ground beef breaking up the chunks as it cooks. add in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. once the meat is browned add in the broth, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, A1, BBQ , nutmeg and thyme leaves. Stir well, add salt and pepper and cook about 30 minutes until reduced. The sauce should thicken nicely.
3. While the meat mixture is simmering mash the potatoes with all of the ingredients. For the roasted garlic add as many cloves as you like. I typically add about 5 because I loooove garlic. The roasted garlic can be used for other fun things like pizza or butter if you want. It’s easier to just roast an entire bulb of garlic. If you can’t get it smooth with a masher use mixture. You want it night and smooth. (I still leave the skins on the potatoes because.. that’s the way I like it.
4. When the sauce is thickened and the potatoes are mashed pour the meat mixture into the pan and pipe the potatoes on top. Toss the shepherd’s pie into the oven and bake about 30 minutes until the potatoes are golden on top. Allow to rest a few minutes and serve in wide bowls. Enjoy literally for the rest of the week.

to view the original Shepherd’s Pie recipe visit the fantastic blog What Katie Ate.

to view more of my favorite recipes visit here.