Continuing with the hearty fall foods and a request from Abby’s mom today’s blog recipe is shepherds pie. As much as I love doing intricate plating’s and crazy composition, there is just something about meat pies and stews that almost put it above those dishes. There is a tradition and heritage to them that stay true to the original concept. There is nothing fancy or elegant about them, it is peasant food, but that is the best part about it. Meat pies are filling, sustaining , and comforting. Best of all they are delicious! Traditional shepherds pie is made with lamb or mutton,  but for this recipe we will be using beef, so technically it is a cottage pie. If you would like to use lamb you can just substitute equal parts lamb for beef. Also I am trying to scale these recipes down a bit to feed 2-4 people which is odd for me coming from a kitchen background. Just habit to make things in large batches, so we’re going to scale these down a bit for you all. Alright, lets get cooking. For this recipe we will need:

Meat Mix                    Yields : 1 Qt

• 1 lb Ground beef or Lamb
• 1C Onion (Diced)
• 1C Carrots (Diced)
• 1C Celery (Diced)
• 2 Tbsp Garlic (Minced)
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary
• 1 Tbsp Thyme
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1/4 C Burgundy or red wine
• Salt & Pepper TT

Mashed Potatoes            Yields: 1 Qt

• 4-5 Medium Potatoes
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Sour Cream
• 1/4 C Milk
• 1/4 C Grated Parmesan
• 1 Egg
• Salt & Pepper TT

To start we’ll want to get all of your ingredients together and cut. Small dice the carrots, celery,  and onion. In a large pot heat 1/4 C of vegetable oil and add your vegetables. Cook until tender and then add your minced garlic. Continue to cook 2-3 more minutes until garlic is golden brown. Remove the vegetables from the pot and add your meat. Stir the meat while cooking to break up large pieces. When the meat is cooked all the way through strain the and extra fat from the pot and return to heat.

The reason why I like to remove the vegetables and then cook the meat is so I can strain this extra fat from the pot before finishing the mix. After you return the meat to the heat deglaze the pot with the red wine and add your vegetables back into the mix. Continue to stir and add in your tomato paste and chopped rosemary and thyme. Cook for an additional 5-10 to finish the mix.

For the mashed potatoes, peel and dice your potatoes into large pieces and place in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until fork tender. When the potatoes are tender strain water and return to pot. With a whisk whip the potatoes adding in the butter, milk, sour cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Whip until smooth and fluffy.

Spread meat mix evenly in a 9×9 pan or ramekins such as these. Next top the mix with the mashed potatoes and smooth the top covering from corner to corner, or place in a pastry bag and pipe onto the top making sure everything is evenly covered. Bake the pies at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Carefully remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes. Finally pour yourself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, relax, pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents, your…sorry getting carried away, wrong dinner.  As always if you have any comments or questions please let us know! Enjoy!