My mom used to make shepherd’s pie all the time and I loved it. This is Emeril Lagasse’s version.
Ingredients:
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 lb. ground lamb, turkey, chicken or beef
1 c. yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Salt and Pepper to season
1 bay leaf
2 T flour
1 T tomato paste
1 1/4 c. broth
1 tspn. Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. potatoes
1/8 tspn. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. grated cheddar
Directions:
Lightly grease 6-cup baking dish and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meat and cook until almost done. Add onions, carrots, bay leaf, salt and pepper and cook until onions are tender.
Stir in the tomato paste.
Stir in the flour and cook for one minute.
Slowly add the broth and the Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In the meantime, boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes or until tender.
Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Mash them with a potato masher. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well.
Add the cream and mix again. Remove pot from heat.
Remove the bay leaf.
Spoon the meat mixture into the baking dish. Spoon the potatoes on top of that. Smooth out the potatoes so they cover the meat mixture.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Did I change anything? Yes, the original recipe called for mushrooms and I left those out. Also I used ground meat and the original recipe called for chopped lamb.
What did the family think? Hubby and I liked it. Our oldest was hesitant at first, but liked it once he finally tasted it. Our youngest wasn’t to keen on it, but he did eat some of it…as little as he could get away with.