Shepherd's Pie

A step by step guide to making my modern version of this comfort classic!

Shepherd's Pie is a savory dish of cooked meat topped with mashed potatoes and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked as in from a roast or freshly ground. There are different variations of this dish like Cottage Pie or Hachis Parmentier the latter being a French version. While all three can be made with either Beef or Lamb, Shepherd's Pie and Hachis Parmentier are traditionally made with Lamb.

This also happens to be a very comforting dish perfect for a raw cool day. I wanted to give it a modern twist while at the same time lightening it up and this is what I came up with. A nutrient dense dish that was packed with flavor as well as being a bit lighter on the palate while trying to stay true and pay homage to the original recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I did. Cheers!

---

List of Ingredients

• 2lb's Ground Lamb

• 1 head of Cauliflower (florets separated)

• 3 Russet Potatoes diced

• Half an onion diced

• 1 clove of garlic smashed

• 2 cloves of garlic minced

• One celery stalk diced

• 2 carrots diced

• 12oz of frozen peas

• 1/4 cup of tomato paste

• 1/2 cup of red wine

• 1/2 cup of chicken stock

• 1/4 cup of heavy cream (You can substitute this with a dairy free creamer like NutPods)

• 2tbsp of butter

• 1/4 cup of freshly grated grassfed cheddar cheese and parmigiano regiano

• 4 sprigs of thyme

• 1 tbsp Roasted garlic sea salt

• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Let’s Get Started

Step 1: Prep your ingredients (mise en place)

The first step to making the perfect dish every time is to take the time to treat each ingredient with the respect it deserves by prepping them properly. Whether it's washing and cutting your fresh produce, measuring out your wet or dry ingredients to cleaning and organizing your workspace thoroughly prior to starting any cooking. This is what is referred to as mise en place in the culinary world. You will notice that in every one of my ingredients list I will detail how ingredients should be prepped so when we begin to cook it's a simple matter of following the cooking steps and not going back and forth cutting and preparing vegetables. So, take this time to perform these tasks and ensure that you clean and organize thoroughly to avoid getting overwhelmed once you start the cooking process.

Step 2: Prep your cooking station

The second step is to prepare your cooking station by preheating your oven and organizing and preheating your pots and pans. In this specific recipe you should be preheating your oven to 425 degrees convection or 435 degrees conventional. You should also get a pot of

salted water boiling for the potatoes and cauliflower. Place the potatoes into the pan and setup a small sauce pan with the heavy cream, 1 sprig of thyme, 1 sprig of rosemary and the smashed clove of garlic. You don't have to actually start heating up the cream but if you have it setup it will be much easier when you need it. Preheat a sauté or enameled cast iron casserole pan on medium heat.

Step 3: Brown your meat

Add the ground lamb pinch by pinch to your hot sauté or casserole pan to begin browning. Ensure you brown it in two separate batches to avoid overcrowding your pan and causing the meat to boil instead of browning. You want to season well and get a good sear and color on the meat while allowing some of the liquid to evaporate. Place it in a bowl and set aside.

Step 4: Sauté your mirepoix

Add about 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to the same pot and add the onions, celery, carrots and minced garlic season with roasted garlic salt, kosher salt, black pepper and begin to sweat until slightly aromatic.

Step 5: Add the meat back into the pot

Add the meat back into the pan with your mirepoix along with the tomato paste, the leaves of 2 sprigs of thyme and the minced rosemary. Stir well to combine.

Step 6: Deglaze

Deglaze the pan with wine and ensure you scrape up all the fond or crispy bits with a wooden spoon very well, allowing the alchohol to evaporate.

Step 7: Add the broth

Add the chicken stock, taste and re-season. Mix everything thoroughly and reduce your heat to low and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the flavors have been fortified.

Step 8: Cook your potatoes and cauliflower

Add the potatoes to the salted water then add the cauliflower to the same water when the potatoes are halfway done because it will cook much faster.

Step 9: Heat your cream

Turn the heat on to medium on your cream mixture and bring up to temp. It should be scolding but not boiling. You can also simply heat it up in the microwave if you don't want to use another pot. Make sure to check your meat mixture and if it looks reduced turn it off and level it with the back of a spoon and let it rest until we're ready to top it off with the cauliflower mixture.

Step 10: Make your cauliflower purée

When the cauliflower is tender place it into a blender with one potato, the cream, 3/4 of the cheese, roasted garlic sea salt, kosher salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth but thick.

Step 11: Mash your potatoes

Meanwhile drain the rest of the potatoes and leave in the pan to remove as much moisture as possible, add the butter, season with the roasted garlic sea salt, kosher salt, pepper and mash with a potato masher until smooth.

Step 12: Top your casserole

Pour the cauliflower puree into the mashed potatoes and fold until you have a nice light fluffy and thick mixture. Then top your meat casserole with this mixture and spread carefully with the back of your spoon like if you were frosting a cake.

Ensure you create peaks so they can brown nicely and create a little textural component. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and place it onto your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until its golden with crispy brown edges on the peaks and lines.

Step 13: Let it rest

Allow your casserole to rest for at least 10-15 minutes so the entire mixture can cool a bit and the juices can set and redistribute. If you don't rest not only will it be too hot to eat but you won't get the all the flavors because the juices are what have all the flavor and you will have left that behind.

---

Notes

Shepherd's pie is normally done only with potatoes and the meat filling is very simple so I decided to come up with this version to make it lighter and develop a richer taste but you can feel free to simply use potatoes if you don't want to go through the extra step of making the cauliflower. I will say that the cauliflower not only lightens up the dish but it actually adds a full serving of veggies to this dish as well. Enjoy!