Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie
I have a lot of celery and carrots in my kitchen currently, and I have been brainstorming all day of what to do with it all. At first I wanted to make a vegetable stock, with the intention of freezing it and using it next week for French Onion Soup, but then I couldn't think of a purpose for the leftover vegetables once I strained all of the stock out. Then I thought it would be great to use it for Shepherd's Pie, but then I figured the stock would suck out all of the vegetable flavor! I will soon post a simple vegetable stock recipe, but for right now I have a really easy, healthy, and unique recipe for Shepherd's Pie that turned out to be one of the best dinners I have made recently! It was perfect for the rainy, cloudy day that we had today in San Francisco.
Earlier, while walking along the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building, I was overcome with complete happiness. What a beautiful quintessential day in San Francisco, walking along the water, buying fresh, local produce and getting a Blue Bottle Coffee. If you are my friend, or anyone reading this blog (in which case, you are a friend by connection), and you haven't been to San Francisco, what the heck are you doing? Come on down, visit! I promise to have a warm, home cooked meal waiting for you.
Here is the original recipe, although I tweaked mine a little, which is down below. It is courtesy of Alton Brown, 2008. Most of the ingredients are very well priced. No fancy tricks here! Alton uses lamb in his recipe, and calls for 2 teaspoons of chopped rosemary, but I found the rosemary to be a tad overpowering, so I suggest using 1 teaspoon, and ground, lean turkey instead of lamb.
Ingredients:
For the Potatoes:
1 1/2 pound russet potatoes
1/4 cup half and half
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
Directions:
1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds.
2. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add the garlic and green onions, and stir to combine. Add the turkey, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
5. Add the corn and peas to the turkey mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish.
Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Top with shredded cheddar, if desired.
Bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for visiting!