It's very cold here with snow and ice, so I thought the family needed a hearty and warming meal that didn't require much effort. Enter Shepherd's Pie (technically Cottage Pie I think because it uses beef rather than lamb). Yet again, I've added a vegetarian label to this meal even though what I made had meat. In fact, we only had just shy of 1 lb. of ground beef in the freezer, so I also used a package of Yves' Ground Round fake beef. It would be quite simple to make an entirely vegetarian version (though it sure was tasty with grass-fed, farmers' market beef). It was nice, because even in December most of the ingredients for this meal were locally sourced: carrots, beef, potatoes, onions, garlic, and chicken stock (homemade from farmers' market chicken parts).
I looked in both Fanny Farmer and The Joy of Cooking for Shepherd's Pie recipes and then proceeded to ignore both of them! I took the addition of freshly-ground nutmeg from the Joy and the ingredient proportions of butter, stock and flour from Fanny and then did my own thing. I didn't have any leftover cooked meat (lamb and beef are both traditional), so I had to make up something anyway. I added tomato paste based on a British friend's vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe; I like the sweetness and warm color it adds. The butter, flour and stock work together to make a lovely gravy without any of the mad stirring of a traditional roux.
Other vegetables that might be tasty in this dish are (you guessed it) greens or peas. If you're making a vegetarian version and want to avoid fake meat, I'm sure you could also make a respectable dish using beans.
Both the meat and veggie recipes would be tasty with button or crimini mushrooms, reconstituted porcinis, shittakes, or a combination of the fresh and dried. We didn't have any in the house, or I would have added some. I would add the mushrooms in with the onion to get some of the liquid out--otherwise you might have a watery end result. You could use the (strained) soaking liquor from the reconstituted dried mushrooms in place of chicken/beef stock, as well.
I’ve changed my recipe over the years, and now I favor a mix of 1 cup green Puy lentils to 1 lb of ground beef. I also use homemade tomato sauce instead of just some tomato paste. I use about a half-pint jar of it but really go by what I have and how I feel at the time. I often double the recipe and freeze half the filling for easy dinner prep on another night.
These days I cook the potatoes (cut into a 1 to 1.5-inch dice) in the Instant Pot before mashing, usually about 10 minutes at high pressure.
INGREDIENTS
FILLING
1 cup dry green Puy lentils
1 lb ground beef/Yves' Ground Round/Quorn Grounds or a combination
4 TBSP butter
1 large onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 c. carrots, diced or in small coins (if using small carrots)
1 tsp dried thyme or to taste
1-2 TBSP tomato paste or 8-12 oz tomato sauce
2 TBSP flour optional
3/4 c. chicken/beef/mushroom stock (or water)
1 bunch greens, washed and finely chopped or processed (optional)
Freshly-ground nutmeg to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Red wine vinegar to taste (or even red wine)
Soy sauce to taste (adds salt and umami)
TOPPING
2 lb (or thereabouts) baking potatoes (though you could probably use red potatoes in a pinch)
2 TBSP butter
Salt, pepper, and freshly-ground nutmeg to taste
Milk to thin potatoes as needed
DIRECTIONS
I looked in both Fanny Farmer and The Joy of Cooking for Shepherd's Pie recipes and then proceeded to ignore both of them! I took the addition of freshly-ground nutmeg from the Joy and the ingredient proportions of butter, stock and flour from Fanny and then did my own thing. I didn't have any leftover cooked meat (lamb and beef are both traditional), so I had to make up something anyway. I added tomato paste based on a British friend's vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe; I like the sweetness and warm color it adds. The butter, flour and stock work together to make a lovely gravy without any of the mad stirring of a traditional roux.
Other vegetables that might be tasty in this dish are (you guessed it) greens or peas. If you're making a vegetarian version and want to avoid fake meat, I'm sure you could also make a respectable dish using beans.
Both the meat and veggie recipes would be tasty with button or crimini mushrooms, reconstituted porcinis, shittakes, or a combination of the fresh and dried. We didn't have any in the house, or I would have added some. I would add the mushrooms in with the onion to get some of the liquid out--otherwise you might have a watery end result. You could use the (strained) soaking liquor from the reconstituted dried mushrooms in place of chicken/beef stock, as well.
I’ve changed my recipe over the years, and now I favor a mix of 1 cup green Puy lentils to 1 lb of ground beef. I also use homemade tomato sauce instead of just some tomato paste. I use about a half-pint jar of it but really go by what I have and how I feel at the time. I often double the recipe and freeze half the filling for easy dinner prep on another night.
These days I cook the potatoes (cut into a 1 to 1.5-inch dice) in the Instant Pot before mashing, usually about 10 minutes at high pressure.
INGREDIENTS
FILLING
1 cup dry green Puy lentils
1 lb ground beef/Yves' Ground Round/Quorn Grounds or a combination
4 TBSP butter
1 large onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 c. carrots, diced or in small coins (if using small carrots)
1 tsp dried thyme or to taste
1-2 TBSP tomato paste or 8-12 oz tomato sauce
2 TBSP flour optional
3/4 c. chicken/beef/mushroom stock (or water)
1 bunch greens, washed and finely chopped or processed (optional)
Freshly-ground nutmeg to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Red wine vinegar to taste (or even red wine)
Soy sauce to taste (adds salt and umami)
TOPPING
2 lb (or thereabouts) baking potatoes (though you could probably use red potatoes in a pinch)
2 TBSP butter
Salt, pepper, and freshly-ground nutmeg to taste
Milk to thin potatoes as needed
DIRECTIONS
- Pre-cook your lentils. I use the Instant Pot for 8 minutes at high pressure. Drain and set aside. Rinse if desired
- Preheat the oven to 325 or 375 (depending on how long you want the baking to take)
- In a large skillet, melt the 4 TBSP butter and add the onion and garlic
- Saute over medium heat until softened
- Add the ground beef and carrots and saute until beef is cooked through
- Stir in the tomato paste and fake meat, if using
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir in
- Add the stock and stir
- Let the mixture bubble for a minute or two. Taste and adjust the seasonings--you may want to add more tomato paste or some red wine vinegar. Keep in mind that the filling will be toned down somewhat by the potato topping so you may want to overseason slightly
- Pour the mix into a large baking dish (I used our oval ceramic 2 qt dish)
POTATOES
If using the Instant Pot, you can make the potatoes while the filling cooks. Otherwise, if desired, you can make the potatoes first. They will certainly stay softer the closer you make them to the time you need to spread them
the potatoes and cut into evenly-sized chunks. I use quite large chunks for the IP. (I don't peel them if they're organic)
If using the Instant Pot, you can make the potatoes while the filling cooks. Otherwise, if desired, you can make the potatoes first. They will certainly stay softer the closer you make them to the time you need to spread them
the potatoes and cut into evenly-sized chunks. I use quite large chunks for the IP. (I don't peel them if they're organic)
- Place in a large pot and cover generously with water
- Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are very tender
- To use the Instant Pot, put 1.5 cups of water (12 for oz) into the bottom of the Instant Pot, put the potato chunks on top on a rack and steam at high pressure for 10 minutes and use quick-release after the cooking time is over. I have used the cooking liquid for mashing but find it makes the potatoes a bit watery. Better to steam them and then mash with milk and butter
- Mash potatoes with the 2 TBSP butter and beat with a wooden spoon (so says the Joy) until very fluffy. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Use some milk to thin the potatoes if needed--I think you're supposed to use warmed milk to help the potatoes avoid gluey-ness.
PUT IT TOGETHER
- Attempt to spread the mashed potatoes over the filling. Because I had made my mashed potatoes earlier in the day, they were a little too dry and cold for easy spreading, even after I had added some milk warmed in the skillet I used to cook the filling. Plan B involved taking little clumps of mashed potato and putting them on the top of the filling until the whole dish was covered. This worked just fine--there were plenty of potatoes to cover and the appearance didn't give away the clump method. As long as the potatoes cover the filling, you'll have a good finished product
- Bake at 325 for one hour, covering the dish with foil. (We went to meet a delightful newborn baby while our dinner was cooking, so I didn't want it to finish too quickly). If you'd rather get dinner on the table in 35-40 minutes, bake at 375 and don't cover with foil. Bake individual pies for about 25 minutes at 375
- Serve. This dish is a meal on its own, but would also be nice with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower
Here a cute individual pies before and after getting their mashed topping
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