I received product samples for this shepherd’s pie recipe at no charge to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed here are my own.
With the beginning of fall comes my desire to get back into the kitchen and cook more. The weather is cooler and I have a serious need for ‘comfort food’ when the days start getting shorter. Shepherd’s pie just screams ‘comfort food’ in my mind. It is a British meat pie with a mashed potato ‘crust’. It has gone through a number of variations over the years in terms of the type of meat used, whether there is a top and bottom crust or not, and the flavors used to enhance the dish. Generally though, as with most English food, this is not a bold and spicy sort of dish. Some variety of meat and vegetables is topped with potatoes of some sort and baked til warm and bubbly. The version I made this weekend included grass fed beef, leeks, and mixed vegetables with plenty of garlic and ginger for flavor.
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I am passionate about only buying grass fed beef. Not only is it better for our own health but it is SO much better for the health of our planet. Cows raised in feed lots (which is where most of this country’s beef comes from) is fed mainly corn and soy and other grains that they are not meant to be eating. Cows are designed for eating GRASS and the meat you get from an animal raised free on the range has a totally different flavor and nutritional profile than cattle that are raised in a feed lot. Not to mention the fact that no animal should be confined to live on a feed lot for it’s entire life!
Strauss Free Raised® Grass Fed Beef farmers are passionate about the grass they grow and the animals that are being raised on it. Their cattle are raised slowly and patiently, to produce great tasting grass fed beef. Here are just a few things you should know about Strauss Free Raised Grass Fed Beef:
• 100% grass fed and grass finished • Raised on open pastures; never raised in feedlots • Never administered antibiotics or growth hormones • Agriculturally sustainable and environmentally friendly • Born and raised in the USA by family farmers
The Strauss ground beef I was sent was the perfect addition to my delicious shepherd’s pie recipe this week. Who can resist deliciously flavorful meat and veggies topped with potatoes and cheese, right?
When I was searching for a shepherds pie recipe online, I came across a lot of ideas. Some used onion, some used cabbage, some used mixed vegetables. There didn’t seem to be one recipe that jumped out and said “MAKE ME!”. Since I had bought some leeks the week before at Sprout’s Farmers’ Market I decided to go with leeks and mixed vegetables in my shepherd’s pie. It really was a delicious combination! I added a TON of cheese to the whipped mashed potatoes and I can honestly say that it was about the most heavenly creation I think I have had in a long time! I was eating the cheesy mashed potatoes right out of the mixing bowl!
If you are in the mood for warm, filling comfort food, I highly recommend you try making this shepherd’s pie recipe. You can be very flexible with the meat and veggies that you use. Ground lamb, ground turkey, or leftover chunks of stew meat will all work just fine. I wanted to make my shepherd’s pie in individual serving sized bowls but putting it in a pie dish or a 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish will work just fine, too. This recipe made 4 very generous servings. My husband ate one by himself. My 14 year old son ALMOST ate an entire bowl. My daughter and I didn’t even try and decided to share one between us. So, depending on how hungry your family is, you will get 4 to 6 servings out of this recipe.
Delicious and filling, this shepherd's pie recipe is true comfort food!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour5 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound Strauss grass fed ground beef
3 leeks, bottoms only, sliced in half and then sliced thin
1 (16 ounce) bag of mixed vegetables
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 TBSP ketchup
4 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
FOR THE TOPPING
6 large potatoes
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded cheese, divided. I used a sharp Cabot cheddar and freshly ground Parmesan
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Instructions
Peel potatoes and cut into 4 pieces. Boil until tender. Keep hot until ready to make topping.
In a large saute pan over medium heat, cook the ground beef until almost done
Drain and rinse. Return meat to pan and return pan to heat
Add the chopped leaks, mixed vegetables, garlic and ginger. Cook 5 to 10 minutes more until leeks are wilted.
Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Mix well and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
Put meat and vegetable mixture in bottom of oven save baking container. You can use a 9 x 9 inch baking dish or 4 individual serving sized ramekins filled 2/3 of the way full.
TO MAKE TOPPING:
Place hot, cooked potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
Add butter, half and half, garlic salt and pepper. Beat with mixer until light and fluffy.
Add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and beat until melted. Save remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese for topping after baking.
Top the meat and vegetable mixture with the whipped potatoes.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.
Top the shepherd's pie with the remaining shredded cheese and broil for 3 to 4 minutes to melt and lightly brown the top.
Remove from oven and let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
I would honestly be lost without ground beef in our freezer. It is pretty much a staple in my kitchen but I refuse to support farmers and ‘agribusinesses’ that do not raise their animals with a concern for our environment and the health and well being of the animals. If you would like to know more about grass fed beef or where to find the Strauss brand in your area, you can connect with them on Facebook!
Diane Hoffmaster
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician atGood Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at theUniversity of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Shepherd's pie comes to us from England, and is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Here in the states we are more of a beef eating culture than a lamb eating one, and when one is served "shepherd's pie" here, it is most often made with ground beef.
How do you keep shepherds pie from falling apart? The eggs in the mashed potatoes help keep the pie together. You should also make sure to spread the potatoes and press down a bit.
The easiest way to thicken shepherd's pie filling is by sprinkling a few tablespoons of flour into the ground beef mixture as it cooks before adding it to the baking dish. The starch in the flour will absorb the extra liquid and create a thick gravy.
Classic shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies like peas, corn, celery, and carrots. Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? Avoid a soggy pie by simmering the meat mixture for at least 8 minutes. Be sure to cook down the mixture to remove excess moisture.
Cottage Pie – comfort food central! This English classic has a deeply savoury beef mince filling smothered in gravy topped with creamy mashed potato, baked until golden. One of the best cosy foods to make with ground beef!
According to the Oxford Companion to Food, once upon a time, Scotland made its shepherd's pies with pastry instead of mashed potatoes. Indian cooks once considered shepherd's pie to be a perfect dish for tiffin (a word used to mean a light snack in British India).
How do you keep potatoes from sinking in shepherd's pie? Let the beef layer cool before you top it with the mashed potatoes. This is the number one way to keep your potatoes from sinking. Another tip is to not make your potatoes too runny because firmer mashed potatoes stay more level while baking.
This shepherd's pie recipe uses 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the gravy but if you feel like the meat mixture is too watery, add in another tablespoon and stir to combine. You may also try simmering the mince mixture for longer so that the stock reduces down and thickens.
To stop the mash sinking into the filling, allow the meat to cool before topping with the mashed potato. Freeze in individual ovenproof dishes for an easy meal for one.
This ultimate comfort food can be quite unhealthy, with lots of butter in the mash and pushing up your saturated fat intake. Here are a few ideas to make this classic a little healthier and just as tasty.
Add Dairy. Milk can go a long way in solving the salty gravy (or sauce) problem. The creaminess in milk and other dairy products desensitizes your taste buds, making the sauce taste less salty. Using dairy adds richness, too.
Both ingredients are already cooked so it really only needs to be in the oven long enough for the potato to form a golden brown crust on top. Minced or ground beef is used for a Cottage Pie not a Shepherds pie.
After cooking the beef, onion, and herbs, be sure to drain the grease out of the pan. Otherwise, you will find yourself with a greasy shepherd's pie. Stir well. Especially when adding the flour and tomato paste.
But provided you heat it for the right amount of time and at the correct temperature, you should be okay to reheat your food multiple times. That being said, every time you reheat food, the quality may decrease as reheating has been known to alter the consistency or taste of food.
“Shepherd's pie” and “cottage pie” are used interchangeably, but technically traditional shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb and traditional cottage pie is made with ground beef.
Shepherd's Pie is a comforting mixture of ground lamb with peas and carrots and just the right seasonings. It is topped with mashed potatoes and baked to perfection. It's not a complicated dish and it is an Irish staple. We usually make it at home with beef, in which case it would be called a cottage pie.
The Shepherd's Pie has saucy ground meat and vegetables covered in a a mashed potato crust, sprinkled with shredded cheese, and baked to bubbly perfection.
The main difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's pie is cottage pie uses ground beef, and Shepherd's pie uses ground lamb. Both pies are cooked with vegetables and gravy and baked under a layer of mashed potatoes. To make Shepherd's pie using this recipe, simply substitute ground lamb.
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