Recipe Box: Shepherd's Pie

 
This Shepherd's Pie is one of my easy go-to recipes. It makes plenty of food and reheats very well as leftovers. I adapted it from a recipe I found on simplyrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground round
1 chopped yellow onion
2 cups mixed vegetables such as corn, chopped carrots, peas
3 large russet potatoes (about 1.5-2 lbs)
8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth or stock
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup milk (optional for mashed potatoes)
Salt and pepper
Other seasonings as desired (I recommend thyme, paprika, and parsley)

Method:
Bring salted water to a boil. Peel and quarter the potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

While the potatoes cook, brown the beef in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Once browned, drain the beef to get rid of the excess fat and set the beef aside in a bowl.

Note on ground beef: I have recently started grinding my own beef. Apparently, store-bought ground beef frequently contains a material nicknamed "pink slime." It is literally the discarded bits of cartilage and bone, ground to a pink paste and used as filler in the meat. Pink slime is treated with ammonia (!) because it is highly likely to be contaminated with E.coli or Salmonella. If you can grind your own beef, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. I use a grinding attachment to my KitchenAid stand mixer.  Purchase Top Round or Sirloin for grinding.

In the same pan, melt 4 Tbsp butter. Saute the onions over medium heat until tender and beginning to look translucent (about 10 minutes). Add any vegetables according to cooking time. Carrots should go in at the same time as the onions. Peas or corn can wait until the beef goes back into the pan. If you are using a frozen veggie mix, defrost first and drop in when the beef goes back in.

Once the onions are done, add the ground beef back in. Season it with salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, parsley, and any other seasonings. Add Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes. Add more beef broth if the mixture starts to dry out. Taste this as you go.

When the potatoes are done, drain them and mash in a bowl with 4 Tbsp butter, salt, and some milk if you have it. Taste this as you go! You are basically making delicious mashed potatoes. If one of your dish's components doesn't taste good, why would the rest of it? Season these well and try not to eat them all before putting them in the pie.

Place beef mixture in a large baking dish.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top as best as you can. Use a fork to fluff some spots up so that you can get peaks that will brown in the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. The Shepherd's Pie should be bubbling and browned over the top. Broil for a few minutes if necessary to get some browning. It will enhance the flavors!

This makes for an attractive presentation. It's best served family style (mostly because it is really hard to get a pretty slice down on a plate without much mess).

Delicious! This recipe is easy to alter based on your seasoning and vegetable preferences. This recipe serves 6 decently sized portions.

Happy cooking!