Shepherd’s Pie

Posted: February 18, 2010 | Author: Johanna | Filed under: Johanna | 5 Comments »

I’ve mentioned before that I never ate meatloaf as a kid. There are actually many things that I don’t remember experiencing as a kid that I now love. Spinach, meatloaf, Brussels sprouts (which research has told me you should basically avoid until you’re 18), and strangely, homemade Shepherd’s pie. I’m pretty relieved about most of these things, since they give me an open mind now – I don’t have any ingrained memories of my sainted mother’s so-and-so, so I don’t have any rules to follow besides “make it taste good”.

This is especially true with Shepherd’s pie, which I can only vaguely remember ever eating. The memories I do have are of eating frozen versions of Shepherd’s pie occasionally, but that could be just a hallucination. Basically anytime I saw Shepherd’s pie at school or college, it had peas out of a can in it. And corn. Which is just all wrong. So I avoided it.
I’ve been thinking about Shepherd’s pie since Adele mentioned making one back over the summer. I cursed her then for making one during a heatwave in Brooklyn, as it was too hot for such meaty, mashed-potatoey tomfoolery. That was back in August.
It’s February now, and as some of you have noticed, it’s been freezing freaking cold lately. The freaking cold has had varying effects, including causing me to want to make warm things, things with cumin flavor, things that are warming and rich and is it any wonder I ended back at Shepherd’s Pie?

Warm, Comforting Shepherd’s Pie with Curried Sweet Potato Topping
This recipe uses some of my favorite spices. Get ready to bust out your curry powder, but if you don’t have curry powder, you can totally use a combination of cumin, tumeric, chili powder, corriander, and black pepper. Or, y’know, anything else that makes you feel warm inside.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel 1 medium sweet potato per person eating. Chop into about 1/2-inch cubes, and put in a pot full of cold, liberally salted water, and boil.  When they are soft enough to be squished between kitchen tongs, drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pan for 30 seconds to a minute, so they dry out a little. Mash with 2 tablespoons of butter, a hearty splash of milk or half & half, salt, and a tablespoon of ricotta. Now is the time to start adding spices. Start with 1 teaspoon of curry powder, or 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1/4 teaspoon each of tumeric and cayenne pepper. If this tastes warm and savory to you, stop there. If not, keep adding in these proportions until it tastes perfect to you.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, brown 1 pound of ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks.
3. When the ground beef is cooking, dice one onion. Slice one leek in half lengthwise, then cut into small slices and clean. Slice 2 small carrots in half, and cut into small slices. Slice and chop 7-8 crimini mushrooms.
4. If the ground beef has let off some fat, add in the vegetables with no additional oil. I was using sirloin, so there wasn’t a lot of fat. I added a tiny drizzle of olive oil when I added my veg. Saute for 5-7 minutes, until all the vegetables are softened, and the mushrooms have picked up some color. Add a pinch of salt, and roughly 2 teaspoons of curry powder (or the mix mentioned above, in the above proportions). Stir.

5.  Add roughly 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, and 3-4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Stir everything around until the tomato paste and Worcestershire have melted in with the vegetables and meat. It should smell pretty fabulous at this point, but it is about to get better. Sprinkle on 2-3 spoonfuls of flour, and stir everything again.
6. Pour in roughly 1 cup of beef broth, and stir. Let it come to a simmer; the flour will thicken the sauce and all the flavors will meld, and you will probably have to season again. Go easy on the salt, but focus on the curry powder/cumin/corriander.
7. When the sauce has thickened up,  turn off the heat and throw in a couple handfuls of chopped green beans, and toss one more time. Pour the pie base into a casserole dish, and top with the mashed curried sweet potato. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving, to allow the dish time to pull itself together.

Serve, and enjoy. It’s warm, comforting, and rich. It’s perfect weekend food. Enjoy it this weekend.