Shepherd's Pie with Ground Beef and Potatoes
I made this Shepherd’s Pie for Good Morning America. In case you missed it, here is the clip. It was all about fridge foraging in the time of coronavirus. It was really fun to see fridge foraging getting some love, I just wish it wasn’t because there is a worldwide pandemic. My hope is that after this is all said and done, we can remember that cooking with what we have not only saves money but also prevents food waste.
There are a bunch of substitutions you can make to this recipe. First off, any vegetable would work in the filling, not just carrots and onions. If you had peas, beans, asparagus etc - those would work. Also if you want to make this vegetarian you can skip the ground beef and add in 3 cups cooked lentils. Lastly, if you don’t have potatoes for the topping, sweet potatoes, cauliflower or any other type of root vegetable would also work.
Shepherd’s Pie
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” pieces
Kosher salt
8 Tbs. melted butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese (or any cheese you have)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or any other ground meat)
1 tsp. dried thyme
⅓ cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs. flour
¾ cup stock or redwine
Garnish with fresh herbs(if you have them)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Cover potatoes with cold water and add in 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Bring to a low boil and cook the potatoes until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the potatoes and mash with a masher or ricer mix in butter and cheese. Set aside.
In large saute pan cook the onion and carrots over medium heat. (Add in any other vegetables you make have like celery or frozen peas) as well as the dried thyme and rosemary.
Add ground beef and continue cooking until the beef is browned. Add in canned tomatoes, flour, stock and large pinch of salt and pepper. Place the mashed potatoes on top of the filling and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Serve warm.
Makes 4- 6 servings