You asked for it, so I am posting my recipe for Shepherd’s Pie! Shepherd’s pie is the first dish I made for my family, I remember my grandpa saying how good it was, its funny cause in Albanian shepherd is cobani pronounced chobani, so I would call it choban food haha…we always have a good laugh with that!
My husband, son and I are the only ones that like shepherd’s pie, so I make it in a 8 x 8 inch pan, if you are making it in a 13 x 9 inch pan you will need to use more ingredients. If you want you can make a gravy that goes well over the mash when serving, or you can serve as is, we love gravy so I make a small amount on the side.
What you will need:
- 1lb ground beef, or more if you desire
- 5 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (the one in a tube has best flavour)
- hot sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- salt
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup or more of milk
- paprika
Peel potatoes and bring to a boil in salted water, I like to add a dash of turmeric in my potatoes for colour and added health benefits. Meanwhile chop onions and sautee in some olive oil, cook till tender, add in chopped garlic and tomato paste and a dash of paprika. Add in ground beef and break up to make small chunks. Add in seasonings, add some drops of hot sauce until desired heat, add in some splashes of the Worcestershire sauce, taste and adjust seasonings until you are happy with the taste of the filling, add in the peas and corn and a bit of water to make the filling a bit juicy, you don’t want a dry filling.
Drain potatoes when they are soft and ready for mashing. Mash the potatoes and stir in the milk, and cheddar cheese, taste and adjust seasoning and texture if need be, adding more milk for a softer mash for example.
Pour meat filling into a 8 x 8 inch pan and top with mash potatoes. Sprinkle paprika over the potatoes if desired.
Bake at 350 for half an hour. Enjoy!
If you would like to make a gravy, simply start with a rue, brown some flour in a mixture of butter and oil, add in a beef cube for flavour if desired and add in the water, stir quickly so that it doesn’t get lumpy. Cook on low heat till thickens.
Basic gravy measurements; 2 tablespoons fat, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1 cup of liquid to equal 1 cup of gravy
Add salt and pepper if desired, always taste while cooking and adjust seasonings as you go along.:)
Mmmmm… That pie looks yummy. Perfect for my tummy!