Deluxe Sheppard's Pie

There are some days, I just watch cooking videos.  I seen this video by Brian Lagerstrom.  I was intrigued at how this came together and thought to myself, if ever I make this again, I'm going to circle back on it.  

Sheppard's Pie was something that we had often while I was in the Navy.  Mum would make this at home.  This is one of those comfort food items that relatively easy to make.  Only this time, I took it to the next level.

Tonya was really glad that I did.

Ingredients

About 8 peeled and chopped, russet potatoes 

2 medium onions, chopped

3-4 ribs celery, medium diced

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped 

3 Tbsp olive oil 

3lbs/1.5kg ground lamb (Sub ground beef)

salt

1 cup dry red wine (Sub 1:1 red wine vinegar and water)

3 Tbsp tomato paste (Sub ketchup)

3 Tbsp beef paste (Sub beef bouillon)

3 Tbsp  worcestershire 

1 tsp black pepper 

2 tsp thyme

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 3/4 cup beef stock

1/4 cup parsley

1 1/2 cups  frozen peas and carrots

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup heavy cream (Sub whipping cream)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup grated parmesan

3 egg yolks 

Stuff you will need

Large pot to boil potatoes

Colander

Potato ricer (Sub potato masher)

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Dutch Oven

Various mixing bowls and mixing spoons

Baking dish 9 x 12 inches

Cookie sheet lined with tin foil

Directions

Add potatoes to a stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until a knife doesn’t meet resistance when inserted. Drain and pass through a potato ricer. 

Stir in melted butter, cream, sour cream, parmesan cheese, and two very large pinches of salt. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. Stir in egg yolks. 

Cut the veggies, put them in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a Dutch Oven over medium heat. When hot, add olive oil and ground lamb and break apart while cooking. It should take about 5 minutes for the water to cook off then 5-10 more minutes to brown meat. 

When meat has begun to take on color and brown fond is forming in the bottom of the pot, add veggies and 1 Tbsp of salt. Stir to combine and cook for 3-4 more min until veg has begun to soften. Add wine to deglaze pot, scraping up fond on the bottom.

Stir in tomato paste, bouillon, worcestershire, and black pepper. Once wine is mostly reduced, stir in thyme and flour. Cook until bottom of the pot glazes up with fond again, then add stock. Bring to a simmer then cover and lower heat to medium low to simmer until sauce is reduced by half and veggies are tender, about 10 min. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. 

Off heat, stir in parsley, peas and carrots. 

Scoop filling into a 9” x 13” (23cm x 33cm) baking dish. Press into dish and smooth to create an even layer. Spoon mashed potato mixture over the top and spread into even layer. Use a fork to “rough up” the top of the potatoes. You’re creating texture that can get crisp here.

Place baking dish on a sheet tray and bake in a preheated 425F/220C oven for 30 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

In this recipe, you will notice "Sub" in a lot of places.  I used the substituted items as I don't always have access to some of the items in the original recipe.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome.