Shepherd’s Pie

Lately my husband been mentioning about Shepherd’s Pie often . He usually travels out of state for work and there is this one Irish Pub in Lafayette , Indiana that he goes to when he goes to that area for work travel . It’s called Nine Brothers Pub , i’ve only been there once , and i did not have their Shepherd’s Pie . My husband loves their Shepherd’s Pie , only thing i knew about it was that it was like beef , basic veggies , and mashed potatoes on top . Sort of like Pastel Tutup , which is Indonesian Pie , but instead of beef and we use chicken and basic veggie , with ham , hot dog ( yes we do put hot dogs in a lot of stuff including soup too ) , and thickened with all purpose flour and add little milk . But that’s another entry for another time .

So anyway , due to the virus and the lock down , there is no work travel , instead he works from home . Many times he mentions how yummy shepherd’s pie is , and so being a good wife that i am .. LOL , i decided to choose one weekend night cooking to make this pie that he likes so much .

Last night i made this dish , it was easy , i read Alton Brown’s recipe , i am not sure how authentic it is compared to the Irish style .. but hey it is still Shepherd’s pie , from what i read there are so many versions of them anyway , you can make it as how you want it to be . This version is inspired by Alton Brown , quite easy and didn’t take long to make . Took me only about 45 minutes from prepping to finish . My husband helped too , he was in charge of the mashed potato . While i did the rest . Put it this way it was so easy , i even forgot couple ingredients to be added .. LOL .. but oh well , next time i’ll make sure i remember to add corn and peas !

Based on the reviews , he said it was really good , he didn’t say if it was similar to the Nine Brothers version but he said it was yummy ! So try it out ..

Ingredients :

• For mashed potato
• 1.5 lbs russet potatoes , peeled and diced
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 1/4 cup of milk , i used skim milk
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg yolk
• For the pie filling :
• 1 lb of extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb of sweet italian sausage
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 2 medium carrots , small diced
• 2 stalks of celery
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 3 tsp of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup of beef broth or more , add more if you need to
• 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup each peas and frozen sweet corn

Direction :

• For the mashed potatoes , cover the peeled , diced potatoes with cold water , cover , bring to boil . Take the lid off , and low boil for 10 to 15 minutes . Drain , using potato mashed , mash the potatoes , add salt , pepper , warm milk and melted butter ( you can warm milk and butter together in microwave ) , add egg yolk , stir , mix well . Set aside
• In a large skillet , heat up little bit of olive oil , add the carrot , celery , onion , saute for 4-5 minutes , add garlic and thyme , add the ground beef and ground sausage , cook until it’s brown , add the flour , cook about 1 minute . Add tomato paste , Worcestershire sauce , and beef broth , mix well . Add peas and corn .
• Assemble the pie , in a casserole pan , place the filling , and top with the mashed potato , you can use spatula to smooth out the potatoes on top .
• Bake at 400 F , for 25 minutes .