Garlic mash shepherd’s pie
This recipe is a tried and true favourite of mine and has been since the very first time it was made. Cold weather calls for comfort food, and to this foodie, nothing is better than a flavourful, rich shepherd’s pie. This dish is often a pub entrée, yet homemade is always so much better. This meal does take a bit of preparation, but it is well worth the wait.
Fresh ingredients are always the starting point for delicious meals. This foodie is particularly choosy when it comes to purchasing meat and animal products, so my first step was to venture out to my local butcher shop (located just a few minutes down the road on foot from my humble abode) from which I purchased my ground beef, which is ground fresh daily. Ground meats that have been sitting in a grocer’s cooler, although on sale, could be growing bacteria as we speak. It is also likely that additives have been added to keep the colour and stop the meat from going bad as quickly as it does naturally. To avoid this concern, I buy local and fresh from a trusted source.
There are two things that need to be done at the same time to keep the process moving: boiling the potatoes and browning the beef mixture. Begin by cutting up potatoes (preferably red skinned, with skin left on) and adding them into a pot of water with four full cloves of peeled garlic. Then, begin to chop the onion and garlic and cook them with the ground beef in a large skillet or saucepan. Next, fresh herbs such as thyme, sage and parsley are added to suit one’s taste, along with sliced carrots, celery and spinach. Allow all of this goodness to simmer on low with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.
By this time, the potatoes should be cooked. Check them with a fork – if the fork pierces the potato easily, remove from heat and drain water. Add a splash of milk and butter, a sprinkle of salt, chopped parsley, and minced garlic to the potatoes. Mash until smooth and set aside. It is now time to combine and layer the shepherd’s pie.
Use a glass baking dish, preferably one with a lid, distribute the meat and veggie layer on the bottom of the dish, followed by a can of corn and then topped with the garlic mashed potatoes. Place the dish in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes at a temperature of 350 degrees to allow the flavours to work into one another and the aroma of the meal float through you home. Remove the lid and use a basting brush to lightly brush a little bit of milk onto the top of the mashed potatoes to allow it to brown. Place the dish back in to the oven uncovered for 10 minutes. Then remove, let stand, and spoon into bowls for eating. This meal is melt in your mouth delicious and is guaranteed to please.
Shopping list
-Red skinned new potatoes
-Garlic
-Onion
-Can of corn
-Fresh spinach
-Carrots
-Celery
-Thyme
-Sage
-Parsley
-Milk
-Butter