This is a wicked twist on Shepherd’s Pie that is super easy to make and delicious to eat. You can easily swap out the ground beef with ground pork or ground lamb. This recipes uses red wine as it adds an incredible amount of depth of flavor to the gravy. Just use your favorite red wine. Nothing too fancy. If you do not want to use red wine, just add more beef stock. The key to this scrumptious dish is to gently simmer the beef mixture so all the ingredients have a chance to marry with each other. See notes below to make this a Gluten Free and Vegan dish. This is such a wonderful funky twist on a Shepherd’s Pie.
Ingredients:
6 large baking potatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup whole milk or cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning (optional and I use a tablespoon)
Pinch of nutmeg
1 lb of ground beef (switch out with ground pork or ground lamb)
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 heaping tablespoon beef gravy granules (see notes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium onion diced
1 medium carrot diced
2 ounces of mushrooms diced
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon of crushed rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil as needed (use your favorite oil, I usually use whatever type of oil I have on hand)
Directions:
1. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork, coat with oil, sprinkle salt over them and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours until golden, crispy, and soft inside.
2. In a large sauce pan, sauté carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Sauté till carrots and onions are soft. Add the ground beef and cook till browned all the way through.
3. Add tomato paste, wine, beef stock, thyme, rosemary, Worcestershire Sauce, salt/pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes. Add gravy granules and reduce heat to low. Gently simmer for 20 – 25 minutes till mixture is thickened. Remove from heat if the potatoes still have a considerable amount of time to cook.
4. Slice off the tops of the potatoes and scoop out the fluffy insides. Add to a bowl and mash up with the milk/cream, butter, Old Bay Seasoning, nutmeg, and salt/pepper to taste. Add the shredded cheddar cheese and incorporate.
5. Spoon the beef mixture into the potatoes. Top with a few heaping tablespoons of the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with some shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cheese has melted.
6. Serve hot!!
Notes: If you do not have gravy granules, add 1 tablespoon of flour after you add the tomato paste but before the wine. Cook for a few minutes to get rid of the flour taste. You can make this a gluten free dish by swapping out the Worcestershire Sauce with San-J Tamari Soy Sauce and use gluten free corn starch instead of the flour for a thickener. To make it Vegan, swap out the meat with finely diced Tofu, use your favorite non-dairy milk and butter, and use a nice vegetable stock.
Cheers and enjoy, Drew Frederic