March 13th, 2011
Shepherd’s Pie, Comfort Food, Recipe, Easy, Feeds a Crowd, A Little Caloric?, Well, Who Cares?
Comfort food can be defined as the one that brings you some sort of sense of well-being; simple and familiar dishes, some of them bring nostalgic thoughts to my mind. Its definition first appeared in the dictionary in 1977. It’s funny how there has been a resurgence in restaurants serving these types of foods. Homecooking it’s the best, admit it. Really.
But if you ask a kid what would be his comfort food , the answer might be more like fast food, ice cream, potato chips or pizza. Hey, I love pizza too. But, what I mean is the foods that make you take a breath and relax.
One of such recipes, if I may call mine that, is the Shepherd’s Pie. In earlier recipe books the pie dish was lined with mashed potatoes on the bottom, as well as the top. That sounds interesting, but mine is just the top.
My recipe of a Shepherd’s Pie changes all the time. I add to the meat pretty much anything I have at hand in the kitchen. Served with a salad or a vegetable is so easy, and leftovers are delicious, as well. So here is my version of this comfort food.
Shepherd’s Pie
For the mashed potatoes you will need:
3 or 4 baking potatoes
8 ounce container of sour cream
1 or 2 large containers of low salt chicken broth (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
About 1/4 cup of milk
salt and pepper to taste
For the filling:
2 lbs. ground sirloin
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
A sprinkle of garlic powder, optional
1 small can of tomato sauce
2 small boxes of raisins (1.5 ounce boxes)
1 grated carrot (or 2, if you want)
3/4 chopped Spanish Olives (or more, if you want)
1 tsp. Tabasco (Want more kick? Then, you know what to do.)
1/2 cup of peas (they were in the refrigerator that day, so it is optional, but a good addition)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot put the chicken broth to boil for the potatoes. I like broth because it gives them a better flavor. I do not peel my potatoes and I also cut them before placing them in the pot. Faster cooking, you know.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and put them in a large container so that you can mash them. I then add butter, mash, add sour cream, keep mashing, add salt and pepper to taste. Put aside.
In a large frying pan just put a tablespoon or so of olive oil and add the onions. Cook them for a few minutes and then add the ground sirloin breaking it up as it cooks.
Once the meat has a good cooking rhythm then add the rest, except the peas. Adjust your seasonings.
In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish put all the meat filling in, sprinkle the peas on top.
Then, spread the mashed potatoes.
Place in the oven.
Bake in the oven until the mashed potatoes have a nice crust. Just like in the picture.
A salad? That’s what I had. Perfect for cold and rainy nights.
Enjoy it and most of all, make it your own.
P.S. This recipe is gluten free.
Talk to you later….
Tags: Comfort Food, Easy, Easy Recipe, Gluten Free, gluten free recipe, Recipe, Recipes, Shepherd's Pie
