- It is cold and rainy outside today and it's been this way all week. And that's when my body starts
to crave cozy comfort foods that warm you from the inside out. You guys have also been
requesting more one-pan dishes. So today I've got the perfect, one-pan, comfort food, classic recipe
and that's shepherd's pie. A classic shepherd's pie recipe is layered with minced meat and veggies on the bottom in a savory rich sauce and topped with a light and
fluffy mashed potatoes on top that form a delicious crust. I'm keeping today's recipe pretty close to the traditional Irish version but I'll also give you
some tips and variations to make this recipe low-carb,
keto and vegan-friendly. So, let's dive right in. All right, I said this was a
one-pan recipe in the intro but I wasn't thinking
about cooking the potatoes. So, scratch that. But I do use an oven-safe
pan as you'll see in a second that goes straight from
the stovetop to the oven. So, in the end, I use one pot and one pan which still makes this an
easy recipe to whip up. To get started, peel and quarter two pounds of russet potatoes, which is about three potatoes. If your potatoes are
larger like these ones, you can cut them into
chunks rather than quarters and they'll cook a little faster, as well. I'm using russet potatoes
as it's more classic, but you could use sweet potatoes for a vibrant orange
topping or even cauliflower for a low-carb mashed cauliflower topping. And I have recipes for both of
those options on my website. Add the potato chunks to a pot
and fill it with cold water until they're just covered. Turn the heat to high and
bring the water to a boil. Then, set a timer and cook the potatoes for about 13 to 15 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, add half a cup of milk to a small pot and you could use non-dairy milk, as well, along with half a cup of butter or ghee. Then, warm this up until it's melted. When the potatoes are done, they'll be soft when pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return them to the pot to save getting another bowl dirty. And if you are serving these up as a simple mashed potatoes side dish, returning them to the hot pot
also keeps the potatoes warm. Add the melted butter and milk along with salt and pepper
to the mashed potatoes and use a handheld masher to mash them up until they're nice and fluffy. If they're too stiff,
you can always more milk to get a fluffier consistency. Once you're done mashing, set these aside and we'll get started on
the meat and veggie filling. Preheat your oven to
400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, peel and finally dice two carrots. And I'm using my favorite Y Peeler which I have linked on the
shop page on my website. To create a small dice on the carrots, I just trim off the ends and
then slice each carrot in half and then into thin strips lengthwise. Then, all you have to do is cut across for that perfect small dice. If your carrots are really long, you can cut them in half
first then half lengthwise to make them easier to cut into strips. Next, we'll dice up two stalks of celery. I think many shepherd's pie recipes only call for one stalk of celery, but you know my motto is always
the more veggies the better. So, I'm a fan of adding more celery. Trim the ends off the celery, slice them into strips lengthwise, and cut across for a
similarly-sized dice to our carrots. The last veggie we'll
dice up is a yellow onion. And you guys would be very proud of me as I actually remembered
to refrigerate the onion before slicing today. So, no tears were shed in
the making of this video. Add two tablespoons of olive
oil to a pan on medium heat and add the diced onion. Then, mince two garlic cloves and saute that together with
the onion for a minute or so. Add the diced carrots, diced celery, and one and a half pounds
of ground lamb to the pan. Ground lamb is what's traditionally
used in shepherd's pie, though often in the US you'll
find ground beef used instead. And if you do that, it's
actually called a cottage pie and not a shepherd's pie. If you don't eat a lot of lamb, I say give the original version a try. I really think you'll love it. And if you're vegan or vegetarian, you could also swap a mix
of mushrooms and lentils for the meat. So, cook the lamb and veggies
for about eight to 10 minutes or until the meat is browned, making sure to break it
up with your spatula. Some fat may accumulate
in the bottom of the pan and you'll want to drain that off. So what I do is add a lid, take it over to the sink, and pour it off. Next, you'll add one cup of chicken broth, one and a half tablespoons
of tomato paste, and this is what helps
to thicken up our sauce and add flavor without
the need for any flour, and one tablespoon of
Worcestershire sauce. If you're gluten-free, you
do need to be extra careful which brand of
Worcestershire sauce you buy and I've linked four gluten-free options on the full recipe blog post. Quickly chop up some
fresh rosemary and thyme and add that to the pan,
along with salt and pepper. In a pinch, you could
use dried spices as well, though I prefer fresh in this recipe. Stir and simmer these ingredients together for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened up. Our last ingredient is
one cup of frozen peas. So add that to the pan, give
it a stir, turn off your stove, and then flatten the meat mixture down with the back of your spatula. Dollop the mashed potatoes
on top of the meat mixture and use a spoon or spatula to
spread it flat to the edges. And you really do wanna go
all the way to the edges with the mashed potatoes to
form a seal across the top and prevent the sauce from boiling up. If you'd like, you could
use the back of your spoon or a fork to create a texture
in the topping, as well. (happy music) Bake the shepherd's pie
for 25 to 30 minutes. It should be slightly golden on top though you could always
turn on the top broiler for a minute or two, as well. When you take it out of the oven, it will smell amazing and
the mashed potato topping will have formed this beautiful crust. Before serving, I like to add a little sprinkle of fresh parsley and then I'll scoop out a
generous portion on each plate. This savory comfort food recipe is perfect for the colder months and always seems to get gobbled up fast so I'm confident you're
gonna love it, as well. I hope you guys enjoyed today's video and if you did make sure
to give it a thumbs up, hit that subscribe button, and I will see you again
in next week's video.
