Drunken Shepherd's Pie
Pie Filling:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 Brussels Sprouts, sliced
1 lbs. of lean ground beef, browned
1 can of chopped tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen peas, thawed
1 can or bottle of your favorite beer
4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Pie Topping:
4 cups of mashed potatoes, made from scratch or instant
1/2 cup of greek yogurt, plain (or sour cream if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
pinch of paprika
Instructions:
In are large pot, add butter and olive oil until melted and sizzling. Then add the onions, red bell pepper, garlic and Brussels Sprouts. Saute until the vegetables are sweating, but not fully cooked.
Add the ground beef into the pot with the vegetables and stir, cooking until the beef is fully cooked and brown.
Into the pot with the vegetables and meat, add the can of chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, Worcestershire sauce, can or bottle of beer, tomato sauce and all remaining spices and seasonings.
Simmer on high until the liquid in the pot is reduced more than half. You want to cook it long enough to burn off all the alcohol and increase the flavor. The mixture should still have some moisture, it should not be bone dry.
Take a oiled pie plate, or if you want to make individual mini pies, oil a ceramic ramekin and then fill almost to the top with the beef and vegetable mixture. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and set it on a cookie sheet that has been covered with tin foil. Set the oven to broil, or 500 degrees.
Prepare your mashed potatoes, making sure they stay hot to warm. Do not let them get cold. Working quickly, mix in the greek yogurt, butter, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and blend completely. Take a gallon plastic bag and put all of your seasoned mashed potatoes in the bag pushing them toward the corner which you are going to use like a pastry bag to pipe on the mashed potatoes on the top of the Shepherd's Pie.
Snip off the corner of the gallon bag full of mashed potatoes, and pipe them over the top of your beef and vegetable mixture in your pie plate or ceramic mini ramekins. I usually just work in a circular motion working inward toward the middle, but feel free to do stripes or even your initals as seen above. ;-)
Take the egg and beat it until perfectly blended in a bowl. Using a brush, lightly brush on the beaten egg over piped on potatoes and then sprinkle with paprika for color.
Place the cookie sheet with your Shepherd's Pie or (pies) into the oven on the middle rack at 500 or broil for 10 minutes. Keep your eyes on them to make sure the tops turn golden brown but don't burn. Everything in the pie is cooked and warm at this point, so you just want to brown the tops of the potatoes.
Foodie Notes:
This is one of those wonderfully versatile "old shoes" type dishes, meaning you can literally clean out your fridge and put it in this pot and it will be absolutely delicious once it is cooked down with a can of beer and some ground beef. Feel free to substitute red wine for beer in this dish if you prefer.
Enjoy!
Comments