Shepard's Pie

It's been pretty stormy here in PDX, Saturday late afternoon about 140,000 people lost their power.  In fact my parents still don't have power...that's going on 45 hours now and they have a power line across their road (PGE is not making any friends that's for sure).  I can say I was very happy our power didn't go out because I was in the process of making this lovely Shepard's pie!  For the first time we had power and no one else did; our neighborhood is old with most of our power lines are above ground so our power goes out often.  This weekend we also finally made it out to the pumpkin patch, we went to Kruger Farm on Sauvie's Island and it was a blast!  I tried Captured by Porches pumpkin cider which is a mix of hard cider and pumpkin ale, it was delicious.  Onto the food, after reviewing multiple recipes for Shepard's Pie (or Cottage Pie) I came up with this awesome recipe.  Enjoy!

Serves 5

The Ingredients

 

3 medium to large golden potatoes, quartered

 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

 

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

 

3 cloves garlic, minced

 

2 cups vegetables—diced carrots, corn, peas

 

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef

 

1/2 cup vegetable broth

 

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

 

1/4 skim coconut milk (or any other type of milk)

 

2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used whole fat)

 

2 tablespoons creamy horseradish

 

Salt and pepper to taste

The Process

1.  Place the quartered potatoes in medium sized pot. Cover with at least an inch of cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender (about 20 minutes).

2.  While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onions. garlic, and carrots.  Cook until tender, about 6 to 10 minutes.

3.  Add ground beef, peas, and corn to the pan with the onions. Cook until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Add the Worcestershire sauce and vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, adding more broth if necessary to keep the meat from drying out.

4.  When the potatoes are done cooking (a fork can easily pierce), remove them from the pot and place them in a bowl with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, creamy horseradish, coconut milk, and yogurt.  Mash with a fork or potato masher, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  The potatoes should be nice a creamy at this point.

5.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread the beef, onions, and vegetables (if using) in an even layer in a large deep casserole dish (if there is a lot of extra liquid make sure to drain it out).  Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the ground beef. Rough up the surface of the mashed potatoes with a fork so there are peaks that will get well browned.

6.  Place in a 400°F oven and cook until browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. If necessary, broil for the last few minutes to help the surface of the mashed potatoes brown.

 

 

Also here we are at the pumpkin patch, the sun came out just for us!