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Shepard's Pie

A quick and easy Shepard's Pie.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Comfort Food
Cuisine: Irish
Servings: 6
Author: Rex

Ingredients

The Stew

  • 1 pound ground beef 80/20
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 4 carrots diced
  • 1 cup peas frozen
  • 1 tsp thyme dried
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1 tbs butter
  • 8 oz red wine
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Mashed Potatoes

  • 2 lbs Russet potatoes
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 3 tbs unsalted butter
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Egg Wash

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Boil 2lbs of potatoes until tender.
  • Drain and mix with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until creamy. Set aside.
  • Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
  • Saute carrots in the olive oil in a large skillet until they start to get tender, Roughly 5 minutes.
  • Add in the onions and saute for two minutes.
  • Fold in the meat, black pepper and thyme. Chop it up until browned.
  • Fold in the butter and frozen peas. Then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine.
  • Once the flour is incorporated, add the tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
  • Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce and then add the chicken stock.
  • Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer this until the sauce thickens. As you can see from the pics, you can pull the spatula through the sauce and it leaves a clean trail.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then remove the stew from the heat.
  • Grease 9x13 Pyrex dish with vegetable spray and then add the stew.
  • Layer the reserved mashed potatoes over top of the stew with a spoon.
  • Once the potatoes are on the stew, use a fork to etch a little texture into the potatoes. This will give the potatoes a little area to brown up and give you a nice crispy texture.
  • Brush the potatoes with the egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Place a sheet pan underneath the dish to catch any tasty bits that boil over. This can save you some scrubbing if the dish boils over a bit.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.
  • Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.