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Pulling double duty this week in the DCDishes kitchen! It’s nearly St. Patricks Day and incidentally, today is Pi (Pie) day, (3.14)! I’d like to say I planned this out but making Shepherd’s Pie this week was truly a happy accident. After last year’s Guinness Stew was a success I was looking forward to making some more Irish comfort food. I’ve enjoyed some brilliant shepherd’s pie’s both homemade and at restaurants and felt it was time to throw my hat in the ring with my own recipe this year!

It should be noted that I’m calling this week’s dish a traditional shepherd’s pie.  This is because I actually did use ground lamb. Most restaurants in my area use ground beef as the protein in their recipe. This is traditionally a cottage pie. They both taste excellent in my opinion! On my first attempt at this hearty savory pie made of meat, sauce, veggies, and mashed potatoes, I wanted to be as close to authentic as I could! I truly was excited to make this dish.

Ultimately, the recipe below is my own inspired by a few recipes I read about online and some advice from cooks in my life. I love when I can identify the flavors I want in a dish and turn around and make something great of my own! I was so satisfied with this pie! I decided to make my mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot to save time. It’s really been a huge help whenI’m focused on another part of a meal. This savory shepherd’s pie really was divine. It exceeded my expectations. Being able to make this pie my own gave me such inspiration for my future meals. But I would be remiss if I didn’t pay homage to all the wonderful recipes for shepherd’s pie that have been shared with me over the years. Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Pi Day rolled all into one from DCDishes! Eat up!

Shepherd’s Pie

What You Need:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups mirepoix (mix of carrots, onion, & celery), finely chopped (I chopped 1 small yellow onion, 1 or 2 celery rib, & 1 carrot to get 2 cups)
• 1 pound ground lamb (or for cottage pie, ground beef)
• 1/4 cup white flour
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 and 3/4 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon)
• 1 beef bouillon cube (or 1/2 cup beef broth)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large quantity mashed potatoes (about 6 cups using 2.5 lbs russet potatoes, when mashing I had 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup heavy cream, and 1 stick of unsalted butter, and salt and pepper to taste)
• 1 egg, beaten
• grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:
Click here to Cook With Me!

• Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
• Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil to your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic cloves and finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently until veggies are softened.
• Increase heat to high and add in the beef. Cook, breaking up the lamb or beef until browned through. Add in flour and cook an additional minute to cook off the flour taste. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in the frozen peas or corn, can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, beef bouillon cube or broth, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, and 2 bay leaves.
• Bring this mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to medium and bring the mixture to a rapid simmer. Cook for 25-35 minutes at medium heat, stirring every 5 or so minutes until you have a good thickened gravy. Remove from heat.
• While mixture is cooling, prepare your mashed potatoes if you haven’t already.  I made mine in my Instant Pot.
• Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top. Brush with egg and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if using.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Broil for 1-2 minutes on high to get the very tops of the potatoes crispy! Carefully remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!

Cook With Me:

• Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
• Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil to your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic cloves and finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently until veggies are softened.
  

  
  Increase heat to high and add in the beef. Cook, breaking up the lamb or beef until browned through. Add in flour and cook an additional minute to cook off the flour taste. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in the frozen peas or corn, can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, beef bouillon cube or broth, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, and 2 bay leaves.
  

  

  

  

  

  
  Bring this mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to medium and bring the mixture to a rapid simmer. Cook for 25-35 minutes at medium heat, stirring every 5 or so minutes until you have a good thickened gravy. Remove from heat.
• While mixture is cooling, prepare your mashed potatoes if you haven’t already.  I made mine in my Instant Pot.
• Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top. Brush with egg and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if using.
  

  
  Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Broil for 1-2 minutes on high to get the very tops of the potatoes crispy! Carefully remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy!