Over the holidays my sister made us shepherd’s pie. While I was in San Francisco last week, she made it for me again. It is really tasty stuff and easy to make. It’s also fairly cheap too. Boyfriend usually doesn’t eat meat at home, but he ate the meatarian shepherd’s pie my sister made and enjoyed it a lot.
Couple of notes:
1. Shepherd’s Pie is made with mutton or lamb. My sister’s recipe is a re-creation of the pie made in her college cafeteria because it’s not like any other recipe out there. There’s no sheep in it.
2. All amounts are approximate because I don’t really measure anything. Except the tomato paste. Don’t add a full can unless you really want a strong tomato flavor. But then it’s unbalanced.
3. The recipe is divided into ‘meat’ part and ‘mashed potato’ parts. The mashed potatoes can be a standalone side dish recipe.
4. Feel free to add more veggies. Peas make a nice addition. You might try bell pepper, or tomato puree instead of paste. Be creative and make this your own.
5. Soy crumbles are more expensive than real meat. So it could get cheaper than the cost breakdown I’ve listed.
Recipe is behind the cut.
Non-Sheep Shepherd’s Pie
Meat:
1 lb ground beef or 1-1.5 packages of soy crumbles
1/2 can of tomato paste
1/4-1/2c chopped onion
1-3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp thyme
salt
water
1/2-1c frozen corn
Mashed Potato:
4-5 large potatoes
4-6ozs sour cream
4 Tblsp butter
milk
1/4c grated cheese, cheddar
1. Boil some salted water and add a clove of garlic to the water. Peel the potatoes and boil them till tender.
2. Sweat the onions with garlic in olive oil and add the beef/soy crumbles and brown the meat. Drain the fat on the meat (not necessary on soy crumbles). Add the pepper, cumin, thyme, and salt.
3. Add the tomato paste and a little water. The meat should now be a little saucy, not too dry and not too wet. Remove from heat.
4. Drain the potatoes, mash them with the butter, cut into chunks. Splash in some milk and add the sour cream. Do not make the potatoes too soft, nor too stiff. Add as much salt as needed for taste.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Spoon the meat into a big casserole dish and smooth it out. Top the meat with frozen corn. Not too deeply, only 1-2 kernels deep.
7. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the corn and smooth it out in a nice decorative way.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
9. Put the casserole into the oven on the middle rack and bake for 15-20 minutes till the cheese is melted.
10. Set the broiler to high and brown the melted cheese. (about 5 minutes)
11. Pull out the casserole and let it cool for about 15 minutes and serve.
I make this in 2 9″ gratin dishes since boyfriend and I make one dish for dinner and then freeze one dish for later.
Cost breakdown:
Tomato paste – 75 cents, used half – 38 cents
Cheddar – 3.89 for block, used a few ozs – 78 cents
Sour cream – 1.19 for cup, used 6ozs – 89 cents
Soy crumbles – 5.49 for one package
Frozen Organic Corn – 3.49 for one package, used most of one – 2.79
Onion – 1.31 for one, used a third – 44 cents
Potatoes – 3.99 for 5lbs, used about 3lbs – 2.39
Butter – no idea, 50 cents
Spices – no idea, $1.50 total
Total $15.16 – Enough for 4-6 adults for entree sizes.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
This is my family’s all-time favorite dish – plus with 2 adults, 1 tot eating that means at least 3 or 4 lunches for me! Our recipe is slightly diff – 1 use mushrooms & peas in addition to corn, the gravy is Tony Cachere’s “Brown Gravy” not tomato, but otherwise, perfect! Quick tip – if you are making baked chicken or meatloaf or some other mashed-potato-friendly main dish one night – make double the potatoes and serve the shepherd’s pie a few days later. Easy-peasy!