The first rule of Shepherd’s Pie is that it must use up your leftovers in a very delicious way. The second rule of Shepherd’s Pie is that it must be extremely easy to make. And this one is even easier than that.
This is just a sort of rough layout of what to do; feel free to throw in whatever other vegetables you might have handy (mushrooms, for example, would be a nice addition), to play with the seasonings a bit, or to switch out the beef for lamb (that’s actually the more traditional way to do Shepherd’s Pie, but I don’t like lamb).
LAZY LADY SHEPHERD’S PIE
What you need:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp summer savory (optional; you can substitute thyme if that’s what you have)
About 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Garlic powder
1 bag frozen peas & carrots (alt: 1 bag frozen peas + 1 cup chopped baby carrots)
1 cup beef stock
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
What you do:
1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Boil potatoes in salted boiling water until very tender. Drain and mash up with butter, cream, salt, and maybe a little garlic powder. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, cook the ground beef and onion in a large skillet with some olive oil, a little salt & pepper, and a little summer savory if you have some handy.
4. After the meat is cooked through, add the frozen peas & carrots and continue cooking another few minutes, stirring constantly (alt: if you’re using fresh baby carrots, add them to the meat at the same time as the onions).
5. Spoon meat/vegetable mixture into a casserole dish, spreading it out evenly over the bottom.
6. Whisk together the flour and broth and pour it into the same skillet that you used to cook the meat. Put skillet over low heat and whisk constantly for a minute or two, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom, until you have a nice, creamy gravy.
7. Pour gravy over meat/vegetable mixture, and then top with potatoes.
8. Broil a few minutes, or until potatoes are lightly browned, as pictured above (place the casserole dish just a few inches from the broiler for best results).
Image via LaPetitChinoise (the ones I took last night didn’t come out, but I’ll replace this photo with one of my own when I make it again later this week!)
