Shepherd's Pie

Meat. Mashed Potatoes. One Dish. Need I say more?

Dan and I love our bolognese. But sometimes you want to try new things! I'm not a big mashed potatoes fan - but it is one of Dan's favorite side dishes. So Shepherd's Pie is an obvious dish to wow him with!

Dan hadn't heard of Shepherd's pie before, and now it is one of those dishes we save for special occasions. He loves it so much that he could finish an entire dish on his own in one sitting!

One day, we decided to invite some friends over - our "taste testers" - with whom we try new recipes to see whether this dish is actually share-worthy or whether Dan and I are living in our own little la-la-land about it.

They were licking the dish to get at all the little end bits at the bottom - so I decided to share it with you.

Ingredients:

For the meat:

1 kg ground beed

3 carrots - chopped small

2 red bell peppers - chopped small

1 cup green peas

1 hot pepper - chopped (optional)

5 cloves garlic - chopped

1 spoon gluten free soy sauce (I use Akita - but whatever you find at your local supermarket works)

1 spoon date syrup (aka silan) or maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinammon

1 spoon cumin

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground black pepper (and a little more to taste)

1 tsp salt (and a little more to taste)

2 spoons oil

For the mashed potatoes:

4 large potatoes

1/2 cup milk (you can use nut milk if you keep kosher)

3 spoons butter (or margarine for kosher keepers)

2 cloves garlic - chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Fill a pot with water and place the potatoes in it. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes for approx. 1 hour, or until they are soft

2. In a wide, deep pan, heat the oil. Once it is hot, add the ground beef and the spices. Cook until the beef has browned.

3. Add the garlic and hot pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the vegetables. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt.

5. Add the soy sauce and the date/maple syrup. Mix and saute for another minute.

6. Add 1 cup of water, mix, cover and let cook for another 30 minutes. Check on it and mix every 10 minutes to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. After 30 minutes, uncover and cook for another 10 minutes, letting some of the water cook out and the sauce thicken. Then, remove from heat.

7. Meanwhile, check whether the potatoes have softened. Once they have, remove the pot from the fire and replace the hot water with cold. Run under cold water for 2 minutes. Let the potatoes cool down. Once they've cooled - peel them. The peel should just slide off easily after the cooking.

8. Prepare the mashed potatoes - aka - mash the potatoes. You can use a potato masher or a fork for this step.

9. Add in the milk, butter, garlic and spices and mix well.

10. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

11. In a deep dish fit for the oven, pour in your meat and veggie concoction. Spread it out over the bottom of the dish evenly. Then, pour on the mashed potatoes and even that at out as well. (Optional addition: you can sprinkle some parmesan over the top to add some crispiness to it)

12. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until the mashed potatoes turn a golden hue

13. Remove from oven and dig in!

Here are some pictures of the eating process....

Before:

During the meal:

After the meal: