30 Minute Shepherd's Pie

I love trying out new recipes and sometimes try to make things that I have never eaten before! While browsing the net, I came across this recipe for a Shepherds pie and thought that it sounded great. I mean mashed potatoes and minced meat? What’s not to like here! After making this easy recipe I must say that it is fabulous. All it requires is a big green salad to go with it and you have a complete meal. I halved the recipe as it was only for the two of us and used minced chicken as I only had that on hand. Also, I added a few more spices like garam masala, coriander seeds powder etc (as usual to indianize it, hehehe ) as I found the meat a bit bland for my palette.

And guess what I did with the leftovers? Meat cutlets of course! Just mash up everything in a big bowl and make small round patties. Dip in a whipped egg and roll in bread crumbs. Shallow fry in a little oil and you have amazing cutlets!

Recipe Source – Rachel Ray from the Food Network

Ingredients (My changes in red)

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese (used cream cheese)
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
3/4 pounds ground beef or ground lamb (used ground chicken)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth (used chicken stock)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (omitted)
1 Tbsp Red Chili Powder
1 Tsp Coriander Seeds Powder
1 Tsp Garam Masala

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.

While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Add the spices. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Happy Eating!!