An Inspired Cook

There are a lot of versions of Shepherd’s Pie, depending on where you grew up or what part of the country you reside.  I’ve always viewed it as a casserole made up of seasoned ground beef and mixed vegetables topped with buttery mashed potatoes.  It’s been forever since I’ve made a traditional Shepherd’s Pie simply because Joe doesn’t like many of the vegetables.  However, the one thing that will entice him to taste something new is to add green chile, so I made a Shepherds pie with green chile as the main event.   And to my amazement he liked it, so much so that I didn’t have to eat leftovers all week.  Here in New Mexico the leaves are changing color and it’s damp with rain showers that are welcome, however the fall temperatures are dropping which sometimes makes it feel more like a winter day.  On days like these I find myself yearning for some comfort food to take away the chills.  Sitting in front of the fire with a warm shepherd’s pie takes away that chill, at least for a little while.

Brown 1 pound of ground beef in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  When cooked through, drain any excess grease.  Add diced carrot and onion to the pan and saute over medium heat.

As the carrots and onions begin to sweat it out and soften, add the grated garlic and cook for just a minute until it becomes fragrant.

Add 1/3 cup of roasted corn.  Fresh corn cut from the cob and roasted would have been preferable but I didn’t have any.  My back-up for just such occasions is a frozen bag of Trader Joe’s roasted corn.  It works well in a pinch.

I added 2 roasted and chopped green chiles along with 1 diced roma tomato.   My chile this year isn’t very hot so you can adjust the chile based on how hot you would like.

Everything coming along nicely and the aroma is making my kitchen a most comfy place to be.

Time to add some beef broth, approximately 3/4 cup will do.

Also add in some Worcestershire sauce for flavor.  I thought I had a bottle of Worcestershire but nope, I don’t have quite all my pantry staples yet.  The only thing I had on hand was some Soy Sauce which worked well, it has that same salty taste without the smokiness.  Let that simmer on the stove while the liquids cook down and evaporate.

While the ground beef filling is simmering on the stove, I have time to make the mashed potatoes.  I made the same amount as my Green Chile and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes recipe.  Go to the link for step by step instructions.

Once the liquids have evaporated from the meat filling, spoon the mashed potatoes over the filling.  Use a fork to spread the potatoes around in a circular pattern.  Place the skillet in a preheated 375 oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it begins to brown slightly on top.  Garnish with dried parsley.




Shepherd’s Pie . . . New Mexico Style

1 pound Ground Beef, lean
1 clove Garlic
1/2 Onion, diced
1 Carrot, small dice
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1/3 cup Roasted Corn, freshly roasted or frozen
2 Hatch Green Chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup Beef Broth, I used Better than Broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Dried Parsley, optional
Green Chile and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows

Brown ground beef over medium high heat in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.  When browned, drain any excess grease. Add diced carrots and onions to the skillet and let the vegetables simmer over medium heat until they soften.  Add the grated garlic and cook for about 1 minute, just until it becomes fragrant.  Add diced green chile and tomato to the mix along with the roasted corn.  Stir to blend everything together, then add the beef broth and worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a simmer and let cook until the liquids have evaporated.

Make green chile and cheddar mashed potatoes according to recipe.  Spoon mashed potatoes over the beef mixture.  Use a fork to spread the potatoes evenly over the beef mixture.  Place skillet in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until potatoes are slightly browned on top.  Sprinkle dried parsley over top if desired.

Green Chile and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
1 1/2 – 2  cups Cheddar Cheese, grated
1/2 cup Hatch Green Chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Half and Half
Salt to taste

Peel and dice 2 pounds of russet potatoes.  Place potatoes into a heavy bottomed 3 quart stock pot and cover with water. Heat on high until potatoes come to a boil. Continue to boil 25 – 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and easily break apart with a fork.  Drain potatoes.

Add butter and half and half.  Mash potatoes until all butter has melted and well blended.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheddar cheese and stir while it melts into the potatoes.  Add the green chile and fold into the potatoes.  Salt to taste.  If the texture of the potatoes is to stiff, add additional half and half, if too thin, add additional grated cheddar.