Description
I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to not only make this classic shepherd’s pie recipe healthier, but to make it taste even better than the original.
Ingredients
Scale
Topping:
- 2 recipes Mashed Faux-Tatoes (or 4 pounds sweet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, which is about 7 medium-sized potatoes — peeled and cut into 1″ cubes)
- if you make the potatoes, add these:
- ¼ cup grass-fed butter
- ¼ cup minced chives
- 3 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Filling:
- 1 pound ground grass-fed beef or lamb
- 2 large carrots, sliced thin
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1½ cups green frozen peas, cooked according to package directions
Gravy:
- 2 cups beef or lamb stock
- 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ fresh ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup arrowroot starch
Instructions
- First make the mashed cauliflower. (You can also go with mashed sweet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, if you absolutely need that potato taste!)
- If you go with potatoes for the topping, put the cubed potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender about 10 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes by pouring them into a strainer, then put the potatoes back in the pot. Toss in the cauliflower, chives, garlic, butter, sea salt and pepper. Mash until well blended.
- For the filling, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat, carrots, and onions and cook, stirring often, until meat is browned and vegetables have begun to soften, 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and drain filling mixture to remove excess fat. Add the peas, stirring to combine. Pour filling in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- For the gravy, in a medium pot, combine the stock, cauliflower, onion, salt and pepper. Heat, uncovered, over medium-high heat until simmering. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add thyme, rosemary, garlic and remove from heat.
- In a high-powered blender, place Worcestershire and butter and pour stock mixture over top. Purée together until smooth. Add arrowroot starch and purée until smooth.
- Pour gravy evenly over filling in dish. Spread mashed faux-tatoes or mashed potatoes on top.
- Bake at 400 F for 35 minutes, or until the topping begins to brown and the gravy is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: Main dishes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: English
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1½ cups
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 6.1g
- Sodium: 754mg
- Fat: 29g
- Saturated Fat: 16.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.9g
- Trans Fat: 1.1g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 23.9g
- Cholesterol: 115mg