Today I’m going to share my personal recipe for Shepherd’s Pie!
Shepherd’s Pie is a hardy (hearty?) casserole, it’s filling AND nutritious, that satisfies my cozies and my belly. I love making this in the winter because it’s a delicious hot meal that’s filling and great for your body. I put a bit of a unique spin on mine (at least I’ve never heard anyone else trying this) and that’s with cranberries cooked in with the meat. Cranberries add a bit of tartness and zing that kicks it up a notch.
A basic shepherd’s pie has 3 key layers:
- Base Layer: Ground Meat (Beef or Lamb)
- Middle Layer: Creamed Corn
- Top Layer: Mashed Potatoes and cheese sprinkled on top
My family has always used ground beef for the meat, I’ve honestly never tried a shepherd’s pie with lamb but I’d love to try it some day, that’s just hard to come by in my area.
We use creamed corn, but I often do a mix of creamed corn and canned “nibblets”.
I tend to use 1-2 cans (or both 1 can of creamed corn and one can of nibblets) – basically whatever I have on hand in the pantry.
For extra vegetables, sometimes I mix in peas with the mashed potatoes for even more nutrients. I love a nice mix of mashed taters and peas.
Ingredients
[ ] Optional – Raw Frozen Cranberries
[ ] Lean Ground Meat ; 500g
[ ] 1-2x cans of Creamed Corn
[ ] Worcestershire Sauce OR Okonoyami Sauce OR Tonkatsu to taste ; 2 tbsp (15 mL)
[ ] Potatoes of your local variety ; 3-4 potatoes
[ ] Salted Butter
[ ] Optional – Half-Cup of Milk, Cream, or Soy Milk
Instructions
- Bring a pot to a boil with enough water to cover the amount of potatoes you’d like to use, about 20 minutes.
- Hint: You can pierce the potatoes with a fork to check if their done, if they’re tender / easy to piece they’re all cooked and ready for mashing.
- If you’re using washed new potatoes you don’t need to peel them
- Heat a frying pan with a bit of oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil), toss in the raw/frozen cranberries and the ground meat
- As you cook the meat and cranberries together, mix in Worcestershire Sauce OR Okonoyami Sauce OR Tonkatsu Sauce, I will use whichever I have on-hand but I prefer Okonoyami Sauce when I can get it. I just eyeball the amount based on my taste preferences but it would be about 1-2tbsp (15 mL) or less.
- Butter your casserole dish
- Mash your potatoes, I mix in salted butter and soy milk to make them creamier and easier to spread
- After the meat is cooked, drain the oil or scoop the meat into your casserole dish – drain off as much oil as possible
- Cover the ground meat with a layer of creamed corn
- Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the corn
- Optional: Season the top with paprika
- Bake for 45 mins at 375F (190C)
- Add cheese for the last 10 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!
If you try the recipe, let me know what you think in the comments!
Enjoy ~ Serenity
