Shepherd’s pie is a great British classic that is absolutely delicious and is one of those comfort foods that you are going to love. Place a large skillet with oil on medium heat then add in your ground beef and break that up as you can with a spoon. Let your ground beef cook until brown then seasons with some salt and pepper then give it a little stir.

Remove the ground beef and place it into a large bowl leaving behind any drippings then add your onions, celery, and carrots into the pan. Add a little oil in the pan then let that cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Meanwhile, mash your boiled potatoes with a potato masher then set that aside. Back to your skillet, add in the ground beef, and give everything a nice toss then add in a little flour to thicken the sauce.

Cook that for around 30 seconds just to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add in tomato paste, let it cooks for a few then you are also going to add in some red wine. You can leave the red wine out of your cooking if you don’t want t use it.  Let that cook for a little bit then add your stock and then season that up. Let you filling simmer for about fifteen minutes while you preheat your oven to 453 degrees Fahrenheit. Once your filling has b[cooked and is ready, remove from the heat then pour the mixture into a casserole dish, level it the set it aside.

Heat up some skim milk then add in butter, let it melt and simmer for a few minutes then add it to the mashed potatoes. Mix that in the mashed potatoes until you have an almost runny mixture, season it then add in an egg yolk to give it the golden color. Pour the mashed potatoes mixture right over the top of your filling. Bake your shepherd’s pie in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is beautifully golden brown.

Ingredients;

  • 1 lb of Ground beef
  • 1 Large Onion, diced
  • A stalk of Celery, diced
  • 2 Carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp of All-Purpose Flour
  • 2Tbsp of Tomato Paste
  • ½ cup of Red Wine
  • 1 cup of Beef Stock
  • 1 tsp of Fresh Rosemary, finely minced

For the mashed potato topping;

  • 2 lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • 1/2 cup of Skim Milk
  • 1/2 cup of Half and Half or Cream
  • 3 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions;

  1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and let it get nice and hot.
  2. Add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon, cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until it’s pretty much fully cooked through.
  3. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  4. In the same pan, add the chopped onions carrots, celery, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
  5. Allow the veggies to cook for about 7 to 9 minutes or until they have developed some color and started to cook down a bit.
  6. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
  7. Add the ground beef back into the skillet and toss everything together, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds
  8. Add the tomato paste and stir it in well allowing it to cool for just a few seconds
  9. Add the wine and cook it for about a minute or until it has cooled down a bit and reduced slightly.
  10. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and rosemary and let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

For the mashed potato topping;

  1. Cook the potatoes in some boiling water until cooked through and tender, drain and place in a large bowl.
  2. Mash the potatoes either with a potato masher or a potato ricer, set aside for a few minutes.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat together the milk, cream, and butter so it’s nice and hot.
  4. Add the warm milk and stock mixture to the mashed potatoes along with the sour cream and egg yolk, mix everything well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  6. Lightly brush about 1 tsp of olive oil in the bottom and sides of a large casserole dish, add the meat mixture and then top it with the mashed potatoes.
  7. Spread it evenly and place it in the oven and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.