Friday, October 24, 2008

Shepherd's Pie pt. 2 (riffing on Kali Orexi's riff)

shepherds pie pt 2

::: Constables Larder has moved to http://constableslarder.com :::

This is where the blogosphere gets fun. The other week, I blogged our usual Shepherd's Pie recipe. Today I discovered that Kali Orexi (aka Maria), a blogger also here in the New York area, made her version (link to her post). So tonight, I bumped my previous cooking plans and riffed off of her version (not having the exact ingredients in my pantry) and loved the result. Thanks Maria!

The key differences are adding grated cheese to the potatoes, and using a different spice base for the meat mix. In some ways, this version is richer than our usual and I was glad to have an Italian red wine with decent body to accompany. Then again, I'm always glad to have a full bodied red, who am I kidding!


Mashed Potatoes Topping
6 large red boiling potatoes, peeled
1 cup milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or pecorino romano)
salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until cooked all the way through (or steam them). You can cut them into smaller pieces to speed cooking. Drain the potatoes, return to the pot, add the butter and mash. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, grated cheese, and 1/2 cup milk. Taste for salt. Continue adding milk until the mashed potatoes are quite moist without crossing over into being liquid.

The Base
1 lb of ground beef
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 medium onions, or 1 large, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 small/medium zucchini, grated
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 to 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 to 1/2 tsp ground all spice
2 pinches of ground cumin
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 to 2 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper

In a cast iron or oven-proof pan, brown the ground beef and use the spatula to break it up into small bits. Cook with a few pinches of salt, cinnamon and all spice. Remove any excess liquid and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F

Add a little olive oil to the pan and saute the garlic and onions until the onions start turning translucent, then add the carrots and a few pinches of salt, cinnamon, all spice, cumin, a pinch of nutmeg and some ground pepper. Cook for several minutes, then add the grated zucchini and tomato paste. Once that is folded in and cooking, add the wine. Let this cook for several minutes and stir in the ground beef.

Cook it all together for another five minutes and taste for salt and spices (I kept the spices at a level where they were there but still subtle). At this stage, I wanted to sweeten the mixture up a little bit more, so added the ketchup.

If the mixture starts to dry out, add a little bit of water. Once you are happy with the taste of the mixture, turn off the heat and flatten the top of the mixture. Carefully spoon your mashed potatoes on top, and using the back of a fork, smooth it around. As noted before, I like to then decorate the top with the tines.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and let the top brown (but not burn). Let the shepherds pie rest for a few minutes before serving.

shepherds pie pt 2

10 comments:

Maria said...

Thank YOU Giff for being the original inspiration here! Love the allspice and the cumin to go with the cinnamon--gives it a distinct Middle Eastern feel. So many possibilities ...

Peter M said...

OK, just saw Pt.1 at Maria's and now this...I can smell this emanating from the oven...Ummm!

Ivy said...

Both shepherd's pies sound delicious and Maria did a lovely twist to your recipe.

Giff said...

I have to say that my 3 yr old demanded seconds of this. It was a big hit with everyone, and a great variation on shepherd's pie.

Dee said...

this spice combination almost sounds like Mousaka, Mmmm! Nice, will have to give this one a try!

Anonymous said...

That's FAB! This is what happened to me with the chicken cacciatora. Online blogging recipes always have an echo and that is the beauty of blogging. Both your recipes are fantastic though. Thank you for the link too. It really spiced my numbers last week!

Anonymous said...

That looks and sounds fantastic! What a wonderful variation.

Stacey Snacks said...

Ok, are you trying to tell me something?
No, I haven't made version #1 yet!

I saw Peter M's version of a fish pie with rosti, and it reminded me of your shepherd's pie.

I will try to keep up with you.

Anonymous said...

Wow. We love food like this. The spices in the meat mix have me really wanting to try it. I just happen to have the perfect skillet!

Anonymous said...

I love shepherd's pie - I ate it all the time growing up in England. Since moving to the States I have only ever seen it in British and Irish pubs though!