Shepard’s Pie
As the weather slowly gets cooler and cooler, this dish is a great way to feed the whole family and sneak in a ton of veggies if you have any picky eaters. California based Superior Farms provides great lamb that I always look for and then I load the rest up with as many root veggies as I can find. There are easy ways to make this keto and gluten free and I’ll add those to the tips section at the end.
What you need;
1 carrot, peeled and medium diced
1 white onion, medium diced
1 cup of fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 turnip, beet, and/or rutabaga, peeled and medium dice
1 cup of mushrooms
1 pound of ground lamb
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
2 sprig thyme, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 ounce parsley, chopped
2 ounces ap flour
1 Guinness ale
1 cup beef broth
Topping
3 Idaho or russet potatoes
2 egg
2 ounces Baby Bear Biscuits herb butter
4 ounces milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Step by step
To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then quarter the potatoes and start boiling them with a big pinch of salt while you prepare your lamb filling. Bring the a large cast iron pan to a medium-high heat and brown the lamb. Remove the lamb and sear the remaining vegetables, starting with the hardest vegetables to the softest.
When everything is seared, remove the vegetables from the pan but leave any remaining fat. If there isn’t about an ounce of fat left in the pan then you can add some butter or olive oil and then add the flour and cook the roux. Add the beer and let it simmer for about a minute to cook out the alcohol as it thickens and then add the beef stock and simmer to thicken. Once it thickens add the lamb and vegetable mix back with the fresh chopped herbs and cook on low heat as you prepare the potato topping.
Once the potatoes are tender, drain the water from the potatoes from the pot. Add the milk and the herb butter and mash with either a potato masher or a strong whisk and when they are mashed smooth season with salt and pepper to taste and then mix in 1 of the eggs.
With your potato mix done you will take the lamb mix off of the heat and spread the potato mix across the top. Smooth it out and then make even depressions across the top. Take your final egg and mix it in a small bowl and brush it across the top of the Shepard’s pie and then place it in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top starts to get some color. Bake it over a sheet tray in case any of the gravy drips off of the side to keep your oven clean.
Let it rest and then scoop and enjoy! This dish goes great with a nice simple salad like arugula simply dressed with a little lemon juice and olive oil. Enjoy!
Tips
To make this dish Keto friendly, you would simply use mashed cauliflower for the potato topping and then use a slurry for the gravy instead of the flour-based roux. Two tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of water should be enough to replace the roux and you would deglaze the pan with the beer, then simmer, add the beef stock, and finally you would add the slurry and simmer until thickened. This would be the way to make this gluten free as well! Having an extra tub of Baby Bear Biscuit’s herb butter on hand is always a good tip.
