Shepherd's pie

Hello lovelies,

on today's post I will write about one of the best meals that I made recently and all I wanted to say was" where have you been all my life?" . it so delicious and easy. 

but before going to the recipe I wanted to tell you something. I did the most idiotic thing few days ago. let me begin the story by this: it was Thursday and again that time of the month for me. I was so sick so I just worked half day and came back home to rest. as I was lying on my bed I thought I kinda pass my time on the internet and took my phone ( now I was lying and holding my phone up in  the air ) and start to play. thing led to another and somehow I decided to go to my Picasa online albums ( don't know why) and saw some old albums that were there ( just for sharing with friends or family) and I thought to myself let's delete those I have them on my computer and I know nobody wants to see them. so I start deleting one by one and by mistake I deleted my blogger's album ( about 500 photos). at first I did not understand what I just did. but after I was finished deleting looked at the remaining albums and then it hit me. then I went to a huge panic and kinda screaming at myself. did a little research and yes I deleted all the photos of my blog and there is nothing I could do about them. they are all gone :( 

I am still mad at myself and all I did in the past few days was going back at my posts one by one and inserting their pictures. an even the saddest part is that some of the old ones, I don't have the pictures anymore.so that's why I did not post anything since Thursday, I was being busy cursing at myself and uploading old photos ;)

So back to the subject of this post, here is the recipe and I highly recommend trying this :) 

Ingredients for the filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter  

1 large onion (chopped finely )

2 medium carrots ( peeled and chopped finely) 

2 pounds ground beef  

salt and black pepper  

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour  

1 tablespoon tomato paste  

1/4 cup heavy cream  

1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth ( I did not use this one and it ended up fine, so it's your choice) 

3/4 cup beer (or non-alcoholic beer would also be fine) or dry red wine ( I used wine) 

2 tablespoons soy sauce  

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves ( I did not have fresh so used dry ones) 

1 cup frozen peas (or mixed veggies of your choice)

Ingredients for the topping:

2 1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

1/3 cup heavy cream   

1 egg, beaten 

2 green onions sliced

First start by making the filling: heat the butter in a large skillet at medium temperature and when it become hot add the onion and carrots, and cook for about 8-10 minutes so they become soft. 

Then add meat, salt and pepper. let them cook and break up the meat with wooden spoon until they get browned about 10 minutes. 

Add the flour and tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute. 

Add cream and cook for about 1 minute. Add broth, beer ( or wine), soy sauce, and thyme and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick but still saucy, for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat, stir in peas (or mixed veg), adjust seasonings, and transfer to broiler-safe 2-quart casserole dish.

For the topping: 

Before starting the topping, heat up your oven to 350C . then cook potatoes in a large sauce pan with  1/2 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover them over high heat. when the water starts to boil reduce heat to medium cook them for about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes and return them to saucepan, and mash them with butter and cream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Over the meat put a layer of sliced green onion ( you could skip this step, I added it because I like the taste of mashed potato with green onions). then spread potatoes over the filling, using spatula to smooth top. Brush with egg and bake until filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook until top is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let it cool around 10 minutes. then it is ready to serve.

    

Comment: you could make this ahead, just prepare the meat but stop right before adding the peas. then store it in a airtight container and keep it in fridge for maximum of 2 days. when you want to cook the pie just reheat the filling, add the peas and continue the rest of the steps. 

Hope you try this recipe and enjoy as well.

have a great Sunday everyone

Mania