Today's Healthy Recipe: Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is an English dish which is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Americans typically make Shepherd's Pie with beef. The English (and Australians and New Zealanders) call the beef dish a "cottage pie". Naming conventions aside, Shepherd's Pie is essentially a casserole, lined with cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked.

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons organic heavy cream
1 large egg yolk, preferably cage free organic egg
1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 pounds organic ground beef
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour (whole wheat for a healthier recipe)
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire*, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

*For a healthier, soy free Worcestershire sauce, see:

*Homemade Natural Worcestershire Sauce

(As always, for the very healthiest versions of any recipe choose organic content as much as possible.)

Instructions:

1, Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine organic cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.

2, While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef . Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

4. Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

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