Shepherd’s pie, aka Cottage Pie, is a traditional English dish made with a ground meat and vegetable mixture covered with mashed potatoes. The traditional meat used is lamb, though it’s often substituted with ground beef in America.
I was craving comfort food and decided to try a little something different with shepherd’s pie. This lighter, more nutrient packed version of the dish uses ground turkey in place of ground lamb or beef and replaces some of the white potatoes with carrots and one of my newfound loves, sweet potatoes.
This recipe is definitely going on my list of “keepers”. The sweet potato and carrot in the topping add a nice, subtle sweetness, and the turkey/veg mix is well flavored with the tomato paste, onion, and parsley. B and I both enjoyed it, and I doubt that either of us would’ve guessed that it contained so many healthy ingredients had we not known.
makes 4-6 servings
Ingredients
FOR THE TOPPING
adapted from Sneaky Veggies by Chris Fisk
2 Russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large (2 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. butter
3-4 Tbsp. buttermilk or milk
salt to taste
FOR THE FILLING
2-3 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 package ground turkey (1 1/4 lbs.)
1 cup frozen “classic” vegetable mix (diced carrots, corn, and green beans), thawed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ready a 9×9 inch baking pan.
2. Place carrots and both types of potatoes into a large saucepan. Cover with water, add a generous pinch of salt, and place over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until carrots and potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash using a hand masher, a hand mixer, or a ricer. Add butter and buttermilk or milk. Salt to taste. Cover and set aside
3. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, covering the bottom of the pan with the canola oil. Add the onions and saute until they begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. If needed (turkey generally doesn’t contain much fat), drain any excess oil from the turkey. Add tomato paste, dried parsley, chicken broth, and vegetable mix and stir until incorporated. Reduce heat and cook another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from heat.
4. Spoon meat and vegetable mixture into the baking pan and spread until you have an even layer. Spoon potato and carrot mixture over the top of the meat and vegetable mixture. Spread until layer is even. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Posted in Favorites, Food, Main Dishes | 3 Comments »
I make this dish, too! It looks good! I may have to try your recipe! Mine is a little different then we put shredded cheddar cheese on top of the mashed potato’s!
posted: April 29th, 2008 at 5:26 amP.s.- I like the domain name, its cute!!!
Amy, adding cheese on top is a great idea. Glad you like the domain name.
posted: April 29th, 2008 at 8:03 pmI know this is an old post but I thought you might be interested to know that in England we call it a Shepherds Pie if its lamb and a Cottage Pie if its beef!
Adding cheese is definitely a great idea. I have always done this and it gives you a lovely golden brown, crispy, cheesy top. Yum yum!
posted: October 31st, 2009 at 1:53 pm