30-Minute Shepherd's Pie

By mytastytreasures

Shepherd’s pie, a British invention, was originally created as a way to use up leftovers from Sunday dinners of lamb and potatoes. Sunday's roast was baked into a potato-crusted casserole and called cottage pie.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 pounds ground beef
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup beef stock or broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preparation

Step 1

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

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. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth, tomato paste, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas and corn.

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.