JoJo’s Shepherd’s Pie (Double Batch)

There’s something so comforting about a childhood favourite… ‘just like Mum used to make’… Maybe not just like Mum used to make because I like to tweak those basic recipes; sometimes to make it a little more yummy, sometimes to beef up the veggies, and always to covert it to gluten/dairy free. So here it is, my take on the old classic family Shepherds Pie! I generally do a double batch of meat and freeze half for a quick easy meal at another time. Cooking in big batches is more economical because you can buy in bulk, it also means there will be one day you get home from work or the kids are going nuts that you don’t have to cook! YAY! The recipe is easily halved if you prefer.

Ingredients

1kg beef mince
1 Brown Onion, Chopped
4 Medium Carrots, Chopped
4 Celery Sticks, Chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup mushrooms, finely diced
2 tbsp Cornflour (Tapioca or Arrowroot would also work)
800ml Beef Stock
140g Tomato Paste –a whole tub (In a pinch I have used pizza sauce)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
Worcestershire Sauce (gluten free) – I eyeball this, probably 6 shakes of the bottle.
Oil

Method

Cover the bottom of a pan with oil. Sauté Onion, Carrots and Celery until onion is translucent. Add mince and stir until browned. Add cornflour and stir to coat the meat. Add stock, tomato paste, herbs and Worcestershire sauce and stir through. Simmer until sauce thickens (around 30 minutes). Add in peas and mushrooms and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. 

If the sauce still has a lot of liquid, spoon out some of the liquid into a small dish. Add another tbsp of cornflour, mix well and then add back into the meat (this way the cornflour wont clump ruining your dish).

Toppings (ratios for ½ meat quantity; double if using all of the meat):

Traditional Potato:
1kg Potatoes/100g butter/1/2cup/salt and pepper to taste.
Boil Potatoes, once soft mash with seasoning, milk and butter. Pour meat into a casserole dish. Top with mash. Rough the potato with a fork.

Extra- add grated cheese to the potatoes and sprinkle a little on top.

Cheesy Broccoli Mash:
500g Potatoes/1 large broccoli/3/4cup grated cheese/1/2 cup milk/salt and pepper to taste.
Boil Potatoes and steam broccoli, once soft mash with seasoning, milk and cheese. Pour meat into a casserole dish. Top with mash. Rough mash with a fork.

Sweet Potato:
1.5kg Sweet Potatoes/100gm butter/1/2 cup almond milk/salt and pepper to taste.
Steam Sweet Potato, once soft mash with seasoning, milk and butter. Pour meat into a casserole dish. Top with mash. Rough mash with a fork.

For all toppings- Bake in a moderate oven (180°C or 350°F) for 20 minutes until golden and meat bubbling.

You can serve on its own or with streamed greens.

Note- for ‘milk’ I use Almond Milk. I use goats milk cheese in place of ‘cheese’. Can use ghee in place of butter.

I have also served this meat with;
1. toast
2. over baked potatoes
3. over baked sweet potatoes
(topped with cheese if you like).