Farmers Shepherds Pie!

I love LOVE love Shepherds pie. It's great. Mostly because I love mashed potatoes. I would live on mashed potatoes alone if I could. But since that's not possible I eat things with mashed potatoes to seem normal to everyone else in society(I jest).

Since Rene and I have been trying to only buy our food(except for dairy) at the farmers market(They just don't have any dairy there) This shepherds pie was a little bit improvised... but it was still delicious.


Farmers Market Shepherds Pie:

4 Small carrots(Not those huge ones you get from the supermarket)
4 or 5 Small parsnips(Same for the parsnips as the carrots)
1/2 an onion
5 or 6 potatoes(You could use less, but like I said... mashed potatoes rock my world)
1 small packet of lamb(I forgot to look at how much was in it)
3 tbs cream cheese
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce(The only not nourishing thing in here, I can't help it I love it)
A splash of milk
Butter for frying(Olive oil works good too)
Salt and pepper for taste.

Tools:

1 pot with a lid to fit all your potatoes in with some head space for boiling
1 frying pan
1 square Pyrex glass dish or something to it's equivalent
1 spatula(Just something to move around your cooking vegetables)
1 fork



You can peel your vegetables if you want. I don't. Now dice then all into small small cubes except the potatoes, dice your potatoes into approx 2 cm cubes(Smaller if you want them to cook faster) put in a pot and cover with water, set to boil.

In a frying pan set at medium to medium low, fry up your onions in the butter until they are translucent, then add in your carrots and parsnips fry them for a little it(I only fried mine very briefly, we like ours still crunchy when we eat them) then add in your lamb and fry it up till it's cooked then add in your worcestershire sauce and enough salt and pepper so that you are happy. Then dump in into your Pyrex dish.

While this is happening watch your potatoes, once they start to boil, turn the heat down to medium high and offset(I'll take a picture of this later) the lid so that the steam can still get out. Let it simmer like this for 20 minutes or so, then check your potatoes with a fork to see if they are done, they should be soft and slide right off the fork after you've stabbed them.

Once they are done drain your potatoes and mash the crap out of 'em. Add a little bit of milk so that your potatoes are smooth(that is the KEY to the best mashed potatoes ever) then add in your cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste. You can always add more cream cheese if you want. I tend to add quite a bit some people don't really like it all that much.

Now spread your potatoes on top of your meat.

All you have to do now is bake that puppy(Not your puppy, the pie silly) in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350.

Oh wait, then you dig in a enjoy!


Hope you liked it.




This recipe was shared at:

Food Roots
Penny Wise Platter @ Nourishing Gourmet