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St. Patrick’s Day means different things for different people. For many people, St. Patrick’s Day is just another day on the calendar. Despite my fair skin and somewhat red hair, I am not Irish. However, I have “honored” the day as long as I can remember.
As a young child, St. Patrick’s Day meant a class party at the end of the day and wearing green so you didn’t get pinched. My children also have memories of Leprechaun hunting throughout their preschool and witnessing the aftermath of a Leprechauns mischief throughout their classroom. As a college student at Georgia Southern, my memories of St. Patrick’s Day centered around a 2 day festival in Savannah. It was there I would celebrate the holiday on the streets of Savannah with tens of thousands of my closest friends.
Now, instead of enjoying green iced cupcakes as I did as a child or beer as a college student, I wear my green and I honor the holiday with an Irish inspired dish for dinner… Shepherd’s Pie.
Traditional Shepherd’s Pie is typically minced meat (beef or lamb) cooked in a gravy with vegetables (green beans, celery, peas and/or carrots) and topped with mashed potatoes and grated cheese. My family likes the Shepherd’s Pie with meat and potatoes only.
As a compromise, I make the vegetables and serve them on the side instead of in the pie. At first I was irritated that they were being so picky, however, I have found that making the vegetables on the side allows me to season them the way I like them. I slice fresh carrots and glaze them in butter and brown sugar, and the sweet peas are seasoned with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder. We all agree these particular vegetables, eaten on the side, make the Shepherd’s Pie all the better. This is a meal that I cook several times a month. This Shepherd’s Pie recipe is the ultimate comfort food. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.
photo credit for group photo: https://www.connectsavannah.com/
Peel and slice the potatoes.
Place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan.
Mash the potatoes using a potato masher or a hand mixer. Then add butter, milk and salt and pepper.
Continue to mash until smooth. And set aside to use later.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the meat filling. Place the olive oil into a large saute pan and set over medium high heat.
Add diced onion, ground beef and Montreal seasoning.
Cook meat on medium-high heat until meat is browned.
When meat is browned, drain excess fat and return to pan.
Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add beef broth and lower heat to low. Cook another 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly, until gravy thickens.
Place meat filling in a 9x13 casserole dish.
Carefully spoon mashed potatoes over the meat mixture.
Sprinkle mashed potatoes with grated cheese.
Place, uncovered, on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Let stand for 5 minutes before eating.
ENJOY!
The special ingredients to this recipe is the meat mixture. The combination of Montreal Steak seasoning and the beef broth makes this recipe especially savory and flavorful.
Also, I always use Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar Cheese for the topping and grate the cheese myself. When you grate cheese yourself (opposed to buying pre-shredded cheese), the cheese melts better and has much better flavor.
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