Shepherd’s pie

A hearty meat pie filled with vegetables, and topped with yummy mashed potatoes. A Whole30 compliant shepherd’s pie you’ll fight for the leftovers (if there are any!)

Here was my thought process for this recipe:

National Pie Day is December 1.  What can I make for this day?  I haven’t made my awesome chocolate peanut butter cream pie (recipe here) for a long time.  Or I could make a pumpkin pie – Thanksgiving and Christmas are great excuses to make pumpkin pie.  Or a pecan pie, to make up for my failure the last time I made this.  But then I hopped on the bathroom scales and realized I probably should stop making (and eating) so many sweet things.  But what I do I make for a pie day?  I know, something savory, like a meat pie.  Let’s look in the fridge to see what veggies and meat I have available.  And so greatness was born.  

If you feel so inclined, you can bake a savory pie crust and put all this yummy filling in it for a ‘true’ shepherd’s pie.  Or you can just have it in a casserole dish, like we did, which makes it Whole30 compliant too.  Either way, the true flavors come from the meat and veggies.  And the real comforting, hearty feeling in your belly will be with you for a long time.

It’s not the typical shepherd’s pie, though.  It’s got more of a tomato base, rather than a gravy.  But I like this version too – and you know you’ve cooked a great dish when the family are fighting over the leftovers …!  Please enjoy this as much as we do!

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Shepherd's pie

(Paleo, Whole30, gluten-free, dairy-free)

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the filling

• 500 g beef cubed or diced
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery finely chopped
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 cup broccoli chopped
• 1 cup spinach finely chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbs potato starch
• 1 tbs rosemary
• 1 tbs oregano

For the topping

• 4 large potatoes
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbs nutritional yeast
• 1 tbs parsley

Instructions

For the filling

1. Heat a large saucepan or stockpot on very high heat. Cook beef in two batches until just browned (still possibly raw inside). Take out of pan and let rest on a plate covered with paper towel.
2. Turn the heat down to high heat and saute onions and celery until soft. Add carrots and cook until just tender.
3. Return the beef back to the saucepan and add tomato paste, beef stock and seasonings. Turn the heat to medium until sauce thickens slightly.
4. Add the rest of the vegetables except the spinach and allow to simmer at low heat for approximately 2 hours.
5. Add the spinach and stir well.
6. Use the sauce from the pan to mix with the potato starch and once the meat is tender, add this to the pan.
7. Cook until most, if not all, of the liquid has been absorbed by the meat and vegetables.
8. (Alternatively, put all the ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook on high for 35 minutes).

For the topping

1. Peel and cube the potatoes.
2. Steam for approximately 25-30 minutes until tender.
3. Mash with a dash of milk until desired creaminess is obtained
4. Assemble the filling in a prepared casserole dish then spoon the topping on top. Sprinkle parsley flakes on top.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 15 minutes. Take out of oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.