New Recipe Tuesday

Since I'm in The Second Year Of Trying New Things, there was no way getting around not trying a new recipe that the 'Rents fixed for supper tonight. Ever since they saw the recipe Saturday morning on The Food Network, that's all they talked about -- "We're making Shephard's Pie for you this week." Like I said, I will now try things that I never thought I would try before, but when I head "Shephard's Pie" all I could think of was some bizarre homemade version of a pot pie - one thing I will never try. As I've mentioned before I just don't like my foods mixed together in one dish a la the KFC Bowls. But since the 'Rents went to such great lengths this week to find a chunk of Havarti cheese for this dish, well, there was just no way getting around not trying it. As Minnie says when it comes to supper, "You have two choices - take it or leave it." But I digress. I tried the Shephard's Pie tonight and I have to say it was pretty darned good. It's not something I would want every week, but once a month would be okay with me. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. The Shephard's Pie gets the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

Shepherd's Pie with Mushroom Onion Gravy

Ingredients
2 pounds russet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, smashed
Salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85 percent lean)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup low-sodium beef stock
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 zucchini, julienned
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika, plus more for garnish
4 ounces Havarti cheese, grated
Mushroom Onion Gravy, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes and crushed garlic with enough water to cover by 1-inch. Add some salt and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to pot, and mash together with 3 tablespoons of the butter and the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

In a large pan on medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. When butter has melted, add beef, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until meat is brown. Stir in tomato paste and saute for a few minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Season and remove mixture to a bowl. In the same pan, add remaining butter and oil and saute onions until almost tender, then add red bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and paprika. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble, in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish layer half of beef, pressing down to pack in, then sprinkle the cheese on evenly. Pour the remaining half of the beef over the cheese and press down. Next, add the sauteed vegetables and top with the mashed potatoes, spreading out with a spatula or the back of a spoon to even out and to form decorative peaks and valleys. Sprinkle top with paprika and bake for 30 minutes or until edges on potatoes turn golden brown. Serve with Mushroom Onion Gravy.

Mushroom Onion Gravy:
1/2 large onion, chopped
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and mushrooms in oil until tender and mushrooms release their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir to evenly coat. Slowly whisk in wine and then the broth. Simmer until thickened and season with salt and pepper, to taste.