Guest Post: Shepherd’s Patty Pie

Recipe by Carole of The Yum Yum Factor

Shepherd’s pie was requested but it’s not my favourite. Why not make a filling that I really like and top it with some mashed something or other and just call it a day? I really wanted something that was a bit spicy, like a Jamaican beef patty. My beef/mushrooms patty filling is the right consistency, it’s spicy and the family likes them as much as I do. There was no reason it wouldn’t work.

And that is how Shepherd’s Patty Pie was born. I took my usual blend and extend beef/mushroom filling and topped with it with mashed sweet potatoes to balance out the heat and everyone got what they wanted.

Shepherd’s Patty Pie

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Filling

• 1/4 cup butter
• 500 grams ground beef
• 275 grams button mushrooms, chopped in the food processor
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 6 green onions, chopped, greens included
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and chopped or to taste
• 3 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp Jamaican allspice
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• A few grinds black pepper
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Mashed Sweet Potato

• 900 g or 2 lbs sweet potato, peeled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cream or light cream
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• A few grinds black pepper
• 1 egg yolk

Directions

For filling:

1. Throw the mushrooms in the food processor and grind to resemble coarse crumbs and set aside.
2. Now put the onions, green onion, garlic and scotch bonnet peppers in the same food processor and pulse until minced.
3. Melt the butter over med heat in a frying pan and sauté the scallion mixture for about five minutes until soft but not browned. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture into a bowl and then add the ground mushrooms and ground beef to the pan and cook it, smashing it all together with a spatula as you stir to mix them together.
4. When the meat is almost cooked, add the scallion mixture back into the pan and continue to cook until there is no trace of pink left to the meat.
5. Throw in the curry, allspice, salt and pepper, panko, thyme and chicken stock and simmer over med low heat for about 5 minutes. If it gets too dry add a bit more broth or water. You don’t want it soupy, but you want it to be moist.

For mashed sweet potato:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into a 1” dice. Place in a pot and cover with cold water, add a generous pinch of kosher salt and bring to a boil over med high heat and cook until tender.
2. Drain the potatoes and either mash with a masher or run through a food mill. Add the butter and mash well and then add the cream and salt and pepper and turmeric and mix well. Finally, stir in the egg yolk and set aside

Preheat the oven to 400F

Assemble and cook:

1. Add the meat mixture to a casserole dish, a deep pie plate or to individual ramekins and then top with the mashed sweet potato and spread the potato over the filling evenly.
2. Bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling up through the potato. If you want it browned, turned on the broiler and let it brown but the sweet potato doesn’t brown as much as mashed potato.

Serve and enjoy!

Be sure to follow along with Carole at The Yum Yum Factor.