Shepherd's Pie

This is not your mother's Shepherd's Pie!  This is a copy cat of the Cheesecake Factory's recipe.  My friend Alyssa and her husband discovered it, and loved it.  I finally tried it when one of them mentioned how well it froze.  Really?  A delicious freezer meal!  I love to freeze individual portions in larger ramekins, then I eat them for lunch.  

Find the original recipe HERE.

The version I grew up with was very "70's".  A layer of ground beef, a layer of canned green beans, a layer of cream of mushroom soup, a layer of mashed potatoes and then sprinkled with cheese.   In defense of my mother, she is a fabulous cook and she has changed with the trends and styles of cooking.  I was recently looking through one of her old recipe collections from the 70's, and I was laughing because almost every recipe called for condensed cream soup or other heavily processed foods.  I feel like those kinds of ingredients are very frowned upon these days.  I try to cook with fresh and real food as much as possible.  That is why I love this recipe!

This is a dry house.  Ain't no alcohol in our home.  When a recipe calls for wine I use cooking wine found next to the vinegars at the grocery store.  Yeah yeah yeah... I know there is some alcohol content, but it is minimal and they say the alcohol cooks out.  It is more for flavor.  If you do not like the flavor then substitute it. In this recipe beef broth is a good substitute.  

prep 20 min, cook 40 min

• 2 tbsp oil, divided
• 12 oz white mushrooms,sliced thinly 
• 8 oz red wine, divided (I use less than this.  I use cooking wine or beef broth.)
• 1/2 cup carrots,julienned 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground lamb or beef
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup chicken or beef stock
• 2 medium zucchini,julienned 
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 cupsmashed potatoes(6 medium yellow potatoes, 4 tbsp butter, 1/2 cup cream)  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

1. If you happen to have left-overmashed potatoesskip to step 2.  Boil diced potatoes in salted water until soft, about 30 minutes.  
2. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Butter a large casserole dish.
3. Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat.  Add sliced mushrooms.  Saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Add 2 oz red wine to the hot pan, stirring and scraping the pan.  Remove mushrooms to a plate.
4. Wipe out the pan and add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil, heat to medium.
5. Saute carrots until beginning to soften, then add onion and garlic.
6. When onions are soft add ground meat and brown, breaking meat into large chunks.
7. When meat is browned, season with salt, pepper and thyme.  Add mushrooms, peas and 1 tbsp butter.
8. Sprinkle mixture with flour and stir.  Then add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and remaining 6 oz wine.
9. Cook and stir mixture for several minutes.  Add stock and simmer until sauce is thick and somewhat reduced.
10. Remove from heat and stir in zucchini.  Season to taste.
11. Pour meat mixture into the prepared casserole.
12. Drain and mash potatoes with butter and cream as needed.
13. Spoon mashed potatoes over meat and spread and smooth the top. (At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the dish as desired.  I freeze individual servings in ramekins.)
14. Brush potatoes with a beaten egg and sprinkle with Parmesan.  I also like to sprinkle some more fresh thyme on top.  
15. Bake casserole 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbling and potatoes are browned.  Cook time will be longer for a cold dish.