Spicy Shepherd’s Pie
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a traditional meal of Spicy Shepherd’s pie paired with Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Merlot.
Hola! Vianney here from Sweet Life excited to share this spiced up comfort dish just in time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Shepherd’s Pie or cottage pie hails from England. This rich, savory casserole dish is believed to be first enjoyed in 1791. A dish made to stretch leftover roasted meat, shepherd’s pie is typically made with lamb or mutton.
Traditionally made with a crust of mashed potatoes, plus topped with mashed potatoes over the years the recipe has been adapted, lightened to only include a layer of whipped mashed potatoes over a savory filling. Popped into the oven and baked until the top is golden and bubbly.
Today I decided to give this much celebrated dish a bit of Latin spin with the addition of chipotles! Yum, a delicious filling made with lamb, chipotles, and ground cumin pair with the almighty potato to create a casserole dish that is the perfect simple dinner or great to whip up and feed a hungry crowd.
What follows is a simple recipe for a spicy version of Shepherd’s Pie using chipotles in adobo sauce. Finely minced and incorporated into the lamb filling the chiles give the filling a smoky, spicy hint of flavor. Feel free to reduce the amount I used to adapt to your preference.
The mashed potatoes can be made up to two days in advanced. Simply store them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. You will need 3-4 cups for this recipe.
Make this recipe in 8-10 ramekins for individual servings or two smaller pies. One for tonight, freeze the other for another day. However you decide I highly suggest you give this spicy version a try and be sure to serve it alongside plenty of Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Merlot. Comfort food at its best there’s nothing like a plate of spicy shepherd’s pie on a chilly day.
Celebrate the luck of the Irish with this spicy St. Patrick’s Day recipe.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ pounds ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
- 3-4 chipotles from a can, finely minced
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 3-4 cups mashed potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and carrots, sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic; continue to cook another additional minute. Stir in lamb breaking up with back of spoon, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook until lamb is fully cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Once lamb is fully cooked sprinkle meat with flour, stir to coat evenly and cook additional minute to cook flour. Stir in adobo sauce, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, thyme and minced chipotles, bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until sauce thickness. Remove from heat, stir in frozen peas. Coat an 11x7 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon in filling and top with mashed potatoes, smooth out with a rubber spatula to create a seal over filling. Place casserole dish on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until potatoes are lightly crisp and golden brown in color. Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.
