Upside Down Shepherd’s Pie

We found this recipe on the Cooking Light website, long ago, and have enjoyed it a many times. Over time, we adapted the recipe to our tastes, and here’s our revised recipe,  with the adjustments that we’ve made to the dish.

To make a standard shepherd’s pie, you cook the beef mixture, then bake it with mashed potatoes on top. This version is quicker and easier – buy mashed potatoes and heat them, cook the beef on the stove top, then serve it on top of the potatoes.

In the photo below,  I bought julienned carrots, instead of chopping a whole carrot. We serve this supper in our pasta bowls.

Upside Down Shepherd’s Pie

Servings: 3   Prep Time: 10 min   Cooking Time: 25 min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp minced garlic (from jar)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Frank’s hot sauce (optional)
• 1 cup beef stock (low sodium)
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4  tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups prepared mashed potatoes (from deli section)

Preparation

1. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot (1/4″ pieces)

Cooking Directions

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan, on medium-high.
2. Add the beef, and stir frequently, while cooking for 6 to 7 minutes –until the beef is browned,
3. Add the vegetables, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to the pan
4. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally — until the vegetables are tender
5. Near the end of that time, start heating the potatoes (follow the package directions – ours took 6 minutes to heat)
6. Whisk together the stock and flour.
7. Add the stock mixture to the frying pan, and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 4 minutes — until thickened.
9. Season with pepper and salt.
10. To serve, divide the potatoes among 4 large bowls, then top with the beef mixture.

Recipe Notes

• Use frozen mirepoix mix, instead of cutting up carrots, celery and onion
• Use different vegetables, if you prefer, such as turnip or frozen corn.
• Buy julienned carrots, instead of chopping a whole carrot

The first time I made this recipe, back in February 2017, I used frozen peas and carrots, and frozen corn, instead of chopping up fresh vegetables.

Here’s how that version looked, with its brightly coloured vegetables, in a different set of pasta bowls!

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