I came home the other day to my husband baking this dish and I have to admit it smelled amazing. If you would have asked me a day earlier if I would like ground beef and mashed potatoes in the same casserole, you would have gotten a resounding hell-to-the-no. But there is something about these comfort foods mashed together in one "pie" that just works. I would never had attempted this on my own, so I'm glad the hubs brought me out of the box on this one. Try it on a cold, rainy day. I promise, it won't disappoint.
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Makes: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
For
Mashed Potatoes:
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup cream or milk
2 tbsp butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra-virgin
olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 lbs ground beef
or ground lamb
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen peas
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose
flour
1 cup beef stock
or broth
2 tsp Worcestershire, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of
handfuls
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
leaves
DIRECTIONS:
Boil potatoes in salted water until
tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Add
warmed cream and 2 tbsp melted butter. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and
mash until potatoes are almost smooth. Salt & pepper to taste.
While potatoes boil, preheat a large
skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season
meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are
using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped
carrots and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring
frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour
together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire
sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables.
Stir in peas.
Preheat broiler to high. Fill a
small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes
over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the
heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish
with chopped parsley and serve.
