Mad Pientist: Shepherd’s Pie

With all the talk about Shepherd’s Pie lately, I decided maybe making one would help me understand it better.

I didn’t use a specific recipe, but I borrowed the idea of using Guinness and cheese from Kells (which I just recently wrote about). I heard that a friend of mine makes a version of this, so I figured I’d give it a shot, too – since it was St. Patrick’s Day.

Here’s my “Shepherd’s Pie” recipe, inspired by Kells and my buddy who was already inspired by Kells, with a little addition of my own:

1. Made mashed potatoes with butter, salt, sour cream and a little bit of Tillamook cheddar cheese.
2. Sauteed garlic, onions, carrots and peas together with Guinness
3. Browned ground beef with onions
4. Simmered vegetables and beef in Guinness
5. Lined bottom of pan with vegetables and beef, added some salt and pepper
6. Spread mashed potatoes over filling
7. My own “touch” to add something more crust-like was to spread a light amount of olive oil over the top and I sprinkled some crushed up croutons (bread crumbs) over top
8. Baked at 400 for 10 minutes and 350 for 10 more,
9. Spread a little more cheese on top for a final touch

It turned out pretty good, I guess I’d give myself a 2.5 2 out out of 5 rating… not crazy good, but it made for a good meal (plus leftovers)! But, once again, it really was just mashed potatoes with beef and veggies… not much semblance to the standard “pie”, even though it had a touch more crispiness thanks to the bread crumbs. I couldn’t slice it, like a pie – I had to kind of scoop it. So was it a pie? Seems like more of a casserole to me.

But… it occurred to me that when you let it cool more, it really does setup more like a traditional pie and it does become more sliceable. So, I think I feel okay about Shepherd’s Pie being labeled a pie, and I’m sure there are versions of it that seem even more pie-like.

What are your thoughts on Shepherd’s Pie (or things that are called pie, but aren’t pie in the traditional sense?)

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