For some reason, shepherd’s pie is one of my favorite foods in life. No clue why. It wasn’t something my mom made. My earliest memory of shepherd’s pie is from when I was 5 and had to go to daycare at Wychwood because my daycare was closed for the summer. They provided lunch and the only lunches that I remember were the sloppy joes and shepherd’s pie.
Anyhoo my love for shepherd’s pie has lasted over the years. In my research I’ve discovered that traditionally Shepherd’s Pie is made strictly with lamb meat while “Cottage Pie” or “Cowboy Pie” is made with beef. So I guess I enjoy “Cottage Pie” but really that doesn’t have the same ring to it so I’m calling it Shepherd’s Pie and can be fine with angering the purists out there.
One day I was browsing through some magazine and noticed a recipe for shepherd’s pie where you topped the pie with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes… a delicious idea I thought. Then somehow I was talking to a friend about shepherd’s pie (because that is what I talk about with my friends… and yes, I do have more than two friends) and she thought that doing the sweet potatoes would be delicious with a turkey base. BRILLIANT. And so that is what I made.
As usual I started off by searching for recipes online but couldn’t really find much other this one from Rachael Ray. I don’t do “The Ray” so used it as a bare bones template and moved on to actually make it delicious. What follows is a very very VERY loose rundown of what I did…
2lbs Sweet Potatoes
1tbsp Olive Oil
1lb Ground Turkey
4 Carrots, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic
Following seasonings to taste: Cumin, Paprika, Coriander, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt, Thyme
Tiny dashes of: Cinnamon and Cloves
3tbsp Butter
1.5tbsp Flour
2c Chicken Broth
Dash or two of Worcestershire or Soy Sauce
2c Frozen Peas
1c Frozen Corn
Cut the sweet potato into chunks and cook in boiling water until soft. Drain and set aside.
In the meantime heat your oil in a dutch oven (or whatever pot or pan tickles your fancy). Add the turkey and cook stirring and break into chunks. Throw in the carrots, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the turkey is cooked. Turn the heat down to medium-low while you make the sauce.
To make the sauce melt the butter in a sauce pan and then whisk in the flour. After whisking for about a minute add the chicken broth and season with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Once the mixture has thickened add it to the turkey mixture. Stir in the peas and corn.
Pour the turkey mixture into a square baking dish. Mash the sweet potatoes until very smooth adding salt, pepper, butter and/or hot sauce if desired. Top the turkey with the mashed potatoes.
Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and put into an oven preheated to 425. Cook for about 30-45 minutes. The pie should be bubbly and delicious.
ENJOY!
