SHEPHERD'S PIE

For the Mashed Potatoes

Start by peeling and cutting Yukon Gold potatoes in half. Put them in a large sauce pot and cover with cold water.

Boil for about 20 minutes, or until a paring knife cuts through with no resistance. Drain and place back in the warm pot.

Place over medium-low heat, stir around and cook gently for about 1 minute.

Kill the heat and add aged Irish white cheddar, unsalted butter, and chives (optional).

Using a masher, or potato ricer, mash everything together. Add kosher salt and white pepper to season.

Add egg yolks to milk and beat together. Add to the now-kind-of-cooled-down potatoes and giving it one more mix and mash.

For the Meat Stew and Peas

Start by finely mincing onion and carrots. Chop a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and crush the garlic.

In a lightly oiled and preheated stainless steel pan, place ground lamb (or ground beef if you prefer). Break it up in the pan until brown. Drain any excess fat, but leave 2-3 Tbsp in the pan.

Add the finely minced onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent around the edges. Add the carrots and saute them for 2-3 minutes.

Make a hole in the middle of the pan and add the crushed garlic and tomato paste.

Mix together and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped rosemary and thyme and stir.

To make the sauce, add flour to the mixture and mix until the raw flour smell is gone and a fond has formed on the bottom of the pot (about 2-3 minutes).

Deglaze with dark Irish Stout and beef’s broth. Make sure to scrape up all the fond at the bottom while mixing. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Optional: now is when you can add Madeira and frozen demi-glace if you have it.

See Bone Broth for the demi-glace recipe.

Cook and mix together until thick. When you drag a spoon through the mixture, it should leave a trail.

In a separate pot, cook up some fresh peas. Frozen peas work just as fine and better. Set aside for pie assembly.

For the Shepherd’s Pie Assembly

Spoon the stew mixture onto a pie plate. Top with cooked peas. Lastly, top with the mashed potatoes. You can use a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.

Even out the potatoes with an offset spatula. Use a fork to rough it up to make sure there are enough nooks and crannies that will brown and get crispy.

Set the pie plate on a sheet of parchment paper set in a rimmed baking sheet. Place in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes. Remove at the 15 minute mark to top with more grated cheddar (optional) and place back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes. You can also broil it the last 2-3 minutes for extra brown and crispy.