A Healthy Take on the Classic Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Like so many of the world's great comfort foods, shepherd's pie was born of humble origins, invented as a way of using up old scraps of meat, with the vegetables and the potato topping used to stretch the dish into extra portions and simultaneously including even more nutrients. This is meat and potato fare at its finest: a slow simmered mixture of ground red meat and vegetables blanketed with a warm cover of mashed potatoes in one shepher's pie recipe. The dish is traditionally made with lamb (you know, since shepherds look after sheep), but sirloin makes a leaner and perfectly tasty pie.

Nutrition: 380 calories, 14 g fat (6 g saturated), 510 mg sodium

Serves 4

You'll Need

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter
3⁄4 cup 2% milk
1⁄2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground sirloin or ground lamb
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup low-sodium beef stock
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup frozen peas6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

How to Make It

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and season with a pinch of salt.
3. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender all the way through.
4. Press through a potato ricer (if you have one) or mash with a masher or a pair of forks.
5. Stir in the butter and milk and season with salt and black pepper.
6. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
7. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft.
8. Add the ground meat and cook for about 5 minutes, until no longer pink.
9. Stir in the flour and tomato sauce and stir so that the ingredients are evenly coated.
10. Add the stock, Worcestershire, and rosemary and simmer for 15 minutes.
11. Add the peas and season with salt and black pepper.
12. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into a 13" x 9" baking dish and spread into an even layer.
13. Top with the mashed potatoes.
14. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are nicely browned on the surface.

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