Shepherd's Pie...Gordon Ramsay's Version

Shepherd's Pie...Gordon Ramsay's version. This recipe is ideal to make when you have leftover mashed potatoes from the previous day. This dish is traditionally made with ground lamb, but I have often made it with ground turkey or ground beef. It doesn't take that long to prepare and actually you can assemble it the morning of..... and bake it later for lunch or dinner. You can easily add different vegetables to the shepherd's pie. I often like to add corn, peas, mushrooms etc... I have been wanting to make Gordon Ramsay's version for some time now. I thought it would be perfect to make this recipe on a cold/rainy. So when we had some rainy/cold weather this past week, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to finally make it. I did try to stay as close to the recipe as possible:). But, I know my husband loves mushrooms so I added them as a layer. I chose to sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top of the mashed potatoes...they formed a baked cheese layer. If you don't care for the cheese layer just skip it all together. I used slightly less meat and therefore I adjusted the amounts of some of the other ingredients. The wine in the recipe definitely brings a whole deal of flavor. I am sure you can omit the wine, if you don't have any, with some more chicken stock..... The flavors of the shepherd's pie were just wonderful. I will definitely be making this again...

You will need: Somewhat adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Shepherd's Pie

1 1/2 lbs very lean ground beef (or lamb)

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 large onion, grated

1 large carrot, grated

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1-2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS tomato paste

1 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp chopped rosemary(I used dry)

1/2-3/4 cups red wine

1/2 cups chicken broth

2 tsp salt, or to taste

Other layers:

1 -1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms

3 cups mashed potatoes

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Clean and slice mushrooms.Heat a non stick skillet with about 2 tsp olive oil add sliced mushrooms.

Season with some salt and pepper. Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Set aside. Grate onion, carrots and garlic. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil, stir fry beef until no longer pink.

Drain off excess grease. Add onion, garlic, and carrot and stir fry for 3-5 minutes.

Add Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Season with thyme and rosemary and cook for about 1 minute.

Add wine and simmer until wine has almost evaporated.

Add the broth and simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Transfer beef to a deep dish....you can use an 8x8 square pan or you can make individual servings as I did.

Layer some mushrooms on top of the beef.

Spoon mashed potato on top of beef.

Sprinkle with 1 T grated Parmesan cheese and 1 TBS of your favorite grated cheese(mozzarella,cheddar,etc...). Bake in a 375° F oven for 20 minutes or until top is brown and heated through.