Beth’s Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
1 whole bulb Garlic
2 teaspoons Cold-Pressed Olive Oil
2 whole Onions
2 teaspoons Butter
1 stick Butter
3 pounds Ground Meat (I use a mixture of 1 pound each beef, sausage and lamb)
3 cups Mushrooms
2 Carrots
3 stalks Organic Celery
2 cartons of Organic Beef Broth
1 bottle of Red Wine (merlot or cabernet)
4 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
¼ cup Coconut Amino Acids
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, freshly ground
5 Organic Potatoes
Organic Peas
1 head Cauliflower
2 8-ounce packages Cream Cheese
¼ cup Cream or Milk
½ cup Cheddar Cheese (or cheese of choice), shredded
Sea Salt to taste
Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste
Cayenne to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Coat a whole bulb of garlic with half olive oil and place it on a baking sheet and cook for 30-35 minutes
3. Remove and let cool for 20 minutes, until you can touch it without burning yourself Hold the garlic on its side and using a sharp knife, cut ¼ to ½ inch from the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves
4. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out for their skins
5. Mash this mixture and put aside
6. Dice onions and place them in a pan with a little butter and olive oil on low heat
7. Cook slowly until the onions are golden and stir occasionally until caramelized
8. Combine meat, season with salt, and brown in a skillet on medium heat
9. Dice the mushrooms, carrots, and celery
10. Put aside
11. Place the broth, wine, diced vegetables, caramelized onions, and browned meat into a pot and bring to a boil
12. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally
13. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, rosemary, ¼ of roasted garlic and coconut aminos to pot
14. Continue to stir as liquid reduces
15. Fill a large pot with Filtered Water, add salt and bring to a boil
16. Peel potatoes and chop cauliflower
17. Add both to boiling water and reduce heat to medium
18. Cook until potatoes are soft
19. When potatoes and cauliflower are cooked, strain liquid and put back into pan
20. Add cream cheese, cream/milk, stick of butter, salt, pepper, and remaining roasted garlic to the pot
21. With an immersion blender, puree the mixture
22. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
23. Spoon meat into 1 large ovenproof baking dish or 2 medium sized ones
24. Pipe or spoon the potato and cauliflower mash to cover the meat mixture
25. Sprinkle cheese on top
26. Place in oven on center rack and let bake for 90 minutes or until golden brown
27. Remove from oven and let sit 15 minutes before serving
*Optional Tips:
• To get really smooth, creamy mash, use a potato ricer or sieve
• To stop the mash sinking into the filling, allow meat to cool before topping with mash mixture
• Freeze in individual ovenproof dishes for an easy meal for one
• For a crisp and golden top, flash under grill before serving
• To make a smaller batch, use half the ingredients in the recipe