Clean Eating Shepherds Pie (THM E)

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Only in my recent years I’ve come to have a love for shepherds pie. It wasn’t a dish I grew up with, but it’s grown into being a Winter staple in my household. It’s easy to prepare, uses simple ingredients, and can feed an army.

I started this pie using low fat, grass-fed ground beef. It’s not traditional for a shepherds pie, however it lends a lot of great flavor. I then sautéed it with a little red onion, celery, cremini mushrooms, carrots, shallots, and garlic. I sprinkled the mixture with a little xanthan gum, then de-glazed the pan with about a cup of dry red wine and reduced the mixture for about 7 minutes.

When the wine is reduced by about half, turn the heat off, add the peas, parsley, and thyme then set aside.

Meanwhile, I had my creamy potato topping going in a separate pan.

I peeled and diced 5 medium white sweet potatoes. Yes, these things exist! I found them bagged at Trader Joe’s – they have purple skin and white flesh. I also peeled and diced two large parnsips to go with it. Parsnips have a slightly spicy flavor, which helps cut the sweetness of the sweet potato and they make for a very velvety puree.

I boiled those down together for about 12 minutes, in salted water, so that everything was nice and tender.

I drained them, then added them to my food processor with some chicken broth, fat free cream cheese, and a couple tablespoons of butter. Blend it all until smooth, season with salt and pepper, and you’re good to go.

In a large casserole dish (I used an oval casserole dish), place the beef mixture (with pan juices). Top with the potato/parsnip puree, then grate on about 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

The whole thing goes into a 400 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, until it’s hot and bubbly and the top is lightly browned.

And this is the beauty you get once it’s finished – deeply flavorful ground beef and veggies with a little red wine gravy topped with creamy and velvety potato-parsnip puree. So creamy and delicious, you’ll have a hard time believing it’s an E!

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 45mins - 1hr
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Credit: Erin Murray, My Fling with Food

Ingredients

• 1lb lean ground beef (96% or higher)
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 small stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large shallot, finely minced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1 c frozen peas
• 3/4 c dry red wine
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
• 3 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
• 5 medium white sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp fat free cream cheese
• 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth, divided
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• coconut oil spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large sauce pot, cover the potatoes and parsnips with water, cover, and bring to a boil. Once they’re boiling, add a generous handful of salt and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes until very tender.
3. Spray a large saute pan with coconut oil and heat on medium. Saute the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, breaking the beef down into bite-size chunks.
4. Add the celery, carrots, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, onion, and Herbes de Provence. Saute for about 5-7 minutes, until the veggies become tender.
5. Sprinkle the mixture with the xanthan gum, add the red wine, 1/4 c of the chicken broth, and simmer for about 7 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about half.
6. Turn off the heat, stir in the peas, parsley, and thyme, and set aside.
7. Transfer the cooked and drained potatoes and parsnips to a food processor. Add the rest of the chicken stock, cream cheese, butter, salt and pepper. Blend into a smooth puree.
8. Add the beef mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish. Top with the potato puree, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.