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For the last several years we have gone out and enjoyed the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in our area.
We have several little places close to our house that do fun events in honor of the ‘holiday’.
There is a parade in our downtown area and afterwards they close down the Main Street and it becomes a crazy afternoon and evening with a lot of green attire and of course, green beer.
One year we briefly ended up in our downtown area while the St. Patrick’s events were in full force. We were doing a church scavenger hunt and on the list of items to collect were items from the downtown Main Street. We got in the throes of people that were already well on their way to having too much fun and we decided really fast that it wasn’t for us. We collected our pics for the scavenger hunt and quickly moved on.
The following years we always stuck to our small events closer to the house. The events take place either on St. Patrick’s Day or on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. It’s always fun to see what everyone is wearing and how people get into the spirit of things…even though most of us that are celebrating are not Irish or of Irish heritage. And, yes, we have all the green clothes, hats and accessories. We were looking forward to it this year.
UNTIL……Coronavirus Pandemic hit.
We had already made the decision to sit this year out. Afterwards, as we all know, everything was cancelled anyway. Or postponed.
So, I decided to cook this Sheppard’s Pie recipe, stay home and still have a traditional Irish dish.
I’ve cooked this recipe in past years. It’s really good. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about the whole idea. Paul mentioned it a few years ago and asked if I had ever tried it. NO – We didn’t do Sheppard’s Pie in the South growing up!
We were in Kansas City a few years ago and decided on eating at an Irish pub and I had Sheppard’s Pie with a Guinness and loved it. I’m always trying to recreate a dish we have out at restaurants. I searched for recipes for Sheppard’s Pie and made this my own with a twist of adding the Guinness Beer in with the stock to make the rich sauce. Very. Good.
Sheppard’s Pie
For the meat filling:
1 lb 98% ground turkey (or beef if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 onion (diced)
2 carrots (cut lengthwise then sliced)
1 stalk celery (finely diced)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup broth (chicken, beef, vegetable)
1 cup Guinness Beer (if not using, add 2 cups broth)
1 tbs flour
1-2 tbs tomato paste
1 cup frozen peas
For the mashed potatoes:
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 /2 lbs Russet potatoes (peeled and sliced)
1 cup of milk (I used 1 %)
salt to taste
Peel and slice potatoes and place in a large pan. Add salt and add enough water to cover. Bring to a medium boil. Cook until tender, careful not to overcook, for approximately 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small saute pan add 1 tbs butter and chopped garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent.
Drain cooked potatoes, add cooked garlic and mix with a mixer, slowly adding milk until creamy consistency. Adjust salt.
Set aside.
Spray a large, deep pan with cooking spray. Brown turkey, adding garlic, onion, carrots, celery. Cook until vegetables are starting to get tender. Add the bay leaf and thyme, salt and pepper (if desired).
Add flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring all the time until incorporated.
Add broth and slowly add beer (if using). Cook at medium temperature until it starts thickening.
Turn off heat and add frozen peas. Remove bay leaf. Spread meat mixture in a baking dish. (I used a deep casserole dish measuring 9X11.)
Carefully spread the mashed potatoes over the meat trying not to mix the two.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. (I broiled mine for just a few minutes to brown the top a little.)
This is a rich, comfort food that’s good all winter – not just on St. Patrick’s day!
Dixie
