Recipe Background
You can see why this is her favorite! Grandma's Favorite Homestyle Shepherd's Pie is heavenly! Just look at that topping! Fluffy, creamy, decorative mashed potatoes with cheese melted right into it! That would be incredible all on its own, but beneath it is a sea of savory beef goodness, too! Grandma's Favorite Homestyle Shepherd's Pie was made to become everyone's favorite, and soon it will be yours!
You can see why this is her favorite! Grandma's Favorite Homestyle Shepherd's Pie is heavenly! Just look at that topping! Fluffy, creamy, decorative mashed potatoes with cheese melted right into it! That would be incredible all on its own, but beneath it is a sea of savory beef goodness, too! Grandma's Favorite Homestyle Shepherd's Pie was made to become everyone's favorite, and soon it will be yours!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baking potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup water plus more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 medium carrots halved lengthwise, thinly sliced into half moons
- 6 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 pounds ground beef chuck
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- coarse salt to taste
- ground pepper to taste
- fresh parsley optional, to taste, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a large saucepan, add the potatoes.
- Cover the potatoes with enough of the extra water so they are covered by about 1 inch and generously salt the water. Bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until they are easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 15-20 minutes.
- In a 5-quart Dutch oven or a heavy pot over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil.
- Add the carrots, the celery, the onions, and the thyme to the hot oil and cook, while stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the flour and the tomato paste to the vegetable mixture and cook, while stirring, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 1 minute.
- Add the beef to the vegetable mixture and cook, while stirring and crumbling the beef, until the meat is no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 cup of the water to the beef mixture and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beef mixture for 1 minute.
- Set the beef mixture aside.
- Drain the potatoes and then return them to the saucepan.
- Place the saucepan with the potatoes over medium heat and cook, while stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers the bottom of the saucepan, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the pan from the heat.
- Add the milk and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese to the potatoes and mash until smooth.
- Season the mashed potatoes with the salt and the pepper.
- In a 9x13-inch baking dish, add the beef mixture.
- Drop dollops of the mashed potatoes over the beef mixture in the baking dish and carefully spread the potatoes to the edges of the dish with a spatula.
- If desired, using a fork, make decorative peaks in the mashed potatoes.
- Sprinkle the mashed potatoes with the remaining cheese.
- Bake until the mashed potato topping is browned and the filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes.
- Let the shepherd's pie stand for 5 minutes.
- Serve garnished with the parsley.
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