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About the Recipe: Shepherd’s Pie is a rustic main dish that in early cookery books used leftover roasted meat with mashed potato crust on top. The term shepherd’s pie is used more commonly when the meat is lamb. This recipe has a smoky flavored meat combination enhanced with sweet potatoes and kale. The creamy mashed potatoes cover the top of the pie. It’s simply delicious!
Recipe Inspired by Dorie Greenspan: See p. 161 in “Everyday Dorie”, – “The Way I Cook” for the original recipe”.
Cook’s Note: The original recipe used squash in place of sweet potatoes and suggested other kinds of meat that could be used. You could also use fresh spinach in place of kale.
Storing: You can keep leftover pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat, covered, in a conventional or microwave oven.
Recipe Notes from Dorie: To Make-Ahead: You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead and keep it refrigerated, covered. Alternatively, you can assemble the pie, freeze it for up to 2 months and bake it straight from the freezer. To do this, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and count on it taking about 1 hour to heat through. If the potatoes brown too much before the liquid starts to bubble, tent the pie loosely with foil. I like to get the potatoes going while I’m working on the filling. If you’d prefer, make the filling first. Either way, keep in mind that the potatoes will be easier to spread over the filling if they’re warm.
Dorie’s Suggestions: You can use turnips or green peas instead of the squash, or just skip the extra vegetable. You can also forgo the potatoes and the pie part of the dish entirely — the filling is so fragrant, tasty, and chunky that you might want it just the way it is. Pull out a bun and make a sloppy Joe or grab a wedge of cornbread and smother it with the juicy meat. If you plan ahead, you can make some rice or a pot of beans and use the filling as a spoon-over
Substitutions to Try:
Sumac: If you don’t have sumac, substitute freshly grated lemon zest.
Za’atar: A blend of dried thyme, oregano, and marjoram, sometimes mixed with sumac and roasted sesame seeds, If you don’t have za’atar, you can substitute ground thyme, oregano or marjoram, or a mix of these herbs, add sesame seeds or not.
Harissa: A substitute is chili powder or for the paste, use hot sauce.
Baking the Pie: Lightly spray the potato top with olive oil; place the baking dish on a cookie sheet for easier handling and any small baking drips. Bake in preheated 375 F degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling bubbles and potatoes are browned here and there. If you’d like to get them crusty brown, place under the broiler until lightly browned.
Garnish as dish with minced parsley and mint leaves and drizzles of apple mint jelly as desired. Serve warm.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.
pdf for Copy of Recipe – Smoky Mediterranean Shepherd’s Pie
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