Shepherd’s pie in a pie crust might be the world’s most perfect food. Get yourself a glass of wine and make one.
A shepherd’s pie is a whopper of a one-pan meal, and you probably have a lot of the ingredients to make a really good one on hand already. Use a frozen pastry shell, make a plain one, or deck this pie out in an amazing pecan crust that bakes beautifully, even on the bottom.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Make the pastry! Read complete directions, or carry on...
Pulse the dry ingredients, including the nuts, in a food processor. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and add it to the processor. Pulse until crumbly. With the motor running, drizzle in a spoon of ice water at a time, just until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in a piece of parchment, and refrigerate.
Get the potatoes boiling! Chop them up into about 1" cubes and add to a large pot of boiling water with a teaspoon of coarse salt added. Bring back to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot with a cockeyed lid for the steam to escape and cook until the potatoes are soft enough to mash. Keep the potatoes in the pan, but pour most of the water out, reserving at least a cup of cooking water in the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the potatoes. Cover the pan and return to the hot (but off) burner to keep warm.
Make the filling! Heat a skillet to medium high and add in the meat and garlic. Cook until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the corn. If the corn is on the dry side, add up to a 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the liquid in the pan has reduced by about half. Remove to a bowl, but don't clean the pan.
Heat the pan back up to medium, slice up the mushrooms, and sauté in a little bit of oil until they're softened and the liquid in the pan has reduced by about half. Add in the green onions and take the pan off the heat.
Roll out the pastry, line a pie pan, and flute the edge. Bake the leftover dough pieces and eat them immediately. Fill the pie with the meat, followed by the mushrooms. Mash the potatoes in the pan, adding cream if they need some, and spoon over the filling. Swirl them however you like.
Bake in the preheated 350ºF oven for about an hour, until the potatoes and crust are both browned and the filling is bubbly. Cool the pie on a rack for about 20 minutes if you want the slices to hold their shape, otherwise dig in.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Make the pastry! Read complete directions, or carry on...
Pulse the dry ingredients, including the nuts, in a food processor. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and add it to the processor. Pulse until crumbly. With the motor running, drizzle in a spoon of ice water at a time, just until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in a piece of parchment, and refrigerate.
Get the potatoes boiling! Chop them up into about 1" cubes and add to a large pot of boiling water with a teaspoon of coarse salt added. Bring back to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot with a cockeyed lid for the steam to escape and cook until the potatoes are soft enough to mash. Keep the potatoes in the pan, but pour most of the water out, reserving at least a cup of cooking water in the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the potatoes. Cover the pan and return to the hot (but off) burner to keep warm.
Make the filling! Heat a skillet to medium high and add in the meat and garlic. Cook until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the corn. If the corn is on the dry side, add up to a 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the liquid in the pan has reduced by about half. Remove to a bowl, but don't clean the pan.
Heat the pan back up to medium, slice up the mushrooms, and sauté in a little bit of oil until they're softened and the liquid in the pan has reduced by about half. Add in the green onions and take the pan off the heat.
Roll out the pastry, line a pie pan, and flute the edge. Bake the leftover dough pieces and eat them immediately. Fill the pie with the meat, followed by the mushrooms. Mash the potatoes in the pan, adding cream if they need some, and spoon over the filling. Swirl them however you like.
Bake in the preheated 350ºF oven for about an hour, until the potatoes and crust are both browned and the filling is bubbly. Cool the pie on a rack for about 20 minutes if you want the slices to hold their shape, otherwise dig in.