When the weather changes and winter coats come out of storage, I know it is time to bust out my favorite cold weather dishes.  One of my favorite comfort food dishes is Shepard’s Pie.  The dish uses my favorite red meat, lamb, and it combines my favorite herbs, rosemary and thyme.  One year when I was making this dish I realized I didn’t have enough Yukon Gold potatoes so I substituted the dish with sweet potatoes and I have made it this way ever since.  The extra sweetness works really well with the lamb and peas and I think this dish will warm you up on those really cold nights.

Ingredients

1 lb ground lamb

1 cup frozen peas

1 medium sized onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 cup chicken stock

1 stick butter (used for both the potatoes and the filling) and then 3 tbs of additional butter

2 tbs. flour

2 tbs olive oil

1 lb sweet potatoes, reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and chop the potatoes and put them in a large pot of water and bring them to a boil.  Once the potatoes are cooked drain all of the water except for the half cup.  Add half a stick of butter and season with salt and pepper and mash the potatoes.  These do not need to be fancy mashed potatoes, they should be simple so they don’t conflict with the flavors of the filling.

While the potatoes are cooking start assembling the ingredients for the filling.  Add half a stick of butter to a large pan with the olive oil and heat to a medium high heat.  Once the pan has reached the correct temperature add the onions and carrots and cook for 5-7 minutes until they start to soften.  Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes until you can smell the garlic.  Add the ground lamb and brown the meat.  Once the meat is browned add the flour and cook for a minute or so to get the raw flour taste out.  Add the chopped herbs and salt and pepper and stir.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Once the mixture is at a boil add the peas and stir until combined.

Assemble the Shepard’s Pie by pouring the filling into a large casserole dish and then top the filling with the mashed sweet potatoes.  Add small pads of butter around the top of the dish.  Bake the dish for 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling along the sides and the dish has browned slightly on top. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did!