A Wise Shepherd Once Told Me

 

Shepherd's Pie with a Twist

 

So many of you are very familiar with the traditional Shepherd's Pie Recipe:     This twist on the old tradition first was just an adjustment for me to make one of my favorite comfort foods strictly paleo. However, I quickly changed more than just the topping from starchy mashed white potatoes to mashed sweet potatoes, to all sorts of earthy mashed goodness options. These now include mashed cauliflower and one of my favorites mashed celery root, I have even blended all three for a topping. But now I even play with what ground meats I use and how I am making the sauce or gravy to cook the delicious meat, also known as "hash" mixture in.

So most shepherd's pie recipes call for some sort of Worcestershire Sauce, Oil (Canola or other), tomato sauce/paste, and chicken stock to cook the mixture aka hash.  I however, have discovered something that I like not only to use for cooking the mixture, but also to drink while I make this yummy comfort dish- Dogfish Head Tweason'ale.  It enables me to keep my shepherd's pie gluten-free.  Now the word is still out on whether this gluten-free beer fits the paleo diet or not, only because it is made from sorghum and there are mixed theories and opinions about whether sorghum is paleo or not.  Personally, I like to try the best options in my cooking that give well-balanced flavors to my food, sometimes that means a little compromise and understanding that we live in the age of industrialized food.

 

Ingredients:

1 bottle (12oz) of Dogfish Head Tweason'ale
   (half of it for the pie, half for your drinking pleasure)
1 yellow onion peeled, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup button mushrooms, diced
1 1/2 cups of fresh diced carrots
1/ 1/2 cups of frozen peas
6 Tbsp of grassfed butter
2 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 pounds of ground lamb (or ground beef, ground pork, ground turkey)
3 celery roots (3-4 lbs, about the size of baseballs) peeled/diced 1" pieces
1 Tbsp Susie Q Blue Label Seasoning (*Must be ordered through Susie Q Brand, California/otherwise substitute with Garlic Salt with Parsley)
1 Tsp of Salt
1 1/2 Tsp of ground black pepper

Directions for Topping:
In a a large pot, or stock pot, bring to boil about 5-6 cups of water.  Once water has reached a boil, add chopped celery root.  Cook until celery root is tender, very much like cooking diced white potatoes, approx. about 25 mins. Drain, once the celery root is tender, and place back in pot.  Add 3 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of Susie Q seasoning (you can also use garlic salt with parsley, if you do not have Susie Q seasoning). Blend with an immersion blender (I like Cuisinart's Stick Immersion Blender).  Blend until it resembles mashed potatoes, set aside, until you have the hash mixture cooked.

Directions for Hash Mixture:
In a large skillet on medium heat, melt 3 Tbsp. of butter.  Add worcestershire sauce, diced onions, garlic, and button mushrooms.  Cook until lightly golden, then add, carrots, peas, and first 3 oz. of Dogfish Head Tweason-ale.  Once the carrots have become slightly tenders and the peas softened, then add the ground lamb (or other ground meat), and the salt and pepper.  Cook until the meat starts to brown, add the final 3 oz of Dogfish Head Tweason'ale and cook on a low simmer, until meat is cooked through, approximately 20-30 mins.

Preheat oven to 325. Place Hash Mixture in a Deep 2 1/2 Qt. Casserole Dish, top with Mashed Celery Root topping and place in oven uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

***Topping Substituions*** You can replace the celery root with Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower. If using Mashed Sweet Potatoes you can omit the Susie Q Seasoning. However if using the Mashed Cauliflower I would still use it, I find the Susie Q really helps bring out the earthy flavors of the Celery Root and Cauliflower.