Comfort Food: Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Well, Hello September 8. The rest of the country is sipping Pumpkin Spice Latte's, pulling out their jeans and sweaters, and enjoy the crisp change of seasons. Over here in Arizona, we are sweltering in the heat. 100 degree days continue to persist. This morning at 4:50 am as I drove to swim practice, it was 80 degrees with 68% humidity (according to my weather app). All I could say to that is "wtf".

This is the time of the year where I start looking at Zillow for houses in Grand Forks, ND. Or Fairbanks, Alaska. Or perhaps Antarctica. Which I fantasized about on my run yesterday where even my teeth were sweating, I believe.

 

Okay, okay, enough of my ranting about Arizona. Don't worry, in 3 months I will be all "high on love" for the Sonoran Desert.

 

I chose to boycott summer yesterday. I even went as far as closing the blinds, so I could think it was cold and cloudy outside. My husband had 2 long days of work this weekend where was flying 6 hours/day (and transitioning from night shift to day shift) - so I knew comfort food would be good for his soul.

 

I also know he loves him some Shepherd's Pie. So I went with a healthier spin on the traditional recipe.  Here's what I came up with!

 

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

 

Potatoes:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup almond milk (any milk will do, but this is what I had)
• 2 Tbsp sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt, in my case)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• S & P to taste

Filling:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 onion (I used red because it's what I had)
• 5 mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup fresh green beans
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup organic chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp Flour (omit if making this gluten free, this just acts as a thickener)
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• S & P to taste
• Fresh Rosemary to taste
• paprika (just to sprinkle on top)

1. Cook potatoes. I cooked mine on the stovetop with water until they softened up. Mash with electric mixer with the milk, sour cream, garlic, S & P. Set aside.
2. In a medium pan, brown the meat. Add in the onions, mushrooms, & tomato paste. Once browned, add in all remaining ingredients. Simmer on med-low for about 10 minutes.
3. Preheat over to 400 degrees F. In an ungreased pie plate, pour in the meat mixture.
4. Using a spoon, evenly spread the potatoes on top. (I would poke a few holes in this, as pressure built up while baking)
5. Lightly sprinkle paprika on top for color. Sprinkle sprigs of fresh rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes @ 400 degrees.

 

This was my 1st time tasting Shepherd's Pie,  so I have nothing to compare it to. But Ryan gave it 2 thumbs up. Definitely good "cold weather food"  - and makes great leftovers! (I will admit I added a little cayenne to the potatoes, because I like spice. But that's kind of breaking the rules. As I don't think of shepherd's pie to be something with a "kick".)