Shepard's Pie in a Twice Baked Potato

To download a cookbook-style copy of the recipe for Shepherd’s Pie in a Twice Baked Potato, click HERE.

Everybody knows twice-baked potatoes, an easy and versatile dish made from a baked potato that has been scooped out, re-stuffed with the potato flesh mixed with cheese, onion, bacon, and/or anything else you like, and baked a second time to a delicious crispness.

Everybody also knows Shepherd’s Pie, a classic meat pie in a mashed potato crust that comes to us from the UK. (It’s worth nothing, though, that similar dishes are served in many countries world over under different names.)

Isn’t it about time they knew each other?

That’s the idea behind this week’s recipe, Instead of putting mashed potatoes back into the potato skins for the second bake, we’ll be using a Shepherd’s Pie filling and, in the usual Shepherd’s Pie way, covering it with mashed potatoes to form a kind of top crust when re-baked. It’s the best of both dishes, joining forces for an easy, hearty meal.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• Regarding the type of meat to use for Shepherd’s Pie, authoritative sources are divided into two camps. One side claims real Shepherd’s Pie must be made with ground lamb, and that if ground beef is used it is more properly called Cottage Pie. Other well-credentialed sources assure us that Shepherd’s Pie is made with either. In the interest of full disclosure, it’s worth nothing that both camps agree that the modern use of ground turkey (which I used in the photos below), while low-fat, is not truly authentic.

• Like most people, I was taught to bake potatoes by making fork-holes in them first and then baking for about an hour. In the recipe below, the method of baking the potatoes – baking without making fork-holes for the first half-hour, then making fork-holes and baking for the second half-hour – comes to us from the Food Network Kitchens, and results in a very nicely textured potato. I expect this will be my baked potato going forward.

• Here are some helpful tips for scooping the flesh out of the potatoes. Don’t try to do a lot with one scoop. Using a teaspoon, make multiple passes over the potato flesh, scooping out a bit more each time. I also found it helpful to scoop out one end of the half-potato before turning it around and scooping out the other half. Your patience when scooping out the potatoes will be rewarded.

• Although this recipe uses the mashed potatoes to top the Shepherd’s Pie, there will be a good amount left over. Save them. It will be one less thing to cook for dinner the following day.

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the potatoes: olive oil; 4 large russet potatoes, washed and dried; ¼ cup firm-textured butter substitute; 1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream; 1 green onion, finely chopped; salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the filling: olive oil for sauté; 3 medium carrots, finely diced; 1 large onion, finely diced; 1 – 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 lb ground lamb, beef or turkey; 2 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped; ½ tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped; 1 Tbsp firm-textured butter substitute; 1 cup frozen peas; 2 Tbsp corn starch; 2 Tbsp tomato paste; 5 ounces red wine; 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock; salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste; grated parmesan cheese

For the garnish: rosemary sprigs or similar

First, let’s get the potatoes baking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly rub each potato all over with olive oil. (Be careful not to overdo it. We're just looking to apply a little oil to give the potato skin an extra nice crisp when baked.)

Without yet piercing the potatoes, place them directly on the rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Pierce each potato several times with a fork and continue to bake until tender, about another 30 minutes.

While the potatoes are baking, prepare the filling.

Prepare and set aside the chopped and diced ingredients: carrots, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and green onion. Measure out the peas.

Heat some olive oil is a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the carrots and cook until just a little tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add in the onions and sauté for a minute, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another 30 seconds to one minute.

Add the meat, thyme and rosemary. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is browned.

If there is fat left in the pan (depending on the amount of fat in the meat you’re using), drain it. Add the butter substitute and the peas.

Make a slurry by mixing the corn starch with ¼ cup of water, and stir the slurry into the pan.

Stir in the tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid thickens.

Add the chicken stock, and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning as necessary. When done, set aside until the potatoes have finished baking.

When the potatoes have finished baking:

Carefully trim a wedge from the length of each potato. Set the wedges aside in a bowl.

Using a spoon, carefully remove most of the potato flesh from each potato and place it in the bowl with the wedges.

Be sure to leave enough potato flesh so the skins stay together.

Mash the potatoes in the bowl. Add the butter substitute and sour cream. Stir in the chopped green onion, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the potatoes:

Fill each potato skin with filling.

Top each with some mashed potatoes, pinching the potatoes as you go to form nice peaks; the more peaks, the better the potato topping will brown.

Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the topping has some browning. Plate with garnish and you're ready to serve.

To download a cookbook-style copy of the recipe for Shepherd’s Pie in a Twice Baked Potato, click HERE.

Serve with some of the wine we used in the cooking, and you’re all set!

Please visit again next week for another tasty, kitchen-tested recipe, and a special announcement. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Hakuna Frittata

If you’re in the mood for a great-tasting, light meal in the steak-and-eggs spirit, the Hakuna Frittata – an asparagus and roasted red pepper frittata with just the right touch of bacon, and a ground lamb (no lion or, worse, meerkat) and tomato topping - may be just what you’re looking for. Plus the name is really cool to say. (If the name, or the reference to lions and meerkats, has you mystified, people who had small children in the mid-90’s and can explain it are easy to find; it’s a small world after all.)

The real, and decidedly unglamorous, origins of the Hakuna Frittata arise from the fact that I like eggs, wanted to do something different with a frittata, and had a package of ground lamb in the freezer that I’d gotten with no particular recipe in mind but that I thought would make a nice ingredient in, well, something.

The frittata, of course, is Italy’s version of an omelet, with the vegetables incorporated into the eggs rather than being placed on them. It’s usually cooked in a pan and is more-or-less pie-shaped. In this recipe, I’ve taken a different approach and baked the frittata in a loaf pan in a larger pan of water for more even cooking (a kind of improvised bain-marie), a method presented in Michel Richard’s “Cooking with a French Accent” that I had the opportunity to learn in a class with Chef Renee at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education. (It’s a fantastic place for both full time and recreational classes if you’re in the New York area.)

A special note for new cooks: this recipe also uses a number of techniques – whipping and folding egg whites, blanch and shock, preparing roasted red peppers, the aforementioned bain-marie - that will be familiar to people who’ve cooked before, and that will be great additions to the skill set of anyone new to cooking. (Where appropriate, I’ve added some Cook’s Notes in the recipe to clarify certain points for anyone new to this.) Note that whipping the egg whites is not normally done when making frittatas and, in fact, isn’t even necessary if you’re using fresh eggs. As readers know by now, I look to reduce fat in recipes where I can, and use egg substitute a lot. It’s good for most things, but doesn’t fluff when cooking quite the way fresh eggs do. For recipes where that's an issue, I’ve found adding beaten egg whites to be the solution. It’s an example of how reduced fat cooking and baking typically require more than just substituting reduced fat ingredients, which can have a negative impact on texture. You need the proper items and techniques in your low-fat tool-box. More on that another day.

Ok, let’s cook! This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Place a large baking dish half-filled with water into the oven, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

To prepare the asparagus:

• Bring a pot of salted water large enough for the asparagus to a boil. 
• Make a salted ice bath in preparation for cooking the asparagus. 
• Cut the stems off of ¾ pound of medium-to-thick asparagus. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the tough outer skin from the back end and make the shafts a uniform thickness to cook evenly. Boil until tender but still crisp, about 3 – 4 minutes, then immediately place the asparagus in the ice bath. [Cook’s note: This method of stopping the cooking and preserving the nice green color is called, “blanch and shock.”] When they’ve cooled, remove the asparagus from the ice bath, and place them on a towel to dry.

Roast two red peppers in a skillet, dice, and place in a skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil. [Cook’s Note: For tips on roasting the red peppers, see last week's recipe for Chicken Pasta Primavera.] Add ½ teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, and 2 minced cloves of garlic, and cook over medium heat until the vinegar has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

Cook and finely dice one or two slices of turkey bacon, and set aside.

Coat the sides of a 2 pound loaf pan with butter substitute. Line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment.

In a bowl, beat five egg substitute eggs together with one tablespoon of minced, fresh basil.

In a second bowl, add a pinch of salt to two fresh (not packaged) egg whites and beat until firm peaks form. [Cook’s note: Using fresh egg whites here, and not the packaged egg whites, is very important. I’ve found that packaged egg whites don’t form peaks the way fresh egg whites do.] Fold the beaten eggs into the egg substitute mixture. [Cook’s Note: When folding beaten egg whites into another mixture, there’s no need to make sure they combine completely. Some white streaks or bumps from the beaten egg whites are ok. Attempting to combine everything completely can result in the beaten egg whites losing their fluffiness.]

Place about 1/3 of the asparagus on the bottom of the loaf pan, alternating tips and bottoms, being sure to leave space in between each stalk. Place 1/3 of the cooked peppers on top of the asparagus, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the diced bacon. Repeat with another 1/3 of the asparagus, peppers, and bacon, and then with the remaining asparagus, peppers and bacon. (Leaving space between the asparagus stalks is critical; if there is not enough space between them, the egg mixture will not get in between the asparagus and the finished frittata will fall apart when cut.)

Gently pour the egg mixture over the asparagus and peppers, making sure all of the asparagus are covered. After the loaf pan has been filled, tap it gently to distribute the liquid evenly.

Cover the loaf pan with foil, and place it in the oven in the pan of water to form a bain-marie. Bake until the eggs are firm and a knife or skewer inserted comes out clean (45 – 60 minutes).

While the frittata is baking, make the topping as described below.

In a bowl, combine the one pound of ground lamb, 3 chopped sprigs of fresh oregano, 3 chopped sprigs of fresh rosemary, and 1/3 cup flat Italian parsley.

In a large pan over moderately high heat, and add the lamb mixture, 1 diced medium onion and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Cook until the onions are soft and the lamb is well browned. (If possible, drain some excess fat as you go.) Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.

Add a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes with juice to the lamb mixture. Simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for 15- 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

When the frittata has finished baking, remove the foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes. (If any water has formed on top of the frittata, dab it up with a paper towel.)

Run a knife around the edge of the loaf pan, and turn the frittata out onto a platter, dabbing of any excess liquid. Slice the frittata into portions; after plating, top each portion with the lamb topping, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

And with that, the recipe’s circle of life is completed, and you’re ready to feel the love of a good meal tonight! If you'd like a cookbook-style, notebook-ready copy of this recipe, drop me a line or a comment and it shall be yours!

That's it for now. There'll be a new recipe posted here next Saturday, so please come by! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)