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. ;-)

Pierogi with Potato, Carrot and Cheese Filling

To download a copy of the recipe for Potato, Carrot and Cheese Pierogi, click HERE.

First things first: “pierogi” is plural. The singular form, pierog, is on the list of forgotten singular food words that also includes raviolo, gnocco, and – so help me, I’m not making this up – spaghetto.

Pierogi, of course, are essentially dumplings that are boiled, and often (though not always) fried afterward. (You can think of it as Poland’s somewhat doughier answer to Italy’s ravioli, although similar-concept dishes with a variety of different names are served throughout Europe and Asia.) Pierogi are popular throughout Canada and the United States, particularly in areas populated by Eastern European immigrants or their descendants.

It also seems worth a mention that pierogi even have their own patron saint.  (According to Wikipedia, “ ‘Swiety Jacek z pierogami!’, (St. Hyacinth and his pierogi!) is an old expression of surprise, roughly equivalent to the American "good grief" or "holy smokes!" As they say in the sports pages, you can look it up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi )

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• If refrigerating the pierogi to serve the next day, lightly flour the container in which they are being stored to prevent sticking.

• If freezing the pierogi, first freeze on a baking sheet, then place the frozen pierogi in a sealed bag or container for storage.

• Exercise care when rolling out the dough. If it’s thicker than the 1/8” called for in the recipe, the pierogi can become overly doughy.

• The filling used in this recipe is a dressed up version of a typical potato and cheese filling. In this case, the potato and cheese mixture has added mashed carrots, sautéed onions, and just the right bit of bacon. Pierogi are often topped with sour cream and sautéed onion. Since here I’ve put the onion in the filling, the recipe calls for the sour cream to be mixed with chopped chives.

• Since I like to keep things low fat whenever possible, in this recipe the pierogi are cooked by boiling. As mentioned above, pierogi are often pan-fried after being boiled, so feel free to do that here too you’re so inclined.

This recipe makes about 30 3-1/2” pierogi (four servings).

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the filling: 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into coins of equal thickness; olive oil for sauté; 1 small onion, diced; ¾ lb. red potatoes, baked; 3 Tbsp low fat sour cream; 3 Tbsp farmer cheese; 1 ounce turkey bacon, cooked and diced; and salt and pepper.

For the dough: 3 cups AP flour; ½ tsp salt; 2 egg-substitute eggs; ¼ cup low fat sour cream; and ½ cup water.

Other Ingredients for Serving: low fat sour cream; and chopped chives.

First, prepare the filling as follows:

Steam the carrot coins till soft. After they are soft, mash them with a masher or fork.

 

While the carrots are steaming, heat a little oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until lightly caramelized.

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and mash well. (Leaving potato skins on is optional but recommended.)

Add the carrots, sour cream, farmer cheese, diced turkey bacon, and the sautéed onions, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

While the filling is cooling, prepare the dough as follows:

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Form a well in the flour, and add the egg-substitute eggs, sour cream and water. Whisk the liquids in the well together.

Work the liquid mixture into the flour until a dough forms.

Knead the dough for about five minutes until smooth.

Cut the dough into four equal parts. Wrap each in plastic wrap, and let rest for twenty minutes.

To form the pierogi:

Roll one of the dough quarters out on a floured surface to about 1/8” thick.

Using a 3-1/2” cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can. (Alternatively, the dough can be cut into 3-1/2” squares.)

(If necessary, you can get an extra pierogi or two by taking a dough piece and attaching it where needed with a wet finger.)

Place about a tablespoon of filling on each dough piece.

Fold the dough piece over into a half-circle, and press down on the edges with your fingers.

Seal the edges with the tines of a fork.

Set the pierogi out on a lightly floured baking sheet lined with foil while you prepare the other dough quarters in the same way.

To cook:

Drop the pierogi into a pot of salted boiling water. When the pierogi float to the top (about four minutes) they are ready to serve.

 
To serve:

Plate the pierogi. Place some sour cream and chives on the side.

To download a copy of the recipe for Potato, Carrot and Cheese Pierogi, click HERE.

If you don’t make this great dinner for your family, friends, and even yourself, you just might end up saying, “! Swiety Jacek z pierogami!”

I hope you’ll visit here again next week for another kitchen-tested, home-cook ready recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Potato-Carrot Kugel

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Potato-Carrot Kugel, click HERE.

A great big welcome to new subscriber Carmen!

Of the many great gifts given to the world by the cuisine of Eastern Europe, one of the most popular (and certainly one of the easiest) is the kugel, a baked casserole of either noodles or potatoes that is usually served as a hearty side dish. (Sometimes, kugels are baked in muffin tins instead of in a baking dish in order to make individual servings.) A well-made kugel is crisp on the outside, and soft and moist (but not dense) on the inside.

This week we’re making a Potato-Carrot Kugel. The addition of the grated carrots, and some grated apple, lend just enough sweetness to make this delightful. If you’ve had a good potato kugel before, I believe this will compare favorably. If you haven’t, I believe you’ll be glad you did.

This recipe makes 4-6 side dish servings.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

1/2 medium onion (to make ½ cup diced); 1 or 2 garlic cloves; 4 Tbsp flavor-neutral cooking oil, divided; 1 pound potatoes; 1/3 lb carrots; 1 sweet apple; 1 tsp salt; pinch fresh ground black pepper; pinch dried thyme; pinch dried dill; ½ cup AP flour; ½ tsp baking powder; 2 egg-substitute eggs; and cooking spray.

To make the kugel:

Begin preheating oven to 350 degrees.

Dice ½ a medium onion (1/2 cup) and mince the garlic.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a non-stick pan. Sauté the garlic until fragrant, 30 seconds to one minute, then add the diced onion and cook until lightly caramelized.

While the onions and garlic are cooking, peel and grate the potatoes (you should get about 2 cups), and place in a strainer over a bowl. Press gently to drain.

Peel and grate the carrots (you should get about 1 cup) and the apple.

Put the potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, salt, pepper, thyme, dill, flour, baking powder and the remaining oil in a mixing bowl, and mix till combined. Stir in the egg substitute eggs.

Spread the mixture in an 8”x 8” baking dish that has been sprayed with the cooking spray.

Bake for until the top is browned and a toothpick placed in middle comes out clean (about 60 minutes). When it’s done, let it rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Cut into squares, and serve hot as a side dish. (In the photo at the top, the kugel is served with broccoli and my wife’s meat loaf.)

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Potato-Carrot Kugel, click HERE.

And that, my friends, is how you make an easy, delicious potato-carrot kugel!

Visit again next week for another kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)