The cheddar and leeks make this shepherd's pie

Shepherd’s Pie With Leeks and Irish Cheddar

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The original recipe for this is from Delia Smith, a U.K. food writer. Her recipes are phenomenal and it’s a crime that we don’t see more of her on this side of the pond. For more on Delia, visit her Web site at: www.deliaonline.com

I’ve modified it a bit from the last time I posted it in November to include a blend of meats, peas and a bit more spice. This dish, as outlined below, will easily serve 8 people – perfect for a St. Paddy’s day dinner.

For this recipe, I used 1 pound of lamb and 1 pound of ground turkey as a healthier alternative to beef.  One can of course make shepherd’s pie with any ground meat, but it’s the lamb that makes it; the subtle gaminess that plays through all the spices and toppings – the foundation upon which shepherd’s pie is really built.

1 lb lamb and lb ground turkey

2 tbs olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped finely
2-3 medium sized turnips, chopped finely
1 cup peas (add toward the end).
1 tbs Thyme, adding more to taste as the recipe comes together
1 tbs parsley, fresh (dried will work as well, but in that case use double)

1 heaping tbsp cinnamon (The original recipe calls for a half teaspoon, but I really like the cinnamon flavor n in this dish and like to add a bit more. So, I might start with the teaspoon and  add then supplement to taste)

1 teaspoon bay leaf

1 tbs plain white flour
10 oz beef stock
1 ½ tbs of tomato puree (I like to add a small bit of water and the puree to a bowl and mix it up into a lighter paste. It makes it easier to mix to the remainder of ingredients)
salt and pepper to taste (I do this early to give these time to blend in. Use kosher salt if possible)
Apple cider vinegar (this isn’t in the recipe, but I like to add the smallest bit of apple cider vinegar if the above comes out a bit salty. Tough to tell with the meat and stock mixture. If you want to tone down the salt, the vinegar helps. But, this is up to you)

Topping:

2oz Dubliner Irish Cheddar, grated, but not too fine (I like to leave it out for a half hour, or so, before I use it. It opens up a bit)
2 Leeks cut into bits (three if you can only find the small ones. HOWEVER, green onions also work very well. In this case, chop enough to get good coverage on the top of the pie)
2lb mashing potatoes of your choice
2 oz butter (Don’t use too much and don’t use cream or milk as the mash needs to sit on top of the pie.)
Salt and pepper (I like the mash to be very peppery, but this up to you)

Use an oval or large rectangular baking dish.

Heat olive oil in a larger frying pan over medium heat. Fry onions until just colored. Don’t burn the edges. 5-7 minutes.

Add the carrots and the turnip and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring every so often. Pull the veg when they look thoroughly cooked.

Brown meat in the pan. I like to do this in batches so you get good coverage and the pan doesn’t get too cold. Season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables, cinnamon, thyme, parsley (NOTE: you may need to remove some fat depending on the meat you choose. If it looks overly fatty, remove some, not all, with a spoon. This wasn’t an issue with the turkey).

Add the flour to soak up the juices. Gradually add the stock while stirring. Add the tomato puree. Put a lid, turn the heat down to simmer/low and heat for about 25 minutes.

While this is simmering, make the topping.

Chop the potatoes into quarters, add salt to boiling water and Cook potatoes for 20 minutes until tender.

(If you choose, now is when to give the leeks a quick 2-3 minutes on medium heat just to break them down a bit. Your choice. The green onions won’t need it.)

Pre-heat the oven to 400.

When the potatoes are done, return to pot, covering with tea towel for 5-7 minute to absorb the steam.

Add the butter and pepper and mash to a smooth, but not cream, consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed (you can also add other herbs here, if you like)

Uncover the meat mixture and let some of the liquid cook off for 2-3 minutes (this would be the time to add the peas, if you choose). When it looks like a thick chili consistency, spoon into a buttered dish (a quick spray of pam will do). Level the meat mixture out so that it’s even. Spoon the mash mixture over the top, spreading so that it’s even and covers the meat to the dish rim. Sprinkle the leeks or onions on top of the potatoes and scatter the grated cheese over the leeks.

Bake until the cheese is gold brown with a slight crust and the dish is bubbling.

NOTE: This dish will stay hot for a long time. Give it some time to set outside the oven in the kitchen as it will be too hot to eat immediately out of the oven.

Serve with peas, a bitter lettuce salad with a simple vinaigrette and crusty bread fresh from the oven.

Pair with Leffe Belgian Beer or Irish Stout. This also handles a nice spicy malbec, chianti, or not-too-oaky Cab.

The winter once again reminded us yesterday in D.C. that it will not go softly into that goodnight. But, as always, one can use the kitchen and fresh, local ingredients to turn a cold day warm. I’d initially headed to D.C.’s Eastern Market in search of venison, but alas I found none. Instead, I moved toward a tray of gorgeous lamb loin chops. I’d not had lamb in a while and thought it was a good time to revisit it. Outside and across the street, the local produce lady displayed a gorgeous box of small brussel sprouts, which were perfectly firm in the icy afternoon weather.

Brussel sprouts are the unfortunate recipient of a great many sour faces – twisted in the memory of some terrible experience in which the little beauties were simply misrepresented, boiled to a mush, or braised beyond recognition. I admit, I too have inflicted brussel sprouts damage on a fair number of family members.

But, I feel the sprouts are making a comeback. They’re popping up on more and more menus, and the sour faces that once panned them broadly, are starting to look more inquisitive than inquisitor. I’d recently seen a video of Thomas Keller on the today show, blanching and caramelizing sprouts and knew that was the direction for me.

I headed back into the market for some gorgeous bacon from Pennsylvania and remembered a lone potato – from Washington’s Green Grocer – I had at home that, cut into cubes and mixed into the sprouts, would cut the bitterness enough to create a nice balance.

Now, what to do with the chops. I searched around on the interweb for a while and didn’t find anything that enticed me enough to try and replicate or modify it. So, in the spirit of recipe play, I went into the kitchen and stared at my spices and into my fridge. I eyed mustard seeds, whole coriander and rosemary. I toasted the spices gently and then remanded them to the mortar and pestle, where I added a pinch of sea salt that I wanted to grind into the mix. Toasted and ground spices are thing of beauty. Once you smell the slightly toasted exterior of the spices mixed with the oils they give off when heated, you’ll never go back. I poured the ground spices into a bowl and added extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, and finely minced parsley and fresh ground black pepper.

I rubbed this mixture over the chops and let them sit in the fridge, covered, for about an hour.

On to the sprouts. I blanched them for about 3-4 minutes in salty boiling water, which really brings the brilliant green color to the surface. I then plunged them into icy water for a few minutes to cool them down. I boiled one potato for about 8-10 minutes and moved it to a cutting board, where i cut it into cubes and set aside. I took one slice of bacon, which was thick cut, and cut it likewise into cubes, much like lardons.

Moving back to the sprouts, I cut the small nub off the end and then cut them in half, which would give them a better caramelization on the interior part of the sprout.

Remove the lamb from the fridge and put on a plate to allow it to come to room temperature.

Add a quarter stick of butter to a hot pan (I actually added leftover clarified butter from an Xmas rib roast) when it’s bubbling, add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is just starting to color and pop, add the sprouts, interior side down, another pinch of salt and a sprinkling of apple cider vinegar and let sit while you turn to the lamb – this is important for caramelization…I promise, just leave them be for a while.

Add a spot of oil to a smoking hot skillet; cast iron is wonderful, but I used a large dutch oven to create space for the chops.

Add the chops. 4 minutes per side (depending on thickness).

After the first turn of the lamb, turn your sprouts and add the diced potato, a bit more vinegar – maybe small shot of chicken stock – and toss few times. Then let sit while the lamb finishes.

After the lamb is browned nicely on both sides, remove to a cutting board and tent with foil for 8 minutes or so.

Give the sprouts another couple of tosses, checking for seasoning, and add to a warm plate ( I hate cold plates). Add the chops, and pour the juice from the resting period off the cutting board and onto each plate of chops. If you want, you could probably add this juice back to a pan with small bit of butter, some sherry and a bit of stock to make a subtle sauce. I don’t think it’s needed, but it’s up to you.

One of my favorite things about this dish is that it emanates entirely from local producers. The lamb was from Maryland, the bacon from PA, and the produce from Virginia. Now, I am not an absolutist about sourcing locally. There are always going to be ingredients that you simply cannot source near your home. The important thing is to merely buy from people you trust, who care about your food and take care to get it from the farm to your plate in a responsible manner. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. Enjoy the food.

Ingredients

4 Lamb Loin Chops (about 1.5 pounds)

2 handfuls brussel sprouts (yes, that’s how I measured)

1 slice of thick-cut bacon

1 potato, cut into cubs

butter

apple cider vinegar for the sprouts (to taste)

Rub

1 teaspoon of mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.5 tablespoons of sherry vinegear

pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced parsley

Will

I’ve received a few requests lately to add a vegetarian recipe to Recipe Play, so here it goes…

I was in a creative mood this evening, as you can see above, and wanted to play with some available flavors.

As always, this time of year, I had several sweet potatoes and apples on hand, as well as a bag each of frozen tater tots and corn.

But what to do. Sweet Potato Hash sounded fun, so I threw this together in about 20 minutes. First I shredded up the tater tots and frozen corn, diced and sauted the onion and incorporated that along with the rosemary, red pepper, a glug of olive oil and a bit of Mr. P and Mrs. S.

I sauteed the mixture in the pan until it browned up, and then added chunks of sweet potato, which I’d cooked for 4.5 minutes in the microwave and then skinned and cubed. After the sweet potato started to brown, I poured in a glug of the stock and continued to cook as I dealt with the apples.

Half and core the apples and then three quarters into thin slices. top with a bit of lemon juice to keep from browning.

Remove the sweet potato hash from the heat and use a shallow ramekin or other dish to create the bottom half of the stack. I used the lid from a cous cous jar. What can I say…i couldn’t find my ramekins.

After the first stack, place thinly sliced apples on top so that the skin follows the round curves of the stack. When you’ve got the first layer covered, repeat sweet potato stack using whatever dish, lid, jar, you’re using.

Add another layer of apples on top, leaving the middle open.

Dice the remaining quarter of apple, add a bit of thyme. Add a glug of liqueur to a pan and cook on high heat until it starts to bubble. As it starts to bubble, add the diced apples and thyme and stir as the mixture becomes a syrup. Remove from the heat and spoon some of the mixture on top of the stack in the middle that you’d left open. Spoon a bit of the apple-elderflower syrup on top and spoon the rest out over the base.

I could have probably added an egg, and, had I gone non-veggie, some leftover pork loin. But it turned out pretty well and would be fab for a Sunday brunch or fun afternoon snack.

• Tater tots
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• Frozen corn
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 apple
• 3 small sweet potatoes
• Chicken stock
• St. Germain Elderflower liqueur

I received the St. Germain for my birthday, note this area of the site, which describes the delicate nature of the harvesting process.

More later

Yep, you read it correctly: Butter…Poached..Rib Roast. Eight pounds of butter to be exact. In the pictures above, you’ll see the proof, including what 8 pounds of reducing butter looks like in a large pot, as well as the clarified remnants.

The first few people to whom I mentioned this laughed nervously before questioning if they’d indeed heard me correctly.

I wanted to post the pictures today and get to the recipe and my analysis of it in the next few days. On paper, this was quite simple. But, it did include quite a lot of prep time that I wasn’t aware of when I’d read through it the initial few times. Furthermore, my uncle pulled this from the paper and neglected to mention that there was a larger article with the recipe that contained some guidance about trimming the roast.

So, for the most part, I flew blind in pulling this together. But, after the prep, and despite the lack of trimming some key areas, this was quite easy.

Here is the initial recipe from the Washington Post

The roast turned out, as you can imagine, incredibly tender and not at all greasy. Once our group overcame the fears of what might happen to our arteries, we immersed fully into this must-eat-only-once-per-year indulgence.

The crispy potatoes that I served with this are definitely a keeper. Basically, you peel the skin from Yukon Gold potatoes, cut off the ends, and then chuff all sides with a fork (basically, drag the fork across all sides of the potato, leaving the little channels in its wake).

I recommend cooking these for about 45 minutes to an hour; 30 or so minutes at 375 and then the remaining time about about 475. Baste the potatoes every so often with butter and beef stock (or with any fat you have from what you’re cooking) and don’t season with salt until they come out of the oven as you don’t want to draw any water toward the surface.

Okay, more to come later. I have several comments about what I did differently and what you might consider if you decide to try this. For all you Roast Beast fans out there, it’s a must.

Here’s the link to the Rib Eye Recipe on Foodista