Ina Garten’s Shepherd’s Pie recipe was easy and delicious

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (April 17th), I tried Ina Garten’s simple recipe for shepherd’s pies.

I am Irish-American but I don’t remember ever having shepherd’s pie before. The country’s traditional dish dates back to the late 1800s when peasant women would prepare the dish. Reuse leftovers from Sunday’s roast dinner.

But shepherd’s pie is making its way to America. Many American versions of shepherd’s pie use ground beef and turkey, whereas the Irish version uses lamb.

I tried making my own. Ina Garten’s recipe of shepherd’s PieThis recipe calls for ingredients such as carrots, celery and white button mushrooms.

I began by peeling the Yukon gold potatoes.

A bag of potatoes usually weighs approximately 5 pounds. But the recipe called for just 3 pounds. This was enough to cover the entire pie.

Then, I chopped the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.

The potatoes were then simmered until tender. This took approximately 20 minutes.

To make my vegetables quick and easy, I used this time-saving tip.

The recipe called out for celery, carrots, and white button mushroom finely chopped. To chop my vegetables, I used a food processor. I was pleased with the final product and it was the fastest way to prepare all my vegetables.

To give the mushrooms more texture, I also hand-chopped them.

Once my vegetables had been chopped, I placed them in a small dish and began to cook the meat.

The mixture was then stirred in chicken broth.

I also added tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Then, I continued cooking until the filling reached a simmer.

After I was done with the filling, it was time to get my potatoes ready for baking.

I hand-mashed the potatoes after draining them. I used the same pot that I had prepared them in. Although the recipe calls for a hand mixer to make creamy mashed potatoes I found that a potato masher was just as effective after adding whole milk, almost one stick of Kerry Gold butter and sour cream.

The crust of the mashed potatoes needed to be deep golden so I allowed the pie to cook for a bit more than the recipe recommended.

I baked the pie for around 30 minutes in the oven, even though the recipe said it should be done within 20 minutes.

Ovens are all different in terms of cooking times. I recommend checking the recipe until you are satisfied with the results.

The pie was hot and delicious when I served it. I would make this recipe again for St. Patrick’s Day…or any other occasion.

The pie didn’t hold together well. However, I believe it would have held its shape if I let it sit for a few minutes before serving it. But I couldn’t resist getting in.

The mashed potatoes tasted creamy, the filling was perfectly spiced, and all the flavors were reflected in the vegetables. It was simple enough to be convenient for a winter weeknight meal, yet impressive enough for a dinner party or even game day.

This recipe was also enough to feed at most four people with plenty of leftovers. I gave this recipe a thumbs up.