Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Italian Style Shephard's Pie



This is more of my attempt to get back to the classics, which has been a lot of fun, and very rewarding as my family really likes their down to earth, oldtime cookin! This was inspired by the remainder of my Newman's Own Sockerooni Spaghetti sauce.


I did my best to keep this as traditional as possible, or at least the way I remember it, while adding a bit of Italian flare. I'm definitely not an expert of Italian food, but I can say fairly confidently that this turned out to be one tasty pie! The key were the mashed potatoes, which were mashed with a good helping of sweet mascarpone cheese and tangy pecorino romano, oh my goodness, talk about creamy amazing potatoes! I sauteed my fresh green beans with chopped shallots a bit of white wine,just until al dente, which gave them a great flavor and a nice contrasting crunch. The beef I cooked with onions, garlic, plenty of Italian seasonings and enough sauce to give it good moisture and flavor, but not so much to make it to thin. Put the whole thing together, top with mozzarella, and you've got yourself a great dinner. This would go great with a nice crusty bread!

Italian Style Shephard's Pie
A Blog About Food

Ingredients

1 lb ground lean beef
1 chopped yellow onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon salt, or garlic salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups Newman's Own Sockerooni Sauce

1/2 lb fresh green bean, trimmed and halved width wise
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
2 teaspoons white wine
salt and pepper

2-3 yukon gold, red, or russet potatoes boiled (if red, i don't bother peeling)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup pecorino romano
splashes of milk to desired consistency
salt and pepper

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Spray an 8x8 casserole pan and preheat oven to 375.

2. For beef, saute onions and garlic until soft. Add beef, cook until browned. Drain. Add Italian Seasonings, salt, pepper and sauce. Simmer until thick, and adjust seasonings to liking. Pour beef mixture into pan and spread until even.

3. For green beans, saute beans and shallots until both are slightly soft. Add white wine and cook until wine has completely dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste, and pour beans into casserole pan. Spread evenly over beef mixture.

4. For potatoes, smashed with both cheese and add milk as desired to thin. Add salt and pepper to desired taste. Spread over beans evenly until smooth. Cover with mozzarella cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Enjoy!

24 comments:

chow and chatter said...

oh wow love what you did with this shepherds pie

Evelyn said...

That looks positively scrumptious! I'm going to have to try this one.

P.S. I left you a little something on my blog! Cheers!

Julie said...

I'll bet that's awesome with all that cheese in there :)

Sook said...

That is such a great twist to the shephard's pie. Yum!!

Melody said...

I'd love to try the different cheeses together. Looks delicious!

Sweet Cheeks said...

Love Shepard's Pie and this looks so good!

Lynn said...

This does look delicious, especially with those cheesy mashed potatoes in there. And the beans. Yum. Great way to use up that spaghetti sauce, too :)

Joanne said...

I have never seen an Italian Shepherd's Pie before! It looks awesome. And now I have something that I can mix my leftover mascarpone into. Even MORE awesome.

NKP said...

Great use of the sauce - delicious!

Jenn said...

Mmmm...as soon as I can eat meat again, I believe I'm making myself some shephard's pie.

Diana's Cocina said...

Like what you did here, mmmm. Lovin the cheese and potatoes!

Alissa said...

Mmmm mashed potatoes have REALLY been hitting the spot for me lately...in fact that all i ate for dinner tonight! Leftover mashed potatoes with an enormous amount of cheese on top. LOVE your version of shepard's pie! and who doesn't love to say the word "sockerooni"?! C'mon! Awesome.

Shelby said...

For some reason sheperds pie and I don't mix - because I can't make it right I guess! I never had this growing up so I guess I don't "know" what its supposed to taste like, but I know I haven't gotten it the way Grumpy wants! I'll have to try out your way to see if he will be quiet. ;)

Lara said...

Yum, we love shepherd's pie at our house and with an Italian flair I know my family would go crazy!

Kim said...

I'm all about the classic lately and this looks delicious! I love that you put mascarpone and pecorino in the mashed potatoes. That sounds amazing!

Thanks for telling me about the book group. I'm definitely going to go check that out. I have to read something every night in order to go to sleep, so it sounds like a great idea!

theUngourmet said...

I love making shepherd's pie. This is a great twist! Yum!

sara cardon said...

WOW!! This sounds so amazing with the twist on the mashed potatoes. What a fun way to spice up something a little more traditional. Yum!

Anonymous said...

When I first read your post I was like "Indian Style Shepherd's Pie??"

Glad it said Italian!! Looks delicious!

Reeni said...

This sounds incredibly delicious! So much flavor - love those mascarpone potatoes! You did a great job of reinventing this.

Katy ~ said...

I love shepherd's pie. I LOVE this shepherd's pie with all that yummy cheese and tomato sauce. Big scoops for me, please!

Victor said...

I love shepherd pies, what a great change!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I've wanted to try shephards pie for awhile. Your version sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
~ingrid

Carrie said...

I've never made Shephard's Pie, can you believe that? I like your Italian twist! It sounds so hearty and delicious!

Bo said...

Oh this sounds delicious...I really love the Newman's Own pasta sauces too.