I know that you need to have sheep to have a real shepherd’s pie. What I’ve made would technically be cheating. Or blasphemy, depending on how seriously you take your food. Or you could simply name it a cowboy’s pie and just call it a day.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 8 generous servings / 1.36 EUR per serving / 10.89 EUR for all)

For meaty part:

1 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

1 large onion, diced (0.10 EUR)

1 kilo minced beef (7.33 EUR)

3 garlic cloves, minced (0.10 EUR)

3 large carrots, diced (0.10 EUR)

1 cup frozen peas (0.53 EUR)

½ cup white wine (0.67 EUR)

1 cup beef stock (0.33 EUR)

2 tablespoons tomato concentrate (0.13 EUR)

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

Pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped (0.27 EUR)

For mashed potatoes:

1 kilo potatoes (0.67 EUR)

3 tbsp butter (0.40 EUR)

½ cup milk (0.10 EUR)

Pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

METHOD:

Saute onion with tablespoon of oil on high heat until it becomes slightly translucent. Add in minced beef and break it into small chunks with your spatula. Cook for about five minutes before adding garlic, carrots and peas. Stir everything and cook for a few minutes for vegetables to soften a bit. Pour in wine and cook until alcohol evaporates. This may take two to three minutes.

Add in stock, tomato concentrate, paprika, salt, pepper and parsley, reduce heat and allow everything to simmer for about 30 minutes, so all the tastes can combine, with a lid cracked open. You’d want to stir occasionally, so it doesn’t burn. If necessary, add a splash of water. You want the sauce to be thick and rich.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes and add to a pot of water. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 20 minutes. Once done, drain potatoes and mash together with butter, milk, salt and pepper, until uniform.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Pour the cooked beef into a casserole dish and carefully scoop mashed potatoes on top. Using a spoon or a spatula, even out the potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is crispy and slightly golden.

Just a small note, be sure to use a big enough casserole dish (unlike me!), as the pie will get all bubbly while cooking. Just to ensure you don’t have a whole oven to scrub, place a baking tray underneath your casserole dish to catch any drippings.

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Znam da bi trebali imati ovce za pastirsku pitu. Ono što sam ja napravila zapravo bi se moglo nazvati varanjem. Ili blasfemijom, ovisno o tome koliko ozbiljno shvaćate svoju hranu. Ili jednostavno možete ovo jelo nazvati kaubojskom pitom i tako riješiti probleme.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 8 izdašnih porcija / 10,19 kn po porciji / 84,52 kn za sve)

Za mesni dio:

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

1 veliki luk, narezan na kockice (0,75 kn)

1 kg mljevene junetine (55,00 kn)

3 češnja češnjaka, sitno nasjeckana (0,75 kn)

3 velike mrkve, narezane na kockice (0,75 kn)

1 šalica smrznutog graška (4,00 kn)

½ šalice bijelog vina (5,00 kn)

1 šalica goveđeg temeljca (2,50 kn)

2 žlice koncentrata rajčice (1,00 kn)

1 žlica slatke crvene paprike (0,50 kn)

Prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,20 kn)

Pregršt svježeg peršina, sitno nasjeckanog (2,00 kn)

Za pire krumpir:

1 kg krumpira (5,00 kn)

3 žlice maslaca (3,00 kn)

½ šalice mlijeka (0,75 kn)

Prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,20 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Prodinstajte luk na žlici ulja na jakoj vatri, da postane staklast. Dodajte mljevenu junetinu, pa ju špatulom razlomite na sitne komadiće. Kuhajte oko 5 minuta, pa dodajte češnjak, mrkvu i grašak. Sve dobro promiješajte i kuhajte nekoliko minuta dok povrće mrvicu ne omekša. Prelijte bijelim vinom i kuhajte dok alkohol ne ispari. To obično traje oko 2-3 minute.

Dodajte temeljac, koncentrat rajčice, papriku, sol, papar i peršin, smanjite vatru na srednje i pustite da se krčka sa odškrinutim poklopcem oko pola sata, da se svi okusi prožmu. Povremeno promiješajte da vam ne zagori, a po potrebi dodajte i malo vode. Želite da vam umak na kraju bude gust i bogat.

U međuvremenu ogulite i narežite krumpir na kocke i stavite da se kuha u lonac vode. Kuhajte 20 minuta nakon što zakipi, a kad su krumpiri kuhani, ocijedite ih i izgnječite skupa sa maslacem, mlijekom, soli i paprom da postanu jednolični.

Zagrijte pećnicu na 200°C. Ulijte mesni dio u posudu za pečenje i pažljivo žlicom po vrhu raspodijelite pire. Poravnajte pire žlicom ili špatulom i pecite 30 minuta, dok se ne uhvati zlatna korica.

Samo mala napomena, pazite da (za razliku od mene!) upotrijebite dovoljno duboku posudu za pečenje, jer će umak bubriti i pjeniti se kako se peče. Kako bi ste se kasnije spasili od ribanja cijele pećnice, za svaki slučaj ispod posude podmetnite veliki pleh za pečenje, da ulovi sve što kapne van.