I got excited when I found a recipe in my #whole30 book (referenced in other blogs) for Shepherd’s pie. I have never made it before (any version). But before we get started on that, let me go on a small rant!
I recently started a small debate on facebook about yams vs sweet potatoes. The recipe called for sweet potatoes, while the image next to it is orange; the colour of yams. In the store, I picked up “yams” (as the label said) to make it look like the recipe pictured. I completely effed up and didn’t get the orange yams, I got sweet potatoes. It looks like the grocery store is just as confused as I am! This sweet potato/yam issue is not good for someone who is learning to cook and learning about vegetables. I have lost confidence in this area.
Okay, back to my point! The recipe is on page 350 of the cook book. I made mine with lamb (my first twist, which is also quite traditional) and instead of putting this in a 9” X 12” casserole dish, I used a 9.5” X 9.5” dish (my second twist). Interestingly enough, I thought that the recipe would have been a bit too thin in a larger casserole dish.
Finally, I didn’t make the recipe with yams (because it said sweet potatoes!) I used Canadian sweet potatoes instead (the white ones). I also used my hand blender to make the sweet potato into an easy mash.
I got a little cheeky and make a smiley face in my food! This dish made 6 meals and cost about $30 – so about $5/meal (not bad!)
Recipe difficulty (Agata scale) 5 out of 10
Recipe taste (Agata scale) 8 out of 10
Things I would do differently:
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make more meat
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add more veggies, like parsnips and peppers
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use a different shape casserole (would feed a good group of people)