Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 4
Rachael says, “I love mashed potatoes because they taste great and because they are so much fun to smash up! In this recipe, you can smash away because we’re making Shepherd’s Pie, which is ground meat mixed up with veggies and topped with smashed potatoes. The potatoes are like a crust, so they call it a pie even though it’s not. If you’re not taller than the stove, itself, let a Grown-up Helper (GH) handle the stovetop work – make sure you’re in there for the smashing though; that’s the key to the whole thing! Yum-o!”
Ingredients
- 4 large Idaho or Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2 1/2-3 pounds)
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 2 slices bacon, chopped or snipped with kitchen scissors
- 2 pounds ground turkey or ground turkey breast
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2/3 cup half-and-half or cream, divided
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chives, snipped or chopped
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Directions
- Place the potatoes in a small, deep pot. Cover with water, set the lid in place and set the pot on stove. Turn the heat on high and bring potatoes to a boil. Salt the water and cook potatoes until tender, 12-15 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, place a deep skillet on the stovetop over medium-high to high heat and add 2 tablespoons of EVOO, two turns of the pan. When the EVOO is hot, add the bacon and cook until crisp, 5 minutes, then add the turkey and break it up with a wooden spoon. Season the turkey with salt and pepper and brown it for 5 minutes, then squish it off to the sides of the pan and add the onions and carrots to the center of the pan. Season the veggies with salt and pepper and let them cook in the center of the pan, where it is hottest, for 5 minutes, then mix everything together.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and poultry seasoning to the turkey, then turn the heat down to medium and cover the pan with a foil tent to keep in some of the moisture. Cook another 6-7 minutes.
- Pre-heat the broiler to high.
- Drain the potatoes and place them back in the warm pot. Use a pot holder to hang on to the pot while you smash them up. Add 1/3 cup half-and-half, salt, pepper, egg, butter and chives and smash away with a masher until potatoes are almost smooth, but are still a little lumpy.
- Remove the foil from the turkey pan and stir in the peas and the remaining 1/3 cup half-and-half. Scrape up any good bits from the bottom of the pan and turn off the heat.
- Scrape the turkey into a small casserole dish, top with a thick layer of smashed potatoes, then transfer to the broiler. Cook until top is brown, then sprinkle with paprika and serve.
Photo credit: Tina Rupp