Shepherd's Pie (Italian Style)

It has been a tad chiller down in south fla (finally!), so I have felt inspired to bring back some comfort classics like this Paleo Shepherd’s pie recipe of mine. I made this one a while back and never posted or shared the recipe. I have no idea why either, because it is SOOO good. In a sense, there is kind of a little Italian inspired kick to it because I use Italian chicken sausage. The flavor is so bomb. This is not the traditional Shepherd’s pie, but I like it and my family loves it. I made it this past weekend for Sunday dinner for my parents too. Huge hit. You could probably make it vegetarian by just using mushrooms instead of meat. However if you do that, I would suggest upping your seasoning. Maybe throw in some extra Italian seasoning and use a sweet potato/cauliflower mash combo for the topping.

Either way, this is the perfect Fall/Winter casserole to add to your weekly rotation. Make it and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower topping: 

2 heads of cauliflower

4 cloves garlic 

2 tbsp ghee butter

Salt & pepper to taste

For the filling:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 pound ground turkey (I prefer the 93% lean)

1/2 pound sausage (I used maple breakfast bc thats what I had but sweet Italian would be good!)

2 tbsp of flour (use arrowroot or tapioca flour to keep paleo- helps thicken the dish)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 1/2 teaspoons of tomato paste

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 8oz package of frozen peas

1 can of corn or fresh corn (optional- my husband likes corn in his pie and i do not!)

1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

2 tsp of dried thyme

1 tsp of dried oregano

Salt & Pepper for seasoning

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Pre heat oven to 425.

  2. Steam cauliflower florets & the garlic cloves until tender. Transfer to a food processor and add ghee butter, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. You could also use an immersion blender too. Set aside.

  3. In a large skillet, add some ghee or olive oil and set to med-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring until soft. About 5 mins. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant- 30 seconds or so. Add the ground turkey, sausage and salt and pepper. Brown the meat using a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks through. Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir together. Mix in the broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, peas, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Once combined, bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 10 mins.

  4. Pour mixture into a casserole dish. Then spread the mashed cauliflower on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and place pie closer to the top. Let broil for 3-5 mins…don’t burn! Garnish with parsley and MANGIA!

*note: You could make this vegetarian by subbing in mushrooms but I would add more seasoning to make it more flavorful.

recipesAngelica Flanigan