Shepherd’s Pie for Someone Special

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potato Topping
• Two large sweet potatoes, scrubbed peeled and quartered
• Two tablespoons unsalted butter
• One tablespoon heavy cream
• One tablespoon pure maple syrup
• Sea salt to taste
For the Lamb Filling
• One pound ground lamb, with fairly even marbling, if you can get it
• One large shallot, minced (Onion works, too, but go for shallot, if you can.)
• One-half cup whole grain rolled oats, processed to fine crumbs
• One large egg, slightly beaten
• Two tablespoons tomato paste (organic, no-salt)
• One tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• One tablespoon pure dark sesame oil
• One-half cup quality feta cheese (Don’t skimp here.)
• One teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or a mixture of cayenne and black pepper, if Aleppo isn’t available)
• One teaspoon each dried sage and rosemary
• Sea salt to taste (Less rather than more probably because the feta will be salty.)
• Olive oil to prep the casserole dish

Instructions

To Prepare the Sweet Potato Topping
1. Begin with the topping because it can wait covered on the stove until it is needed in the oven. Cover the prepared sweet potatoes with cold water in a large Dutch oven. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a heavy simmer and cook until the sweet potato chunks are very tender but not falling completely apart. You can prepare the lamb filling and get it into the oven while your sweet potatoes cook.
2. Once the potatoes are tender, drain completely and return to the pot. Add the butter and mash up until smashed mostly smooth. Using a big wooden spoon, beat in the cream, maple and salt. Cover and set aside until needed.
To Make the Lamb Filling and Begin the Baking
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 X 8 casserole dish with olive oil.
4. In a large mixing bowl, crumble the ground lamb and combine it with the processed oats. Your hands are your best tool here. I usually start with a spoon but switch over quickly. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the tomato paste, tamari and sesame oil. Add to the lamb-oat mixture and combine well.
5. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and the dried herbs. Crumble in the feta cheese and use your hands to get everything evenly combined.
6. Place the mixture in the prepared casserole dish and spread in an even layer to fill the dish to the sides. Place in the oven and set the timer for one hour.
7. At about 45 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to calm down a couple of minutes. At this point it is time to top the lamb layer with the sweet potatoes, but first you will need to drain the grease off the meat mixture. This can be tricky, tipping the dish without dumping out the meat or burning your hands. Here is how I do it:
8. Place a heatproof container in the sink well. I use a tiny pot that I know will not shatter when the hot grease makes contact.
9. Use substantial oven mitts that afford a good grip to handle the hot dish.
10. Gently tilt the casserole letting the grease dribble out into the little pan slowly and steadily. The sink will catch any leaks and misses. Cleanup is easier. See photos after the recipe.
11. You don’t need to remove every drop, just do the best you can and take care placing the hot dish onto your counter in order to top with potatoes. An old towel or thick hot pad works well. Be brave.
12. Once the grease has been drained, top the meat with the prepared mashed sweet potatoes. Add extra butter or maple, if you wish. Return to the oven and continue to bake for the remaining time or until everything is heated through and the potatoes have begun to brown slightly.
13. Once the casserole is done, let it rest about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes