Scandinavian, British, Irish Shepherd's Pie

The title of this recipe reflects my mixed genealogy 😉 

I have distant, foggy memories of my father's tiny, very English-Welsh Grandmother making something similar, which is fitting since her maiden name was Shepherd. 

I love the concept of Shepherd's Pie, but decided to take creative liberties with each layer. The meat layer  is a big version of my Scandinavian mom's meatloaf recipe. I made meatballs and meatloaf, then froze them a week ago. For this English dish, I thawed, baked, sliced and cubed the meatloaf; using it as the foundational layer for this recipe; in a glass baking pan. 

For the vegetable layer, I partially cooked a pound of frozen green beans, with 1-1/2c frozen bell peppers added when 5 minutes of cooking time remained.

The garlic mashed potato, top layer, was an unpeeled, rustic medley of what I happened to have here. . .It's been a couple weeks since I shopped! 2 large Idaho potatoes, a big sweet potato, some tiny purple, red, and Yukon gold potatoes. Scrub them all, then dice them into fresh, cold, salted water. Stir, drain, rinse, then add new fresh, cold, salted water. For garlic potatoes, add 6-8 peeled, sliced cloves now.

Simmer over low heat, only until the potatoes are fork tender and crumble a bit. Mash, add 4oz. butter -I used a soft-spreadable blend of EVOO, butter and sea salt- add fresh ground black pepper, a tiny sprinkle of cayenne, just a little garlic salt, Rough mash all this with a hand masher, adding just enough half and half, sour cream, or heavy cream to make it soft and cohesive, but not loose.

Since each of the 3 layers is cooked separately, once assembled, sprinkle on a cup or so of shredded, sharp cheddar cheese, bake 20 minutes and serve. Mine went together today. I'm chilling it, covered, overnight and it'll be ready to pop into the oven after church tomorrow.  Shown here unbaked.

A half hour before serving, heat in a preheated 350° oven for 20-30 minutes, just to bubble the entire thing all the way through and melt the cheese. Let stand 5 minutes then cut into squares to serve. 

A fresh green salad or some coleslaw would pair nicely with this, to cut the richness of the dish. This will reheat well and taste great the second or even third time you serve it. . .Lin