Braised Lamb and Wild Mushrooms Shepherd’s Pie
After I made my Simple Braised Leg of Lamb the other day, I was left with a lot of meat. A roast this size for a single person sure will last you a looooong time.
So I decided to repurpose that meat and came up with the most delicious, most amazing Shepherd’s Pie I’ve ever eaten in my entire life: a Braised Lamb and Wild Mushrooms Shepherd’s Pie.
In fact, while I was enjoying my very first serving of this comforting fare, I thought to myself that this is exactly what, by definition, Shepherd’s Pie should be: deliciously moist and juicy chunks of braised lamb meat topped with TONS of sauteed buttery wild mushrooms all brought together by a generous amount of the creamiest, dreamiest cauliflower mash. Words can’t even describe just how exquisite this dish is. It just needs to be experienced.
Are you drooling already?
Yeah, I thought so… I won’t let you wait any longer, let’s get busy cooking.
Preheat your oven to 375°F, then re-hydrate your dried mushrooms per the instructions on the package.
Whatever you do, even if your package doesn’t mention it, make sure you rinse your mushrooms really, really, really, REALLY well under warm running water. Then when you think you’re done, rinse them some more.
Dried mushrooms tend to have a lot of sand trapped into them, and biting on a grain of sand is not the most pleasant experience in the world. At least, it isn’t for me. It’s enough to completely ruin my appetite and have me abandon my meal on the spot, no matter how good.
So rinse… soak and then drain your dried mushrooms really well. I even recommend giving them a little squeeze to rid them of all that excess water.
While the mushrooms are soaking, tear the leftover braised lamb into bite size chunks and arrange the meat at the bottom of a baking dish.
If you have any cooking liquid and vegetables left from when you initially braised your leg of lamb, take that and put it in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Then, pour ¾ cup of that sauce over the meat.
If you didn’t have enough, or any of that cooking liquid left, you could simply use some good bone or meat broth. It won’t be quite as thick, granted, but you could help thicken it up by mixing a couple of tablespoons of tapioca starch to it, if you wanted to.
It won’t be so thick when you initially add it, but it will get thicker as it comes up to a boil later, in the oven.
Now, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of ghee to a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) set over medium-high heat.
When the pan is hot enough, add the re-hydrated dried mushrooms as well as the fresh, sliced button mushrooms and sauté them until they turn a beautiful golden color, about 5 minutes.
Arrange the mushrooms on top of the meat.
Whoa, now that’s what I call A LOT of mushrooms. I just love it when I get more than one mushroom in a single bite. Especially when I get more than one variety. Talk about an explosion of flavors and texture. Oh! the chewiness, the meatiness, the earthiness of it all. Love it!
Steam the cauliflower until it becomes fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. (you could very well get a head start and steam the cauliflower while the mushrooms are cooking…)
Transfer to steamed cauliflower the bowl of your food processor or high speed blender , add ghee, salt, pepper, tapioca starch and coconut flour and process, stopping to scrape the sides as needed, until a smooth and silky consistency is obtained.
Pour that cauliflower mash right over the mushrooms and delicately spread it all the way to the edge of your dish.
Put your Shepherd’s Pie in the oven and bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top turns slightly golden.
Drizzle with additional extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with a handful of chopped fresh herbs if desired, then serve.
I chose to enjoy mine with a very simple side of fresh greens. I honestly didn’t need more than that.
Have you ever seen a bowl of Shepherd’s Pie that looked so good?
I honestly don’t think I have. I loved this so much, I wouldn’t have minded eating it morning and night for an entire week, and then some.
For yeah, it’s does go down surprisingly well in the morning, right after a good workout… or even before, why not?
Braised Lamb and Wild Mushrooms Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
The bottom layer
- 1.1 lb leftover braised lamb
- 3/4 cup cooking liquid from leftover braised lamb, or bone broth
The middle layer
- 2 cups dried mixed wild mushrooms
- 2 cups fresh sliced button mushrooms
- 3-4 tbsp ghee, or make your own
- Generous sprinkle of Himalayan salt
- Generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
The top layer
- 1 large head cauliflower, arranged into florets
- 3 tbsp ghee, or make your own
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms per the instructions on the package and then drain well.
- With your fingers, tear the leftover lamb into bite size chunks and arrange the meat at the bottom of a baking dish.
- Add the cooking liquid and some or all of the vegetables that were at the bottom of the pan to a food processor or blender and process until smooth; pour ¾ cup of that sauce over the meat. If you didn’t have any of that cooking liquid left, you could simply use some bone or meat broth. It won’t be quite as thick, but if you wanted to thicken it up a bit, you could add a couple of tablespoons of tapioca starch to it.
- Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of ghee to a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) set over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot enough, add the mushrooms and sauté them until they turn a beautiful golden color, about 5 minutes.
- Arrange the mushrooms on top of the meat.
- Steam the cauliflower until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of your food processor or high speed blender , add ghee, salt, pepper, tapioca starch and coconut flour and process, stopping to scrape the sides as needed, until a smooth and silky consistency is achieved.
- Pour the cauliflower mash over the mushrooms and delicately spread it all the way to the edge of your dish.
- Put your Shepherd’s Pie in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the top turns slightly golden.
- Drizzle with additional extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with chopped fresh herbs if desired and serve.
Nutrition
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