Making Shepherd’s Pie Out of Leftovers

Any time I have leftover roasted beef, pork, or chicken, I try to come up with a new dish for the next day. Early this week, I cooked an herbed-studded roast beef with pan gravy, gruyere mashed potatoes, and sautéed green beans with crispy bacon. My guys love the roast beef in a sandwich with melted cheddar, and I enjoy the green beans over Jasmine rice as the next meal. After a couple of days, there’s still beef left and nobody has touched the mashed potatoes and gravy.

The solution is obvious: shepherd’s pie. This popular English pie, also referred to as cottage pie, is often cooked with ground beef and more recently with lamb. However, since the 1800s, the dish was a means to use leftover meats for frugality. I actually prefer using the leftover meat over the ground version because the twice-cooked beef becomes so tender and falls apart. Also, only 15 minutes of prep time is hard to beat! 

Shepherd’s Pie

4 cup shredded or cube roast beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups cooked carrot slices
2 cups frozen peas
2 cup beef gravy
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
3-4 cups mashed potatoes, warm

Preheat oven to 375F. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add onion, and cook until lightly brown. Stir in beef, tomato paste, carrots, and gravy until warmed through. Turn off heat and add peas, thyme, and rosemary.

Transfer the mixture to a 13×9 baking dish or individual baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes over beef mixture. (For a fancier version, I pipe potatoes in a lattice or rosette pattern.) Bake until golden, about 35-40 minutes.

Servings: 8-10