Beef & Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

🥘 Ingredients

• butter
  1 tbsp
• button mushrooms
  ½ lb
• carrots
  1 unit
• cooking oil
  1 tbsp
• flour
  1 tbsp
• garlic powder
  ¼ tsp
• ground beef (optional)
  ½ lb
• olive oil
  2 tbsp
• onion
  ½ unit
• potatoes (diced into ½-inch pieces)
  1 lb
• sour cream
  2 tbsp
• thyme
  1 sprig
• tomato paste
  2 tbsp
• veggie stock concentrate
  1 unit
• white cheddar cheese
  ½ cup

🍳 Cookware

• large pot
• large pan
• baking dish

1. 

   1

   Wash and dry all produce. Place potatoes in a large pot with cooking oil and enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender ⏱️ 15 minutes to ⏱️ 20 minutes . Reserve ½ cup potato cooking liquid, then drain and return potatoes to pot. Keep covered off heat until ready to mash.

   potatoes: 1 lb (diced into ½-inch pieces), cooking oil: 1 tbsp
2. 

   2

   While potatoes cook, trim and quarter button mushrooms . Trim, peel, and finely dice carrots . Halve, peel, and dice onion . Strip half the thyme leaves from stems; mince leaves. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

   button mushrooms: ½ lb, carrots: 1 unit, onion: ½ unit, thyme: 1 sprig, olive oil: 2 tbsp
3. 

   3

   Add mushrooms and ground beef and a big pinch of salt to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned ⏱️ 5 minutes . Add another drizzle of olive oil to pan, then stir in carrots, diced onion, and salt. Cook, stirring, until veggies are softened ⏱️ 5 minutes to ⏱️ 7 minutes more.

   ground beef: ½ lb (optional)
4. 

   4

   Stir butter into same pan, then add minced thyme, garlic powder , and flour . Cook, stirring ⏱️ 1 minute . Stir in tomato paste until incorporated. Add ¾ cup water and veggie stock concentrate , scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce to a low simmer and cook until thickened ⏱️ 2 minutes to ⏱️ 3 minutes . Season with salt and pepper. If pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer mixture to a baking dish now.

   butter: 1 tbsp, garlic powder: ¼ tsp, flour: 1 tbsp, tomato paste: 2 tbsp, veggie stock concentrate: 1 unit
5. 

   5

   Mash drained potatoes with sour cream , half the white cheddar cheese , and 2 tbsp butter until smooth and creamy, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper.

   sour cream: 2 tbsp, white cheddar cheese: ½ cup
6. 

   6

   Heat broiler to high. Once filling has thickened, spoon mashed potatoes on top; spread in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around edge of pan. Sprinkle mashed potatoes with remaining white cheddar cheese.
7. 

   7

   Broil shepherd’s pie until cheese is lightly browned ⏱️ 3 minutes to ⏱️ 4 minutes . Watch carefully to avoid burning. Let rest ⏱️ 5 minutes , then divide between plates and serve.