Guinness Beef Shepherds Pie Recipe 43

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, half the salt, and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until mushrooms are soft and tomato paste has turned brick red, about 8 minutes more. Stir in the beef, the broth, the remaining salt, the Worcestershire, and some pepper, breaking up any large clumps of meat, cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the meat and vegetables to a 2-quart oval casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the top, leaving a 1/4-inch boarder around the edge. Make a decorative pattern on the top of the potatoes, if desired. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake until potatoes brown and the juices bubble around the edge, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
• Put the potatoes in a saucepan with cold water to cover by about 1-inch and add the salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. At the same time, combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
• Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan. Toss the potatoes over medium heat until dry. Add the heated milk mixture and mash the potatoes until just slightly chunky, then stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Steps:

• Position the oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350°F. Pat the beef dry. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss well to lightly coat all the pieces. In a Dutch oven or large, ovenproof heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high. You want it hot, but not smoking. Working in three batches (so the meat will brown, not steam), sear the meat, stirring occasionally until well-browned, about 5 minutes per batch; add the extra tablespoon of oil between batches, as needed (I used two extra tablespoons total). Transfer the browned meat to a bowl with a slotted spoon. To the pot add ½ of the beef stock, onions, garlic, mushrooms and carrots. Season with a little more salt and pepper and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes; add the tomato paste, remaining stock, Guinness, Worcestershire and thyme. Add the beef, along with any juices in the bowl. Bring to a rapid simmer, cover and transfer to the oven. Braise until the beef is very tender and the sauce has reduced, about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, make the mashed potatoes, if using. Stir in the cheese and garlic powder to the potatoes. Remove the pot from the oven. Fish out the thyme and discard; add in the peas. Place the pot of stew on the stove over medium heat. Add the cornstarch slurry, bring to a boil and cook until nicely thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and let cool slightly if using the potato topping. Turn the oven up to 400°F. Spread the stew into a casserole dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal and to prevent the filling from bubbling up (some will but that's okay). Smooth with a rubber spatula and make decorative peaks, if desired. Sprinkle a little cheese on top. Place the dish on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until the potatoes just begin to brown and the cheese melts, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Saute onions in olive oil. Add celery, mushrooms, and carrots.
• Add butter and garlic. Stir until coated. Cook about 1 minute over medium heat.
• Remove vegetables; add beef. Lightly brown, and then return the vegetables to the pan.
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary.
• Add Guinness and enough beef broth to not quite cover the beef and vegetables.
• Add flour slowly so it won't lump and then stir. Cover and cook on medium low for 2 hours.
• Remove from pan, let cool a little. Mix in a small handful of the shredded cheese.
• Roll out pastry and place into a deep dish pie pan or casserole dish. Add meat filling. Top with one more handful of cheese.
• Moisten edges of pastry with beaten egg wash. Place the other pastry on top, lightly score the surface and wash with egg wash.
• Cook at 350°F for 40 minutes or until golden.