Russian Shepherds Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Place potatoes in large saucepan and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and place pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain.
• Return potatoes to the hot pan and set over the same burner. Add milk and 2 tablespoons butter; allow butter to melt from the residual heat. Mash potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in Cheddar cheese, sour cream, egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Heat olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring constantly, until onion begins to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add lamb and beef and cook, crumbling with a spoon and stirring often until browned, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle meat mixture with flour, remaining salt and pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Add beef stock, tomato paste, and Worcestershire; cook, scraping any flavorful bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until thickened and vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in peas. Transfer mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with the prepared mashed potatoes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and bubbly around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Peel potatoes; cut into chunks, put into saucepan of boiling salted water, cover and cook potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes.
• Drain and return to pan; remove from heat.
• Add milk, butter and half of the salt and half of the pepper; mash with potato masher until smooth.
• Stir in 1/4 cup of the flour and 1 of the eggs.
• Meanwhile, in large nonstick fry pan, saute beef over medium high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
• Drain off fat.
• Add onions, mushrooms, caraway seeds and remaining salt and pepper; cook over medium heat, stirring, until onions are softened, 8 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining flour; cook, stirring for 5 minutes.
• Spread half of the potato mixture in 8 inch square glass baking dish.
• Spoon meat mixture over top.
• Top with remaining potato mixture.
• Beat remaining egg; brush over potato mixture.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake in 350F degrees oven until topping is golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Peel and cut the potatoes into 2" chunks.
• Put them in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil.
• Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, drain.
• Mash the potatoes and add 2 T butter and the milk. Add the milk a bit at a time until the potatoes are mashed (not whipped).
• Brown the ground beef in a skillet with the chopped onion.
• Drain the beef and add the BBQ sauce, salad dressing, chili powder, salt, pepper, beans and corn. This mix should be saucy, but NOT runny.
• Grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass pan.
• Put the hamburger mixture in the pan and spread it out.
• Top the hamburger mixture with the mashed potatoes. (You can stop here and refrigerate if you are making this ahead of time).
• Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Put the shredded cheese on top and sprinkle with paprika.
• Cook for another 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. For the potato topper: Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Heat the butter and EVOO in a small skillet over medium heat and toast the caraway seeds. Pour the caraway mixture over the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and squish them with the bottom of a water glass to flatten them. Roast until crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Leave the oven on. Meanwhile, for the casserole filling: Heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the corned beef and cook until browned, and then remove to a plate. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the garlic, celery, bay leaf, carrots and onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Return the corned beef to the skillet. Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, until light golden. Whisk in the beer, Worcestershire, mustard and consomme; season with pepper. Pour the gravy over the corned beef mixture and stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with the sauerkraut, cheeses and potatoes. Bake until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through. Meanwhile, for the Russian dressing topper: Combine the sour cream, ketchup, relish and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the casserole with the dressing and garnish with watercress just before serving. Cook's Note: The unbaked casserole can be covered and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal. Reheat in the oven before serving.

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or deep saute pan. Brown the lamb and beef. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon. Add the onions to the pan and saute until the onions are tinged brown at the edges - about 5 minutes. Add the chopped carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, tomato puree, thyme, parsley and cinnamon. Stir and saute for 2 minutes. Next, stir in the flour, which will soak up the juice, then stir in the wine and the beef stock. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. Return the meat to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until the lamb is fully cooked.
• Peel the potatoes, cut them into large even-sized pieces and place into a pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a boil and cook potatoes until they are tender, about 10 minutes. (Potatoes are done when a knife can easily go through.)
• When the potatoes are done, drain off the water, return them to the saucepan, cover with a clean tea cloth to absorb the steam and leave them for about 5 minutes. Next, add the butter and mash them to a puree. Season with salt and pepper. When the meat is ready, spoon it into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and level it out with the back of the spoon. After that, spread the mashed potato evenly all over. Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potato, scatter the cheese over the scallions and bake the pie until the top is crusty and golden, about 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare filling:
• Blanch onions in a 2- to 3-quart pot of boiling salted water 1 minute, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain onions and peel, trimming root ends with a paring knife. Wash leek slices in a bowl of water, agitating them, then lift out and drain in a medium-mesh sieve.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat lamb dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put lamb and 3 tablespoons flour in a sealable plastic bag, then seal bag and shake to coat lamb.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in casserole dish over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown half of lamb, turning, about 6 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer browned lamb and garlic to a plate with a slotted spoon and repeat with remaining lamb and tablespoon garlic (do not add more butter).
• Add wine to casserole dish and deglaze by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste and boil, stirring, until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add broth, water, thyme, browned lamb with any juices that have accumulated on plate, onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, remaining teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, then remove from heat.
• Cover dish with lid or foil and braise lamb and vegetables in middle of oven, stirring once or twice, until lamb is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make topping while filling cooks:
• Peel and quarter potatoes. Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch in a 4-quart heavy pot, then simmer, uncovered, until very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain in a colander.
• Bring cream, milk, and butter to a simmer in same pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until butter is melted, then remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper. Force hot potatoes through ricer into hot cream mixture and stir gently to combine. Keep warm, covered.
• Assemble and broil pie:
• Preheat broiler.
• Make a beurre manié by stirring together remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Spoon 1 cup cooking liquid from casserole dish into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in beurre manié, then simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Gently stir sauce into lamb and vegetables.
• Spoon potatoes over lamb and vegetables and spread evenly with a fork, making a pattern with tines. Broil about 3 inches from heat until top is golden, about 3 minutes.

Steps:

• To make sofrito: Place the onion, bell pepper, parsley, cilantro, culantro, garlic, and water into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sofrito into the beef, then season with sazon, pepper, and adobo. Drain and discard any excess grease; set aside.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Arrange the plantains in the skillet and pan fry until golden and softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Layer half of the plantains in a deep baking dish, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the dish. Pour 4 beaten eggs over the plantains, then spread the beef on top. Layer the green beans over the beef, then arrange the remaining plantains on top. Pour 4 more beaten eggs evenly over the plantains. Sprinkle the top with adobo seasoning.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the eggs are firm, 30 to 45 minutes.