Shepherd's Pie

This hearty meal is a twist on the original, using ground pork instead of lamb. Recipe adapted from Fork & Bottle.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 8  medium potatoes, cut into quarters
• 1  large celery root, peeled and cut into chunks (Celeriac)
• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2  lbs ground pork
• 5  large carrots, peeled, quartered, and chopped
• 2 -3  large parsnips, peeled, quartered, and chopped
• 2  medium leeks, white part only chopped
• 1  small fennel bulb, green and white parts chopped
• 1⁄8 cup flour
• 1  teaspoon  italian seasoning or 1  teaspoon  herbes de provence
• 3⁄4 cup  grated parmesan cheese
•  salt & pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Boil potatoes and celeriac until fork tender.
3. Press through a ricer with the butter (or mash them and remove the skins) and set aside. (You can make the potatoes up to 2 days ahead, bring them to almost room temperature before you use them.).
4. Brown the ground pork over medium heat until it starts to get caramelized brown on its sides.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove from pan and pour out all but a tsp or so of the fat - if there is nothing to pour out that’s OK, just add a little olive oil to the pan.
6. Add chopped leeks, carrots, parsnips, and fennel to the pan and scrape up anything that’s stuck to the bottom.
7. Saute over med-high heat until vegetables slightly soften and then sprinkle flour and herbs over them and stir well.
8. Cook for 2 more minutes (you need to make sure the flour is cooked/integrated).
9. Turn off the heat.
10. Return the pork to the pan and any accumulated juices and mix well.
11. Pour or spoon the vegetable/pork mixture into a large casserole and top with the mashed Potatoes/Celeriac by dotting it on top and smoothing it out (like icing a cake).
12. Top with cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 mins until slightly golden.