Shepherd's Pie

I made this dish for St. Patrick's Day, being that it originated in Ireland.  I created it as I went by combining two recipes and I made it with a dual topping.  On the left side you have the traditional mashed potato topping and on the right side you have a low-carb mashed cauliflower (mock mashed potatoes).  I made it like this to attempt to share the dish with my family and still have a dish I could eat with the allergies I have.  You could make the dish with all mashed potato topping or an all mock mashed potato topping (cauliflower).

Ingredients:

11/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound of ground beef

5 spring onions, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon coconut flour

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon parsley

If an all potato topping:

8 potatoes (medium sized)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

If an all cauliflower topping:

1 head of cauliflower (about 4 cups)

4 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease an ovenproof baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil.  In a medium skillet heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the spring onions until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the ground beef and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the cumin, salt, and paprika and cook over medium heat until the ground beef is cooked through, another 15 minutes.  Drain the grease from the ground beef and add the water and stir in the coconut flour.  When well mixed, remove from the pan and put into the prepared baking dish. Meanwhile boil the potatoes, and or cauliflower until fork tender.   

For potato topping:  Drain water and add the butter, milk, and garlic powder and whip with a hand held mixer till desired consistency, adding more milk to get smooth mashed potatoes if needed.  

For cauliflower topping: Drain the water and place the cauliflower in a food processor.  Add the coconut oil or ghee, coconut milk, rosemary, thyme, and salt.  Puree until smooth and creamy.

Spread your cauliflower or potatoes evenly on top of the ground beef in the baking dish. 

Sprinkle the parsley on top of this and bake for 20 minutes.  

Yields: 6

*Optional- There are a lot of variations to this dish and you could add shredded cheese to the top of the potatoes/cauliflower before baking or a few tablespoons of garlic butter. 

**If you make it like I did above with a half and half topping just divide each topping recipe in half and spread accordingly on top of ground beef and bake. 

So, how did my family react to this Shepherd's Pie with a split topping.  I got my diet friendly serving out first and had the cauliflower topping on mine and the rest of it was devoured.   I never heard a complaint.  Someone had to have eaten the cauliflower but, they never noticed.

 Don't forget to go here to enter for this fantastic giveaway from Eco Natural Soap!

 Sherry
I will link this to:

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm 

Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff 

Homemaking Linkup at Hope In Every Season 

Finding the Pretty & Delicious Linky at Your Home Based Mom  

On the Menu Monday at Stonegable 
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
A Pinteresting Party  at Tutus & Tea Parties

Home at Rose Chintz Cottage 
Whole Foods Wednesday at Whole Lifestyle Nutrition 
Waste Not Want Not Wednesday at Poor and Gluten Free