A Dish to Fall into Autumn

A shepherd's pie to get the shorter days going

I find the cooking process just as satisfying as the sharing and enjoying of a meal itself. Once you decide what to cook and arrange your ingredients, the humbling preparation lets your mind wander. I love to let my mind play around with the ‘what ifs’, especially during cooking. Eckhart Tolle would disapprove of that in his The Power of Now book, but I can’t help it, Eckhart, I’ve tried!

As I prepared my shepherd's pie, my thoughts drifted, a meditative process. This time, my mind settled on the life of a shepherd. Boring maybe, but at least it doesn’t force you into the metro every morning.

I chose to make this dish for my little family because the weather provided the atmosphere. The fall colors showed on the foliage outside with the signature trio of yellow, red, and green. I wanted to imitate that in my dish, the yellow mashed potatoes, the green peas, and the red meat.

I took out my favorite pan and some olive oil to get the diced onions and carrots some color, I then added the ground veal and cooked it until I had to get rid of the fat. I added some tomato paste and usually a small glass of red wine or stock, but I didn’t have either. I put in some finely chopped thyme and peas and with that my base was ready.

My girlfriend asked what I was making at this point and I came out of my trance of imagination to reply: “A nice and cozy shepherd’s pie.” She’s never had one and I was excited to share this British classic to kickstart autumn.

I had the potatoes boiling all the while until they were ready to be mashed, I then added a touch of butter and mixed in an egg yolk. I layered the meat snuggly into a baking dish, topped it with mashed potatoes, and then grated parmesan cheese. After getting a brown and crispy topping in the oven after 15 minutes, or so, at 180 Celsius, only then the pie allows you to dive into comfort. Sometimes comfort food is best homemade.

Am I the only one to let my mind wander, especially meanwhile cooking?

Cottage pie-ly yours,

The Greasy Pen.