So a lot of you have been asking me for healthier recipes, so in honour of St. Patrick’s Day and being a little healthier, here is a mock Shepherd’s Pie recipe that I threw together. Being a fan of traditional Shepherd's pie (and mashed potatoes) I was hesitant to try turning this classic into a healthier alternative, but to my pleasant surprise it was very good and significantly less in calories without compromising taste!!
Ingredients:
Meat Mixture:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 can corn niblets
1 can french cut green beans
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Chili flakes
Salt to season
Olive oil, or vegetable oil
Cauliflower Mash:
1 head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons Milk or Cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Wash and cut your cauliflower. Place a steaming insert in a large pot or sautée pan and add water to the pan.Steam your cauliflower until soft, approximately 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat sautée the onions in oil until translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Turn your heat to high and add the turkey, stirring occasionally brown the turkey. Once your turkey is cooked add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and chili flakes, put a lid on your pan and let it all cook down for approximately 5-7 minutes.
In the meantime, using a colander drain and rinse your corn and green beans. Remove the meat from the heat and add your green beans and corn and set aside.
To make the cauliflower mash, carefully remove your cauliflower from the steaming insert and transfer to a large bowl. Using a potato masher mash the cauliflower until it is smooth. Add salt pepper, butter, and milk/cream and mix. If you are using cheese add it now and mix until well combined.
Bringing it all together:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Using a slotted spatula (to remove all excess fat and juices) spoon the meat mixture into a large bakingpan or Pyrex dish about 3/4 the
way up the dish. Flatten it out and press down using the back of a spatula.
Carefully spoon your cauliflower mash on top and spread out to cover your meat mixture completely. I like to run the back of the spoon around the edges to seal in the juices so they don’t overflow during baking.
Cover your dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.