Phil’s Italian Shepherd’s Pie
Phil’s Italian Style Shepherd’s Pie
The people at work think and talk about food constantly and the other day the conversation was about Shepherd’s Pie. Some didn’t know what it was but one guy Jack had even made it. I’ve made Shepherd’s Pie several times, I think the last time I followed Gordon Ramsey’s recipe. I asked Jack who’s Italian if he could imagine a Shepherd’s Pie made with Bolognese Sauce, and he said: “That sounds interesting”.
Bolognese is one of my favorite sauces and I’ve made it several times. I’m always looking for new ways to use it, the last time I made a pizza with Bolognese sauce and it was wonderful. I’m currently trying to stay very strict on Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s “Eat to Live” program and I’m not eating a lot of meat. It got me thinking could I make a Bolognese sauce with mushrooms instead of ground beef, veal, and pork. Of course, I could.
A Shepherd’s pie has a meat and vegetable layer topped with Mashed Potatoes. I didn’t want to eat potatoes either, so I decided to punch up my recipe of pureed White beans and Garbanzo. My goal was to make them creamy, and buttery and cheesy, or simply the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever had.
Usually, a recipe evolves it takes several tries to get it right. I knew I could get the two components the Bolognese and the Pureed Beans to taste good, but I wasn’t sure if I could get it to serve well and not be too runny. That was my concern.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms (whatever kind you like) chopped
- 1 1/2 Onion chopped
- 2 Celery stalks chopped
- 1 Carrot chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced fine.
- 1 cup of Peas (fresh or frozen)
- 2 Tbs of Tomato Paste
- 1 28 oz. can of whole peeled San Marzano Tomatoes drained and crushed by hand
- 8 fresh Basil leaves julienned
- 1/4 cup of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley chopped
- 1 Tbs. Oregano
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated
- 1/2 cup Milk warm with 1/8 tsp of fresh ground Nutmeg.
- Pureed White Beans & Garbanzo
- 1 large can of Goya Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 large can of Goya Small White Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Milk warm with a pinch of fresh ground Nutmeg.
- 1 Egg yolk beaten.
You’re going to make the sauce and bean topping separately, but they both start off needing the first two ingredients, Onion, and Garlic so in one pot make enough for both.
You can also put 1 cup of Milk on low to simmer with 1/8 tsp of fresh ground Nutmeg, you will be using it for both also.
Preheat oven to 400º ![]()
Bolognese Sauce
Start by chopping 1 1/2 large Onions, sauté in Ghee, in a large pot on Medium heat, until tender and starting to get some color, and then add the minced Garlic. After about 30 seconds take about 1/3 of the onion-garlic mixture and put it in a smaller pot for the beans.
In the larger pot with the onions and garlic, add the chopped Carrots and Celery, let them soften.
Add the 1 1/2 lbs of chopped mushrooms, cook to brown them until the moisture is gone.
Clear a spot in the bottom of the pot and add 2 Tbs of Tomato Paste and cook it to get some color and then stir it into the vegetables.
Place a colander over a large bowl and add the can of Tomatoes to the colander. Crush them with your hands and let most of the juice drain out. Save the tomato juice in case your sauce gets too dry.
Add the crushed Tomatoes to the vegetables and let simmer and stir. Don’t let your sauce burn, you’re just trying to reduce the liquids and let the sauce thicken.
Add the Basil leaves, Parsley, Oregano, and Pecorino Romano. Stir and continue to let cook down. 
Add the peas.
Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
Finish off by slowly adding the warm Milk and Nutmeg to the sauce. You don’t have to use all of the milk if your sauce is looking too loose. Let simmer while you do the beans.
Pureed White Beans & Garbanzo
In a colander drain and rinse the Garbanzo and White Beans.
Add it to the pot with the onion and garlic.
Add the Milk and 1 Tbs of Ghee.
Simmer over medium-low heat to allow the beans to cook and give off their moisture, about 10 minutes.
Whip the beans in a food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add the egg yolk and the grated cheese and mix into the bean mixture.
It should have the consistency of thick mashed potatoes.
Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
Making the Shepherd’s Pie
In an oven safe casserole, fill to about half way with the bolognese sauce.
Top the bolognese sauce with a layer of the pureed beans and even out or create peaks.
Place casserole in the preheated 400º oven for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Turn on the Broiler.
Brush the top of the beans with Ghee.
Place under the broiler and brown the top.
Remove from broiler let stand for 15 minutes and serve.
I will be making this again and at this moment I don’t know anything I would change about this recipe. It turned out very well.
I hope you’ll try it for yourselves and please leave any Comments or Questions below.
Mangiare un buon cibo e essere sano!
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