Enjoy this healthier version of Shepherd’s Pie

Winter and comfort food go hand and hand. Some people prefer soups or pasta. I’ve always enjoyed Shepherd’s Pie. The combination of fried onions, potatoes and meat is so warming and feels wholesome.

This recipe is adapted from my first cookbook, Second Helpings Please! written by Canada’s famous Jewish cookbook author Norene Gilletz in 1968. This was her first cookbook and most Jewish homes in Canada boast a very torn and well loved copy.

I gave the dish a paleo friendly twist eliminating the bread crumbs in the meat and adding a sweet potato topping to one half of the pie for those lower carb eaters.

It was a perfect dinner for the cooler days in the Galilee.

Galilee Green Half & Half Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 lb or 500 grams of lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup and 2 tablespoons of any BBQ sauce
• ½ teaspoon each of black pepper, hot pepper flakes, garlic powder, chili powder and sweet paprika
• 2 large white potatoes peeled and cubed
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 2 medium sized chopped cooking onions
• 2-3 tablespoons of Galilee Green Olive Oil
• Galilee Green Olive Oil for drizzling
• ½ teaspoon Sweet Paprika for the top of the pie

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
2. Add egg, ketchup, BBQ and spices to the ground meat and mix well
3. Place in a round deep 10 inch pie pan
4. Bake the meat in the oven for 30 minutes
5. Break up the meat every 10 minutes so it stays crumbly and not solid
6. Boil sweet and white potatoes in separate pans and drain them when they
7. Brown onions in a frying pan
8. Keep potatoes separate and mash them adding ½ the fried onions in each bowl
9. Cover meat with white potato mixture on one side of the pan and the sweet potatoes on the other side of the pan
10. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sweet paprika
11. Bake an additional 25 minutes to brown
12. Serves 4