SCD Recipe: Jazzed Up Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Topping | Happy Gut For Life (2024)

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• 1.5lbsgrass-fed ground beef
• 4slicesuncured baconchopped
• 2tbspolive oil
• 2 cupschicken stock
• 1/3cup tomato pastesee notes for substitution
• 1/2cuponionchopped
• 1cupgreen, red, yellow pepperschopped
• 2largecarrotschopped
• 2stalkscelerychopped
• 2tsp minced garlic
• 1tspsea salt
• 1tspfresh ground pepper
• 1bundlefresh thyme
• 1bundlefresh rosemary
• 1bundlefresh sage

Topping Ingredients

• 1largehead of cauliflower(or two packages) – chopped
• 2tbspgheemelted – or sub butter or coconut oil
• 1/4cupchicken stock
• 1tsp minced garlic
• 1tspsea salt
• 1tspfresh ground pepper
• 1/2cupsharp cheddar cheesegrated – optional

Filling Preparation

1. Add bacon to large pot – (I used my enameled cast iron dutch oven)

2. Cook bacon until crispy and remove to plate with paper towel

3. Remove all but about 1 tbsp of the bacon fat

4. Add ground beef to pot

5. Cook over medium heat until meat is browned

6. Remove meat from pan and set aside

7. Add olive oil

8. Add carrots, celery, peppers and onion

9. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes until vegetables are softened

10. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes

11. Add tomato paste (or tomato juice) and combine with vegetables

12. Add ground beef, bacon, salt, pepper, and chicken stock

13. Stir to combine

14. Toss in fresh herb bundles

    See Also

    Curried Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

15. Partially cover pot and reduce heat to simmer (will vary depending on what kind of pot you are using)

16. Simmer for one hour – keep an eye on the liquid, if it reduces too much add a little more stock or water. Consistency should be stew-like

17. Remove from heat

18. Remove fresh herb bundles

19. Add to baking dish – you can use two smaller dishes or a large dish

    

Topping Preparation

1. Boil chopped cauliflower for 8 – 10 minutes until soft, but not falling apart

   

2. Drain in colander and allow to cool

3. Place cauliflower in clean dish towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can (it’s okay to crush the cauliflower in this step) – you might have to do this in batches

4. Place cauliflower in large mixing bowl

5. Add ghee, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup chicken stock

6. Combine well with electric mixer – this will probably not make it mashed potato consistency yet

7. I used a hand blender to get the cauliflower the consistency of mashed potatoes. This worked perfectly. If you don’t have a hand blender (immersion blender) you can try a regular blender – you may have to add a little more liquid to get it to blend, just don’t do too much or you will water them back down

8. Stir in cheese if using

Final Assembly

1. Spread cauliflower over meat mixture

   

2. At this point you can cover the dish(es) and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them

3. If serving right away and everything is still pretty hot, add a little cheese (optional) to the top and put it under the broiler – on the middle rack and cook until cauliflower browns and cheese is melted

4. If heating up later – heat oven to 350 degrees

5. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until hot

6. Broil as instructed above