November 20 – December 3, 2023

 

Monday, 22                                  Tuscan White Beans with Red Onion and Salami

Tuesday, 22: Tuscan White Beans with Red Onions and Salami

Sunday,26:              Turkey Shepherd’s Pie  

Tuesday:, 28: Warm Chicken Piccata Salad with Flatbread

Thursday,30:                 Shepherd’s Pie, Salad

Shepherds and Their Golf and Pies

Once you start thinking about shepherds, you see them everywhere.  Most of the Old Testament patriarchs were shepherds and good ones, which is why Lot had to split up from Abraham.  He gained some power, of course, but he lost a wife, although she did turn into one of the most valuable commodities in the ancient world.  Legend has it that he never salted an egg after that, without shedding a tear for her.

In the New Testament it is, of course, shepherds who are the first non-family to see Jesus and who then spread the word.  This was a pretty exciting thing to happen to a bunch of guys out in the wilds, fending off wolves and lions from the flock, freezing their sandals off and waiting, praying for a dawn that was always tediously slow in coming.  And above all, Jesus himself is the good shepherd who sacrifices everything for his flock.

More recently, shepherds in Scotland,* bored stiff, as were those guys in Israel on that winter’s night that was so deep, started whacking at pebbles and small rocks with the sticks they carried.  This led to their being docked pay by the flock owners for degrading the equipment and causing a leap in the expense category known as ‘crooks.’  But, in the long run (and this post is definitely about the long run – from roughly 2000 B.C.** to the present – this distortion of the economics of sheep-herding led to the magnificent game of golf.

*Shepherds and cowboys (shepherds on horseback) are a worldwide phenomenon because people like wool and leather and beef and mutton.  You can see from this that we are not as different as the debates at the UN, the organization tasked with bringing the world together, would indicate.

**I consider B.C.E. in the same way I consider politically correct name changes to roads and school mascots – which is to say that I don’t consider them at all. I ignore them.

At about the same time – I mean when golf was being invented, in case you’ve lost track in this meandering post – busy housewives,* racking their brains for new ways to keep their shepherd husbands and children from starving out in the field, developed a throw-everything-in-the-pot dish known as Shepherds Pie.  We had a very good version of this two weeks ago, in which we substituted left-over turkey for the lamb and beef that is more traditional in a true shepherds pie.  But last week we went the traditional route. 

I make no promises about how precisely authentic this recipe is, but I can assure you that it is so good that you will question whether you deserve such a heavenly dish.  Serve it with a lemony green salad and you will have achieved a moment of earthly bliss, much like those shepherds on that midnight clear.

 Shepherds Pie

(adapted from Samantha Senevirate, who clearly adapted it from some McGregor, or MacDonald or, come to think of it, Stewart)

Timing:                                 

(About 90 minutes, plus however long  it takes you to make your favorite mashed potato recipe – mine is dynamite – call me)

Ingredients:                                       Serves 6

Mashed potatoes from about 2 ½ pounds of potatoes (bon appetit’s “Ultra Creamy Mashed Potatoes, made with Yukon Gold Potatoes is my go-to)

¾ lbs. lean ground beef

¾ lb. ground lamb (or use all ground beef)

1 ¼ cups, small-diced Spanish Onion

1 ¼ cups diced carrot (about 2 medium carrots)

4 cloves garlic, minced (we used one large clove)

4 sprigs of thyme

2 4-inch sprigs of rosemary

1/3 cup of tomato paste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

¾ cup beef stock

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Prep:             

Heat Oven to 375 F

Dice and mince onion, carrot, garlic and parsley

Cook:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, high-sided oven safe skillet or enameled braiser over medium.  Add onion, carrot, garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring often, until onions are translucent and carrots tender – 10 minutes or so.

Add the been and lamb and cook, breaking up the meat until it is no longer pink.

At this point you might want to drain off excess fat, but it’s not necessary.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now add the tomato pate and stir and cook until well combined – 3 minutes.

Now sprinkle the flour over the mixture and cook for 1 minute, then add the beef stock and cook, stirring, until it thickens slightly.

Stir in the parsley, remove the thyme and rosemary stems.  Season again with salt and pepper.

Top the mixture with dollops of mashed potatoes and then spread them our over the top.  [You can transfer the mixture to a casserole dish before topping, if you’d like.]

Transfer to the oven and bake until potatoes begin to brown and the edges are bubbling – 30 minutes or so.  Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.  [Note:  if the mixture and potatoes fill your skillet or casserole to the top, place on a foil-lined sheet pan to catch any drippings.]