Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie (Pastel de Carne)
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt + pepper to taste
- ½ cup red wine*
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½-1 cup whole milk
- 4 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Stab sweet potatoes with a fork. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in oven until fork tender, 40 to 60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large, oven safe skillet** over medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil. Once hot (a drop of water sizzles), add ground beef and brown, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Once meat is brown, add onion and carrots. Cook until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add corn and peas. Stir to combine. Add spices to taste.
- Deglaze with red wine. Let it cook down, then stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. If the meat base is too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of water.
- Turn off the heat.
- Peel the baked sweet potatoes. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a fork, mash the potatoes. Add butter and salt and pepper. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in milk until you’ve reached your desired tendency. I usually add quite a bit of milk for a thinner mashed potato. It firms up in the oven.
- You can optionally sprinkle some cheese over your meat base.
- Then, smooth your mashed sweet potatoes over top.
- Lower oven temperature to 400° and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, to allow your ‘pie’ to set up.
Notes
*You can substitute with broth or even water in a pinch
**If you don’t have an oven safe skillet, you can transfer everything to a greased 9x9 baking dish instead