Big-Batch Shepherd’s Potluck Pie Recipe, #PotluckChallenge #FRD2014

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
450g pack of ground chicken
2 packs of Compliments Jamie Oliver Herb & Garlic sausages
1 cup of onion, chopped
1 bag of pre-shredded carrots
3 cloves of garlic
1 5.5fl oz. can tomato paste
2 tbsp fresh thyme, leaves only
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
5 lb bag of “mashing” potatoes, peeled and sliced.
1/2 cup milk
1/2 a stick of butter
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Add one glug of oil to a large skillet and turn the heat to medium high. Remove the casing from the sausages (use food scissors to snip into the sausage and cut a line down the middle then peel it off, easy). Add sausage and ground chicken to the skillet and saute over medium high heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently, using the side of you spatula to dice up the sausage as it cooks.

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Add the onion, carrot and garlic to your skillet. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and the herbs, cook and stir for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the red wine vinegar. Stir until mixed thoroughly. Reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in the peas. (The original recipe reads “reduce at a simmer until reduced to a scant ½ cup liquid in the pan.” I found that the chicken/pork mixture absorbed the majority of the liquid almost immediately.)

While this is happening, take a large pot of water, add your potatoes, bring to a boil. Leave on a low boil for about 15 minutes.  By the time the meat mixture was ready the potatoes were ready for mashing. I added half a stick of butter and about half a cup of 2% milk and mashed them up. The five pound bag yielded just the right amount of potatoes to cover our giant shepherd’s pie.

Transfer the meat mixture to a large 10 by 14 casserole dish. Spread the mashed potatoes on top, then “rough up the mashed potatoes” with a fork and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 until the top is golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a bit before serving.

(This is my tweaked gluten-free no beef version of the Big-Batch Shepherd’s Pie recipe originally found on the Soebys website.)

Disclosure: The author has received consideration from Sobeys or Sobeys’ media partners in exchange for this content.  Sobeys has not reviewed these claims and is not responsible for the content.