When The Good Old British Shepherd's Pie Goes Brazilian...

...It is called Escondidinho!

There are a few things that I pay attention to as I am assembling this blog: I do not want similar food things to follow each other, and I also do not want different world regions to come one right after ther other. Thankfully the word 'Shepherd' in relation to the two foods, a salad and a meat pie, is different as are the regions, UK and Brazil to the Mediterrenean. So, I could not resist putting Shpherd's Pie just after Shepherd's Salad. Didn't break my golden rule, if one shepherd follows another. :-D

When it comes to desserts, sweets and cakes, the Brits are great. As they are with fried stuff, such as fish and chips and the English Breakfast. However, when it comes to regular food, not even they themselves boast of great culinary prowess. So, when I saw this Brazilian adaptation of their Shepherd's Pie, I jumped on it because this sounds to me like as if it is adding precisely what the traditional British Shepherd's Pie is missing: Cheese, cream and a dash of spices, especially nutmeg. What it doesn't have (which the British version has) is Worcestershire Sauce, so if I were to try this out I would probably add a dash of that as well.

Brazilian food is amazing. I was there about 15 years ago and couldn't get enough of it. This was before my half-vegetarian days so I also enjoyed some pretty hefty steaks, for which they are famous. But what I totally fell in love with are the cheese puffs that they have called Pão de Queijo which are also eaten as street food. Need to find a recipe for those as well, at some point...


INGREDIENTS
FOR THE MEAT:
  • 1.5lbs ground beef
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1.5 Tbsp flour
  • 2 Tbsp butter1/3 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 sprig rosemary, minced 
  • 1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE MASHED POTATOES:
  • 1.5lbs Potatoes
  • 1 8oz package cream cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Nutmeg to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375(190 degrees.

TO MAKE THE MASHED POTATOES:
  • In a large pot, cook the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Once the potatoes are done, let them cool a bit (just enough so you can handle them) and then peel them.
  • While they are still hot, mash them in a bowl and reserve.
  • In a sauce pan, heat the heavy cream and the cream cheese, whisking until the cream cheese dissolves.
  • Add the heavy cream/cream cheese to the potatoes and mix well until you have a smooth mixture.
  • Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
TO MAKE THE BEEF:
  • In a large skillet, heat the butter and sauté the garlic and onions until translucent.
  • Add the tomatoes and the herbs and cook for about 2 minutes.
  • Add the ground beef and cook until browned (about 10 minutes).
  • Add the flour, the parmesan cheese and the crushed tomatoes.
  • Cook until the sauce thickens slightly.
  • Add the egg yolk and season with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer the beef to a seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet.
  • Top with mashed potatoes and then with the mozzarella.
  • Bake in over for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned.

Shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you Olivia's Kitchen! :-)

Images: Unsplash, Pexels and Freepik.


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