Individual Shepherd/Cottage Pies

When I was younger and visited various renaissance festivals and rendezvous, I would always look forward to a few dishes.  One of which was cottage or shepherd pies.  This dish is great and with some creativity, can be utilized and adjusted for making leftovers a more tasty treat.

Cottage Pies
Ingredients:
1 tb extra virgin olive oil
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tb garlic, minced
1 lb sirloin steak, chopped into small pieces (left over turkey or venison can be used instead)
3 cups of beef demi glace (3 cups of hot water blended with concentrated store bought demi glace)
2 tsp fresh rosemary, snipped
2 tsp fresh thyme, snipped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp crushed peppercorns or fresh ground pepper
1 tb flour
1 lb of mashed potatoes
1 tb fresh Italian parsley, snipped
1 tb unsalted butter, melted 

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat; stir in the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes).  Add the sirloin and increase the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned (about 5 minutes).  

Add the beef demi glace, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; reduce heat to low.  Demi glace can be purchased at higher-end and specialty grocery stores.    Simmer the pot with the beef, demi glace, and vegetables until the beef if cooked through (10 – 15 minutes); whisk in the flour until thickened.  

With the mashed potatoes, stir in the parsley and blend.  Pre-prepared boxed mashed potatoes do work for this recipe, but with anything that you cook, food made from scratch tastes significantly better.  Divide the beef and vegetable mixture into 4 portions in 1 cup ramekins.  Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and brush with the melted butter.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the potatoes are lightly browned (approx 20-25 minutes).

Serves 4