Name: Shepherd’s pie by Pete Evans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 80 gm fat (see note); 2 celery stalks, finely diced; 2 carrots, finely diced; 1 onion, finely diced; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; ¾ tsp ground cumin; 600 gm coarsely minced grass-fed beef; 2½ tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp coarsely chopped thyme; 375 ml (1½ cups) beef stock; 80 ml dry red wine; 800 gm cauliflower, broken into florets, stalk coarsely chopped; 1/3 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped; To serve: homemade tomato relish and salad

Shepherd’s pie by Pete Evans

The Paleo version, of course.

Serves 6

Prep

30M

Cook

Total

1H 30M

“The fundamental principles of a Paleo lifestyle are pretty simple,” says Pete Evans. “Take out of your diet all grains and legumes, refined sugar and dairy, and celebrate fats and proteins from animals from land or sea that have had a natural diet. The Paleo way also embraces organic fruit, veg, nuts and seeds (no chemicals or pesticides). Now, that makes a lot of sense to me as proteins and fats are essential for the body and the macro and micronutrients of fruit and veg are astounding. This is a Paleo version of a shepherd’s pie; you can play around with different proteins and I would suggest using either sweet potato or cauliflower as your crust on top instead of potatoes, as they’re very starchy.”

Ingredients

80 gm fat (see note)

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¾ tsp ground cumin

600 gm coarsely minced grass-fed beef

2½ tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp coarsely chopped thyme

375 ml (1½ cups) beef stock

80 ml dry red wine

800 gm cauliflower, broken into florets, stalk coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

To serve: homemade tomato relish and salad

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 180C. Heat 2 tbsp fat in a large frying pan or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, garlic and cumin and stir occasionally until vegetables soften and begin to brown (5 minutes). Add beef, increase heat to high and stir occasionally until browned (8-12 minutes). Add tomato paste and thyme and cook until paste darkens (1 minute), then add stock and wine, reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.

2.Meanwhile, cook cauliflower in a saucepan of boiling water until tender (8-10 minutes). Drain in a colander, then process in a food processor until smooth, add remaining fat, blend to combine and season to taste.

3.Spread meat mixture in a shallow ovenproof dish. Top with the cauliflower purée and smooth top. Bake until top is light golden and bubbling (30-40 minutes). Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot with a homemade relish and salad.

Pete Evans

Styling by Deborah Kaloper