First thing that we did was make Rustic Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- 2 lbs potatoes (we used red potatoes and kept the skins on)
- 6 cloves garlic
- salt
- water
We diced the potatoes so they would cook evenly and placed them in a large dutch pot until potatoes are fork tender. We then drained the potatoes and used 1 stick of unsalted butter to the pot and mashed the potatoes with the butter. Then we added 8oz sour cream, 1 cup of heavy cream and used hand beater to blend the potatoes until thoroughly blended.
- 2 medium carrots
- large white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks celery
- pint of baby bella (or cremini) mushrooms
These ingredients were all diced to relatively same size and cooked together until tender.
- 1lb ground lamb (works well with hamburger for substitution)
Preheat oven to 400F/205C. Cooked the lamb with the veggies until the lamb was no longer pink. We then drained off excess liquid from mushrooms and returned to pan. We added 1 tbsp of all purpose flour and cooked for five minutes to remove flour taste.
- 1tsp ground rosemary
- 1tsp ground thyme
- 1tsp ground nutmeg
- 1cup red wine (we used Rodney Strong Upshot Red)
- 2 tsp roasted beef base (we used better than bouillon)
We added spices first and then the wine with beef base to the meat/vegetable mixture. Stir and cook until thickened. Added salt & pepper to taste.
Transferred meat mixture to a 9X13 glass casserole dish. Spread evenly. On top of the meat mixture layer spread rustic garlic mashed potatoes. Cut up 2 tbsp of unsalted butter into small pieces and drop on top of mashed potatoes. Sprinkled with smoked paprika and we added 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until fully hot.
We put a baking sheet underneath the glass casserole to catch any overflow. Hope you enjoy.
