sweet potato shepherd’s pie

Ingredients

For the Potatoes:
• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the meat filling
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 3 celery stalks chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 cup mixed frozen veggies (corn, peas, beans, carrots)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Peel potatoes, cute into even pieces, place in a saucepan and cover with water. Set over hight heat, and bring to a boil. Simmer until soft. Drain, Put potatoes back in saucepan and add half-and-half, butter, salt and pepper and mash until smooth.
3. While potatoes are cooking, make the filling. Place oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Saute onion, carrots and celery for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic. Add the ground meat, salt and pepper. Brown meat until cooked through. Sprinkle meat with flour, toss and cook for one minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly until the sauce is thickened slightly.
4. Add the frozen veggies to the meat mixture and spread into 11x7-inch baking dish. Top with sweet potatoes. Make sure to make a good seal around the edge of the pan with potatoes to limit the mixture bubbling over the edges. Place dish on a baking sheet and put on middle rack of the oven and back for 25 minutes.
5. Remove and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.