This shepherd’s pie is a Caribbean twist on the classic deeply savory and comforting dish. Chef Gregory Gourdet uses one habanero to give the meat mixture heat with hints of sweet and floral notes. You can certainly add two chiles to kick it up even further. The tapioca starch slurry makes the beef mixture saucy and helps it maintain its structure while it bakes with a layer of creamy potatoes enriched with coconut milk on top.
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What you’ll need
Large Skillet
$74 At Amazon
8x8" Baking Dish
$18 At Amazon
Potato Masher
$15 At Amazon
Large Pot
$55 $48 At Amazon
Colander
$11 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4–6 servings
Ingredients
Filling
2
2
10
1
6
1
1
2
1
1
1
¼
¼
2
¾
Potatoes and assembly
1½
½
¼
1
Preparation
Filling
Step 1
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook 2 medium onions, chopped, 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, stirring occasionally, until onions are beginning to soften and turn golden, 5–7 minutes. Add 6 scallions, thinly sliced, one 4" piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped, and 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, finely chopped, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add 2 lb. ground beef and break up into clumps, then mix in 1 Tbsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, and 1 tsp. ground coriander. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into small pieces, until beef is browned and cooked through, 8–10 minutes. Mix in ¼ cup ketchup and ¼ cup tamari.
Step 2
Stir 2 Tbsp. tapioca starch or potato starch and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl to make a slurry. Add slurry and ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth to pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened and meat is glazed, about 2 minutes. Transfer beef mixture to a 9x9" or 8x8" baking dish or pan and press into an even layer.
Potatoes and assembly
Step 3
Preheat oven to 450°. Place 1½ lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled or scrubbed, in a large pot and pour in cold water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.
Step 4
Drain potatoes and transfer to a medium bowl. Add ½ cup unsweetened coconut milk, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and mash potatoes with a potato masher or large fork until creamy with some small pieces. Spoon mashed potatoes over meat filling in baking dish and spread all the way to the edges.
Step 5
Bake shepherd’s pie until potatoes are golden and liquid is bubbling around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then top with chopped parsley.
Do ahead: Pie (without parsley) can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool completely. Cover and chill. Reheat in a 350° oven.
Leave a Review
Reviews (3)
Back to TopI followed the recipe as stated and think with a little tweaking it could be 4 starts. Next time I would add Jerk seasoning to the meat and use 1.5 lb of beef rather than 2 (it's almost too thick). It did not have quite enough heat, but another Scotch Bonnet pepper would be too much - so maybe a small jalapeno would do the trick. I was curious about the olive oil and the potatoes and found that I would prefer using the coconut milk suggested but butter rather than olive oil in the future.
Anonymous
St. Paul, MN
1/22/2023
Very Tasty recipe with unusual flavors. I would decrease the ginger to a three inch piece and potentially add carrots to the recipe. Its a keeper. Look forward to fine tuning the recipe,
Wendy Hakken
Burlington, VT
1/26/2023
I followed the recipe relatively closely, with a few additions: Carrot, Peas, Shallot, Allspice, Cinnamon, Cumin. I also swapped the potato for white sweet potato (wife's preference). Due to the potato swap it needed a bit more heat to compensate. In addition to the large habanero, we brushed the top of the potatoes with a mixture of the seasoning blend and habanero based hot sauce. Gave it a nice spicy crust in the oven. Will definitely be making this again.
Anonymous
Seattle, WA
2/14/2023
Made it exactly as written and was delighted. It is a bit heavy on prep, as all the onions, scallions, garlic and habanero pepper must be a fine dice/ mince. You will want to wear latex or nitrile gloves to mince the pepper. It all comes together easily with the ground beef and do not skip the tapioca slurry + broth to finish the mixture, as this adds a really palatable silky texture to the base of the pie. Wasn't sure I would like coconut milk in my whipped potatoes, but it was not sweet or nutty at all. It just contributed immensely to the texture and delicious non-dairy richness of the potatoes! The complete dish was so savory and satisfying that it was worth the time! Expect leftovers (this recipe probably feeds 6-8 in my opinion).
Amy M. Colorado
CO Rocky Mts.
4/23/2023
Not terribly difficult to make and fairly tasty but not as flavorful as I expected. I used a habanero because I thought the slight sweet flavor would pair well but I feel like a single pepper maybe wasn't enough for such a large amount of meat. I agree with the other reviewer who said this makes more like 8 servings than 4-6. I'm interested to try the tweaks some people suggested.
Amy K
San Marcos, TX
1/25/2024
This recipe is okay. I ended up adding cinnamon and allspice, as well as some hot sauce because my habanero was lame. Substituted soy sauce for tamari. I would recommend using less olive oil and more coconut milk in the mash.
gracie
Pensacola, FL
2/19/2024