Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Published March 7, 2024
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour, plus 15 minutes’ cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½-inch chunks (about 2 large potatoes)
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
- 2teaspoons smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1large yellow onion, chopped
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
- 3large garlic cloves, minced
- 1pound ground lamb (or beef)
- 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
- ½cup pitted dates, chopped
- 3tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1cup beef broth
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
612 calories; 33 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 866 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until fork tender. Drain, then return the potatoes to the pot and cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until any remaining moisture has evaporated. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth. Add the butter and ½ teaspoon of the paprika; mix until smooth. Season to taste with salt.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees and make the filling: In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low. Add the onion, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and the remaining 1½ teaspoons paprika, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Step 3
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the lamb. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas, dates and parsley. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it’s incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and cook until no more flecks of flour are visible, about 1 minute. Add the broth and cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Transfer the filling to a 9-inch or other 2-quart baking dish with 2-inch sides. Dollop spoonfuls of the mashed sweet potatoes on top, covering the surface, then use a spatula to spread them into an even layer.
- Step 5
Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbling up around the edges of the pan. To brown the top slightly, broil on high for 2 minutes, watching carefully. Cool for 15 minutes, then serve, garnished with more parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
To make this vegetarian, replace lamb with lentils or minced mushrooms. Put 1.5 lbs of mushrooms in the food processor and then sauté till they release their moisture and start to caramelize. Then use as ground mead. They’ll give the dish plenty of umami and texture wise will be very like ground meat. And to make the sweet potato mash less watery, bake them instead of boiling them.
Easy to make. The preparation of the filling and of the sweet potatoes takes just about the same amount of time. It was very tasty, but the recipe underplays the amount of salt you'll need. Of the potatoes it says "Season to taste with salt." but it doesn't say the same of the filling. Between the tomato paste and the dates and the onion, there's a lot of sweetness in the filling, and it needs salt to balance that and express the flavor of the spices.
I’ve done a more traditional shepherds pie with Impossible (or Beyond) ground fake beef, and mushroom bullion and it was spectacular. I bet the same would work here for a veggie version.
Excellent recipe! Freezes perfectly - should be added to the NYT freezer recipe list. We wanted to increase the veggie content so added diced turnip, winter squash, some chard ripped into 1" pieces, and canned chickpeas. Used 2 parts lamb: 1 part beef. So good!
Made this for the second time and did a few things differently. Didn’t have an enough sweet potatoes on hand so did a combo of sweet potato and butternut squash and it’s turned out beautifully. Also added a chopped fennel bulb along with the onion step to add depth. Drained the lamb after browning, chilled the liquid, discarded the fat and added the rest of the liquid back to the lamb and proceeded with the recipe. This really made a difference in the final result being considerably less greasy. Also added1 tsp of dried mint to lamb and about a tablespoon lemon juice to the final lamb mixture to add brightness.
One of my keepers. You can improvise a bit with a different ground meat or to have a vegetarian version use black beans instead. I don't usually have dates on hand and mixed in raisins with success. I also add chopped peppers to the onions. Yummy, filling, a little different and healthy.