Shepherdess' Pie

So to round out this month of healthy eating, here is a housebound, snowy day, comfort food special.  It's a variation on a Shepherd's Pie.  Instead of potatoes, we stole a page from South Beach and made the topping out of mashed cauliflower.  Hope you enjoy!

Shepherdess Pie

Filling

1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups veggie stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Topping

4 cups cauliflower florets (approx 1 head)
2 large carrots, diced
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp skim milk

In a large pan, dry fry the ground turkey for 3-4 minutes until browned. Add the onion and garlic, cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

While that’s cooking, whisk together the veggie stock and tomato paste. Set aside.

Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually blend in the tomato stock mix. Stir in celery, 1 tbsp of the parsley, and the Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

To make the topping, steam or microwave the cauliflower until soft. Puree with butter and skim milk until smooth. Boil the diced carrots for about 10 minutes until soft. Mash in a food processor and then blend with the cauliflower. Mix in the rest of the parsley (or if you forget, just save to sprinkle on top of dish). Set aside.

Spoon the turkey mixture into a baking dish and top with the cauliflower-carrot topping.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve up with your favorite bread.  We kept it it light by pairing with toasted whole wheat sandwich thins (only 100 calories each).

Variations

You can substitute ground beef for the ground turkey, or use Morningstar Grilled Crumblers if you want to make it a vegetarian dish.

You can use chicken stock, or beef broth if you use ground beef, in lieu of veggie stock, in this case it's just what we had on hand already.

If you aren't a huge fan of cauliflower (which one of us isn't), you can make mashed potatoes instead for the topping.  Though for those non-cauliflorians out there, seriously can't tell the difference.  Potatoes are a bit more mealy, but flavorwise, you don't miss a thing.