Shepherd’s Pie is definitely better the Cajun way.
Cajun Shepherd's Pie
Makes 16 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
- ¼ pound andouille sausage, casings removed
- ¾ pound ground beef
- ¼ pound ground pork
- 2½ tablespoons butter, divided
- ½ cup plus ⅓ cup finely chopped onion, divided
- ⅓ cup finely chopped celery
- ⅓ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1½ tablespoons Cajun seasoning*, divided
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Crystal Hot Sauce
- ¾ cup finely chopped carrot
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 (8-ounce) packages frozen pastry shells*, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. On a rimmed baking sheet, place sweet potatoes. Bake until softened, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to broil.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place andouille sausage; pulse until finely ground. In a large bowl, combine sausage, beef, and pork.
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage mixture; cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned. Remove meat using a slotted spoon, and place in a large bowl. Reserve drippings in a small bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon butter to Dutch oven, and melt over medium-high heat. Add ⅓ cup onion, celery, bell pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire, garlic, and hot sauce; cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove onion mixture, and place in a medium bowl.
- To Dutch oven, add reserved drippings, carrot, salt, pepper, remaining ½ cup onion, and remaining ½ tablespoon Cajun seasoning; cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until carrot is tender. Transfer to bowl with onion mixture.
- Scoop out sweet potato flesh into a large bowl. Add remaining 1½ tablespoons butter and salt and pepper to taste. With potato masher, mash until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag.
- Arrange pastry shells on rimmed baking sheets. To each shell, add 1 heaping tablespoon beef mixture and 1 tablespoon onion mixture. Pipe mashed sweet potato on top, smoothing with a spatula.
- Broil until crust is browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Notes
*We used Cajun Maispalm Seasoning (available at cajunculinaryroots.com) and VIP Pastry Shells.
Find more Cajun favorites in our newest issue of Louisiana Cookin’.