Shepherd's Pie (Québec)

More similar to British Cottage pie because it uses beef. But, nonetheless called Shepherd's Pie. Another distinction is the only vegetable is corn and it uses consommé to make a jus. A weekly dish for me growing up in Montréal. French-Canadians call this dish Pâté Chinois (Chinese Pie). Growing up this confused me immensely, I later discovered that cooks for the Chinese railway workers in the 19th century came up with this dish as a variation on Shephard’s Pie because it was an economical way to feed all the workers. Apparently, the Québecois liked it so much, it stuck around and became the national dish of Québec. The only difference between the my version (English) and the French version is that they used creamed corn, from a tin *gasp*. Shocking really, since there is an abundance of corn grown in Québec. I prefer fresh corn when it is in season and frozen when not.

10 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped (2.5 L)
1 Tbsp. oil or bacon fat (15 mL)
3 lbs medium ground beef (1.35 kg)
2 cups onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tbsp. Montréal steak spice (15 mL)
1 tsp. celery salt (5 mL)
1 tsp. ground paprika (5 mL)
1 can consommé or beef broth
1 bag frozen sweet corn, such as peaches and cream
¼ cup butter, softened (60 mL)
½ cup heavy cream (125 mL)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).

Take the frozen corn from the freezer and set aside on the counter to thaw.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large saucepan, heat the oil on medium-high and brown the ground beef.

Add the onion, garlic and spices. Cook until the meat is cooked through. Add consommé or beef broth and let simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer to a 9x13x3" oven-proof casserole dish. Scatter the corn evenly on top of the meat.

Drain the potatoes and mash them with the butter and cream. 

Cover the corn with the mashed potatoes. Using a fork, run lines down the potatoes so that there will be brown crusty edges, when cooked.
Season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and juices are bubbling up from the sides.

Makes 8 servings.