Shepherd's Pie (Protein)

More similar to British Cottage pie because it uses beef instead of the Irish version which uses lamb. 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 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. this recipe has been adapted to include 30g of protein powder.

10 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped (2.5 L)
1 Tbsp. oil (15 mL)
2.2 lbs lean ground beef (1 kg)
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, 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 (60 mL)
½ cup milk (125 mL)
½ cup (2 scoops) unflavoured whey protein powder (39 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

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

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 oil on medium-high and brown the ground beef until no pink remains.

Add onion, garlic, spices and consommé or beef broth. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Transfer to a large oven-proof casserole dish or cast-iron skillet.

In the same pan, heat the corn until thawed and put on top of the meat.

Drain the potatoes and mash them with butter, milk and protein powder. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover the corn with the mashed potatoes and bake for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are a golden brown and the juices are bubbling up from the sides.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving: Calories: 865 | Fat: 50g | Carbs: 51g | Protein: 54g