Turkey and Beef Sheppards Pie

Technically, shepherd's pie is made with minced lamb meat... when it's made with beef, it's properly called "cottage pie." Anyhow, we make turkey and beef shepherd's pies at work as entrees... they sell pretty steadily, and are pretty good if you're in the mood for it.

The turkey mix gets covered in a smooth coating of yam puree, while the beef is covered in a piped layer of potato puree.

For the meat mixes:

• 10 lb ground turkey or 8lb ground beef
• 2 cups tomato paste
• 1/2 cup garlic, minced
• 1 L stock (chicken or beef)
• 1 L sherry
• 2 Tbsp cumin
• 2 Tbsp oregano for turkey
• 2 Tbsp thyme for beef
• 1 lb onions, diced
• 2 lb carrots for turkey
• 2 lb corn for turkey
• 2 lb peas for beef
• 2 lb sliced mushrooms for beef
• 1 L bread crumbs
• Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper

I added: chili powder, more garlic, more cumin, fresh thyme, bay leaves (in cheesecloth), 1 L extra bread crumbs and 1 cup Parmesan cheese to stiffen it up... it's important that it is stiff so that it cuts and presents cleanly.

The potato and yam purees are fairly simple to make. We steam them for about 40 minutes until they are very very soft, immediately throw them into a large mixer with lots of melted butter (sometimes some cream too), and use the whisking bit to create a fine puree.