A Nod to the Irish

Shepherd’s Pie

All hail the Irish and their obsession with potatoes! It’s no surprise that of all cultures, they have come up with a pie that uses a mashed potato topping in place of a crust…especially since the Irish have long been associated with Celiac. Unfortunately, you still can’t just go into a pub and assume the dish is safe since flour is used to thicken the sauce inside the pie.

My version of shepherd’s pie calls for pre-cooked chicken instead of the traditional lamb or beef, so this is another great way (like last week’s Roasted Chicken Soup) to use up a leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken. I use my favorite gravy flour – rice flour – to thicken the sauce and one of my very favorite herbs – tarragon – to give it a unique sweet and savory flavor.

Shepherd’s Pie

For 2 servings:

Mashed Potato Topping

2 C. diced potatoes (1 large russet or 2 gold potatoes)

2 T. butter

¼ C. milk

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the potatoes until tender. Strain. Return to the pot and mash together with butter, milk, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Shepherd’s Pie Filling

2 carrots, diced into bite-sized pieces

1 C. broccoli florets

2 T. butter

1 C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. rice flour

2 C. GF chicken broth (or 1 can)

1 ½ tsp. dried tarragon

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

GF hot sauce to taste

½ C. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained to ¼ C.)

½ C. corn

¾ C. cooked shredded or diced chicken

Steam or boil the carrots and broccoli until tender (about 5 minutes). Set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over med-low heat and sauté onion and garlic until tender and translucent (8-10 minutes). Use a wooden spoon to stir in the rice flour to coat the onions, then slowly stir in the broth (if you do it a little at a time instead of all at once, it won’t clump as easily). Add dried tarragon. Turn the heat to medium and allow the sauce to come to a low simmer so it will thicken. Once it reaches a simmer, season with vinegar and hot sauce. Turn off the heat. Stir in the spinach, corn, chicken and reserved carrots and broccoli. Divide between two individual (or one medium) casserole dishes (I used two oval dishes about 4x6x1.5-in.). Top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 415 for 15 minutes, until the tips of the mashed potato topping begin to turn brown.

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