Shepherd’s pie. Because February.

I’m always amazed by how short February is, when winter-wise it tends to feel eternal. Eleven days in and we’ve already had a blizzard; several gray, zero-ish days; and a little icy rain.

To cope, I’ve eaten a lot of stewed meaty things, pizza, eggs, cheese fries (twice in a span of three days last week) and pasta, and drunk at least a couple bottles of wine. In other words, I’m not handling this last stretch of winter very well.

So on Monday, I decided to branch out and add a little mashed potatoes and lamb to the mix with shepherd’s pie. Truthfully, I’ve always been a little averse to this dish because of the various pots and pans I pictured it requiring. But all you need is a pot for potatoes, one for the meat and vegetables, and then a baking dish to layer it all together in. Not so terrible, especially if you’ve roped in some poor sucker to help with the dishes. (Full disclosure: the partially Irish Mister was so excited at the prospect of shepherd’s pie on a Monday, he happily would have done a whole pile of dishes.)

It turns out that shepherd’s pie isn’t the most photogenic stuff on earth (as you can see, Sean and I tried pretty much every angle). But who needs pretty when something is this delicious?

Shepherd’s pie with lamb
serves 3-4

Ingredients

Olive oil, as needed
1 pound ground lamb
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken or lamb stock
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
2 sprigs rosemary
2/3 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons butter
Fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Method: Heat a medium Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high. Add a teaspoon of oil and the lamb, and brown until cooked through. Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper; then remove and set aside.

Wipe out the pan, and set it back over medium high. Add another tablespoon of olive oil along with the onion, carrot, celery, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften and just start to brown. Stir in the garlic, rosemary and thyme, and cook for about a minute until fragrant. Add the meat back to the pot, and pour in the worcestershire, soy, tomatoes and stock.

Cover the pot, crank the heat up to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the liquid is gone. Check the seasoning, and adjust as needed.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F.

Place the potatoes and rosemary sprigs in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water. Sprinkle generously with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.

Cook, uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, discarding the rosemary sprigs, and return them to the pot. Add the milk, butter, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mash until fairly smooth and creamy, adding more milk as needed if they seem too dry. When you’re done, the potatoes should be pliable but not runny. Check the seasoning and add salt, pepper or more butter if desired.

Tip the lamb mixture into an 8-in. by 8-in. baking dish, spreading it out evenly.

Pile the potatoes on top, smoothing them out with a spatula.

With a fork, make a little cross-hatch pattern all over the top. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, until the meat mixture starts bubbling up around the sides of the pan. If you like the top a bit browner, stick the pan under the broiler for about 2 more minutes. Remove, and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting to minimize roof-of-mouth burning.

Cut the pie into large squares. Tear a few parsley leaves over the top, and serve.

Slow down, Marge

I don’t know where September went. But somehow, October will be here next week. It’s getting dark earlier and earlier, the nights are colder and the air has a different smell–a little crackly and smoky like dying leaves and campfires.

Fall is my favorite time of year, especially in Chicago. But I’m not quite ready to let go of summer, particularly because this one was one of the warmest and sunniest I can remember. I usually spend September frantically trying to jam in as much as I can before the cold weather descends. Going out to eat several nights a week becomes justified by flimsy claims like, “but how many more times will we be able to sit outside without a jacket?”

So there I was, walking home from work on yet another mild weeknight in early September, wrestling with the idea of going out for dinner. But instead, I stopped at the grocery store for a ball of prepared pizza dough and a bundle of rosemary with a plan to use up the last few red potatoes on the counter in a potato and rosemary pizza.

I prepped the pizza slowly, enjoying the mingling of summery and autumnal smells in the kitchen: fruity olive oil and grassy chives; wintry roasting potatoes and piney rosemary. Sean came through the door and breathed deeply. “Ooh, what’s for dinner Marge?” he said. We plunked down on the couch and ate the whole pizza while flipping between a meaningless baseball game and Seinfeld reruns (still so funny!). It was the perfect respite from a whirlwind end of summer.

One of the best parts about this pizza were the pieces of potato that I accidentally sliced too thin. When they went in the oven a second time they crisped up into these salty little chips that Sean and I picked off the pizza while we waited for it to cool.

It was nice to lean on prepared pizza dough for a quick weeknight dinner. But if you have some more time to spare, you can make your own pizza dough. My focaccia dough works nicely and has a slightly fermented flavor from the sponge that sits overnight.

Potato and rosemary pizza

12 ounces unpeeled small Yukon Gold or red potatoes, sliced into very thin rounds (about 1/8 inch)
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and pepper, to taste
14 ounces pizza dough
AP flour, for dusting
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (you could also substitute chunks of whole milk ricotta)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Chives, roughly chopped, for garnish

Method: Preheat the oven to 425F. Toss the potatoes with the smashed garlic, half the rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on sheet pans, and bake until just tender, 5 minutes. Remove, and set aside.

Turn the heat up to 500F. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Stretch onto a pizza stone or rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then scatter the potato slices over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch plain border. Sprinkle with the remaining rosemary, chopped garlic and crushed red pepper. Top with cheeses to cover. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle with chives and cut into slices. Serve with additional red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce.