A Pot Roast Story - Part Three

We love roast beef especially for Sunday Lunch -- a tradition of my childhood (but we called it Sunday Dinner) and a tradition that we reacquainted ourselves with during our stay in England.     And no matter how small the roast, for two people there will definitely be leftovers!!!!      

But we don't think of roast reruns as "leftovers" but rather new meals.     The second night it was made into what my mother always called "hash" -- leftover meat and vegetables warmed in the gravy.    I took it up a notch by roasting additional carrots and potatoes to add to the mix.    It was very good for it was a cold evening and the rest of the hash made a great lunch the next day.

But, still there was some meat left over and so our third day of beef was turned into 

Shepherd's Pie.     It used the last of the beef, I mashed fresh potatoes and added some cheese on top and then put it into a hot oven where it got all warm and bubbly.

More of the same roast but neither of us felt as if we were eating "leftovers" -- for it was not a "redux" but a new meal.

And with it . . .

White asparagus.    Found in the market and served with an herbed lemon sauce -- from Country Weekend Entertaining by Anna Pump -- one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.     The sauce is good with green asparagus, too, but it looks extra pretty with the white.

We made the most of the beef and had three delicious dinners and one true leftover lunch.   Not bad for the price of the beef!    

Shepherd's Pie

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 T. butter

1 T. finely chopped onion

1/4 cup  shredded Cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

5 carrots, chopped

1 T. oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound cubed cooked beef roast 

2 T. flour

1 T. ketchup

3/4 c. beef broth

Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water until tender.    Drain and mash.   Mix in butter, finely chopped onion.    Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.

Cook carrots in a pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm.   Drain, mash and set aside.   

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat oil in frying pan.    Add onion and cook until clear.    Add beef and cook until beef is warm.   Then stir in flour and cook 1 minute.    Add ketchup and beef broth.    Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish.    Next spread a layer of mashed carrots.    Top with the mashed potato and spangle with shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

NOTE:    This was the recipe I used as a guideline -- I didn't make this quantity for it was just the two of us and we didn't want to eat Shepherd's Pie for the entire week!

Also, you can make Shepherd's Pie with ground beef instead of leftover roast.   Just brown the beef after you cook the onion and proceed with the recipe as shown.

It's Friday and I'm joining Michael at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.