Happy Pi Day! My son requested shepherd’s pie, and I was out of white potatoes, so I improvised a bit and came up with this savory sweet potato version. It’s and easy and flexible recipe (and you really don’t have to measure anything., so you can work with what veggies you have on hand. I used a mix of fresh and frozen (and that’s reflected in the recipe below) but use what you have and/or what your family likes, even just a bag of frozen veggies if you’re feeling lazy.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced.

1 lb ground beef

1 large onion, diced

Veggies (use whatever you like, you just basically want about the same amount of veggies as meat, 2-3 cups):
1 carrot, sliced thin
~1/2 to 1 cup frozen green beans or peas
1/2 large zucchini, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced

Spices:
-Salt & Pepper
-Cumin
-Chili Powder
-Garlic powder

Beaten egg
Salsa (I used green)

Milk
2 Tbsp Butter

Instructions

Preheat to 375F

Microwave the sweet potatoes in a lidded ceramic dish and a half inch of water for 5-6 minutes (depends on your microwave) until soft enough to mash. Alternately you can boil or steam them.

In a large skillet, brown your hamburger meat with the onions, S & P to taste.
Add your veggies and cook until mostly tender. Add a healthy shake of each of your spices, to your taste (1/2 to 1 teas of the cumin and chili powder, I’d estimate).

While that’s cooking, mash your potatoes with several Tbsp of butter and enough milk to get it to mashed potato consistency. Add a few shakes of each of your spices to the mashed potato mix.

Back to the Meat/Veg:
Drizzle in salsa (~1/4 cup) to give it a little moistness and heat.
Taste this, it’s your filling so it should taste good now. Add more S&P or spices if desired.
Remove from heat and stir in your beaten egg.

For mini-pies, split your filling into 4 dishes. (otherwise, this should also fit nicely in a 10 inch iron skillet, or a square pyrex.) Top with sweet potato mash, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle with a dash of chili powder or sumac for color.

I took my individual pans and placed them on a baking sheet with a silicone mat to keep them from sliding around. This just makes it easier to put in the oven.

Bake until filling is bubbly and potatoes are a little toasted, 30-45 min depending on the size of your dishes. If your potatoes don’t set toasted, you can finish under the broiler.