Celery Root Shepard’s Pie with Mushrooms
When March rolls into town, I always feel a huge sense of relief that Winter is on its last leg.It’s like the light at the end of a long, cold, unpleasant tunnel and it makes me anticipate all of the wonderful things about Spring.
Spring certainly is on the horizon, but it’s not here yet. Even though the warmer temperatures do give a glimmer of hope to a dreary winter, March weather can be pretty wet and cloudy.
And that means that cozy foods are still totally appropriate.
Pretty vegetables get all of the attention, but in the produce isle and in life, looks aren’t everything.
The celery root is a humble veggie if there ever was one. Celery root is also known as celeriac, and is the root bulb of the celery stalk that we all know and love. It has just a slight celery flavor, but cooks up very similar to a potato.
Not that I have anything against potatoes, but sometimes it’s nice to switch up the usual and introduce new produce to the diet.
Traditionally, Shepard’s pie is made with lamb, while cottage pie is made with beef.
I’ll admit I did not know this fact before I researched Shepard’s pie. Either way, this version of Shepard’s pie is totally delicious if you ask me π
I had some grass fed stew meat waiting patiently in the freezer, so that’s what I went with. You can absolutely use lamb and keep it a little more traditional if you prefer!
If you can, try to make the stew the day before you make the pie itself. A stew is one of those foods that gets better every day you have it. All those flavor friends really have time to mingle and get even better with time.
The wine in this dish adds a rich flavor, but is also optional. Just replace with extra beef broth if you prefer!
Oh! And about that gruyere.
New favorite thing in life. I still have to approach dairy cautiously (because of personal health reasons) but this wedge did not last long in the fridge. I’m feeling nostalgic for it already.
I’m more than ready for Spring and all of the fresh flavors it will bring along with it. But as long as it’s still sweater weather and I’m having to use my umbrella way more often than I’d like to, I’ll be busy making things taste cozy.
There are a few benefits to cold weather, and this dinner is definitely one of them.
Adapted from Williams Sonoma.
Celery Root Shepard's Pie with Mushrooms
Ingredients
For the stew
- 1.5 lb grass fed stew meat
- 2 leeks (or 1 medium white or yellow onion)
- 4 medium carrots
- pint baby portobello mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup frozen peas
- olive oil
- 2 pats of butter
- fresh thyme leaves (several sprigs)
- 1/2 tablespoon tapioca or arrowroot starch
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1.5 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine (sub with beef broth if you prefer)
- salt and pepper
For the topping
- 3 medium celery root bulbs, or 2 large bulbs*
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- Splash of milk of your choice
- 1/2 cup grated gruyere
- 2 pats of butter
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove beef from refrigerator and trim into bite size pieces.
- Peel and chop carrots. Slice Leeks lengthwise through the center, wash well, and chop until the very fibrous green tops. Wipe mushrooms with a damp towel, and slice. Peel and chop garlic.
- Bring dutch oven (or other large, heavy pan) to medium high heat and add drizzle of olive oil. Add stew meat and salt and pepper, browning meat for 3-4 minutes. Remove meat and reserve.
- To dutch oven, add additional olive oil, leeks, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste, broth, wine, and thyme leaves. Add meat back to pan and reduce heat. Cover and cook for 1.5 hours, checking periodically to make sure there is enough liquid. Add more broth if liquid reduces too much.
- While stew cooks, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Peel celery root bulb carefully with a knife, and cube. Add celery root to water and boil until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Drain celery root, and return to pan. Add in butter and parmesan, and begin to mash. Add in milk until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- After cooking stew for 1.5 hours, stir in a slurry made from arrowroot / tapioc powder and 2 tablespoons of water. Then add frozen peas and 2 pats of butter and stir to combine. Transfer stew to an oven safe dish and cover with mashed celery root. Sprinkle grated gruyere over top.
- Bake pie for about 20 minutes, or until top begins to bubble and brown. Remove from oven and serve!
Notes
*You can replace leeks with 1 medium onion
*Celery root can be replaced with 3-4 medium potatoes
Hang in there, Spring is just around the corner!
6 responses to “Celery Root Shepard’s Pie with Mushrooms”
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I’ve been searching for a great way to use celery root… this looks awesome!!
Thanks Emily, I hope you love it!
Wow, that looks really amazing! Love the gruyere cheese in this!
Thanks, Amy!
Hi Allyson!
I’m a HUGE fan of shepherd’s pie and this looks great. Just have to say I love your website, the recipes you make are so beautiful and unique! I am going to try this out very soon, hopefully I can find some celery root at the farmer’s market tomorrow π I’ll drop back and let you know how it was! Thanks for what you do!
Amber of http://healthlightbalance.com
Hi Amber! Thank you so much! I hope that you find celery root and it is awesome π