Cooking Cajun Food - Cajun Shepherd's Pie recipe

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Ingredients :

• 1½ lb ground beef
• ½ lb ground pork
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup very fine bread crumbs
• ¼ lb + 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• ¾ cup finely chopped onions
• ¾ cup finely chopped celery
• ½ cup green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 tbsp + 1 tspn minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tspn Tabasco sauce
  for meat seasoning mix :
• 2 tspn cayenne pepper
• 1½ tspn salt
• 1½ tspn black pepper
• 1¼ tspn white pepper
• ¾ tspn ground cumin
• ¾ tspn dried thyme leaves
• ¾ cup evaporated milk
• 2 lb potatoes, peeled & quartered
• 1 tspn salt
• 1 tspn white pepper
• 1½ cup julienne carrots
• 1 cup julienne onions
  for vegetable seasoning mix :
• ½ tspn salt
• ¼ tspn white pepper
• ¼ tspn onion powder
• ¼ tspn garlic powder
• ¼ tspn cayenne pepper
  for vegetables :
• 1½ cup julienne zucchini
• 1 cup julienne squash

Preparation and Cooking Instructions :

1. In a 13" x 9" ungreased baking pan, combine the beef and pork.
2. Mix in the eggs and breadcrumbs by hand until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
3. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and meat seasoning mix.
4. Sauté over high heat about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the pan bottom well. Remove from heat and cool.
5. Add the sautéed vegetable mixture and ¼ cup of the milk to the meat and mix well by hand.
6. Form into a 12" x 8" loaf and center in the pan.
7. Bake at 450°F until brown on top, about 30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven; pour off drippings, reserving 2½ tablespoons. Set meat and drippings aside.
9. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until fork tender; drain, reserving about 1 cup of the water.
10. Place the potatoes, while still hot, in a large mixing bowl with the remaining 1 stick butter, ½ cup milk, the salt and white pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon until broken up, then beat with a metal whisk (or electric mixer with a paddle) until creamy and velvety smooth. (Cooks note : Mix in some of the reserved potato water if potatoes are not creamy enough.)
11. In a large skillet (preferably nonstick) combine the reserved drippings with the carrots, onions and vegetable seasoning mix; sauté over high heat 1½ minutes, stirring frequently.
12. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and continue sautéing until vegetables are noticeably brighter in color, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
13. Mound undrained vegetables on top of the meat loaf, away from the edges.
14. Layer the mashed potatoes evenly over the top of the vegetables and top edges of the meat, using all the potatoes.
15. Bake at 525°F until brown on top, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

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