Southwestern Turkey Shepherd's Pie
This Southwestern Turkey Shepherd's Pie was a favorite of my personal chef clients-it's a play on shepherd's pie and is so nutrient-dense.
Ingredients
Turkey Chili filling:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced small (about 1/2 pepper)
- 1 cup red onion diced small (about 1/2 onion)
- 1/2 cup poblano or green bell pepper diced small (about 1/2 pepper)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey not extra lean
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 15 turns fresh-cracked black pepper
- ¾ cup bone broth chicken or beef
- one 10 oz can crushed tomatoes with green chiles
Mashed Sweet Potato topping:
- 4 cups sweet potatoes peeled and diced large, (about 3 small sweet potatoes)
- 3/4 cup canned coconut cream (or the white portion of canned full-fat coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
- 1 T orange zest
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon honey omit if whole30
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro minced, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Begin with cooking your sweet potatoes. In a 5-6qt pot, add diced sweet potatoes and cover with at least 1 inch water. Bring pot to a boil, over medium-high heat until boiling.
- When potatoes are boiling, reduce heat and let sweet potatoes simmer until very fork tender, about 18-20 minutes. Drain very well in a colander then return to warm pot off the heat.
- Stir in remaining sweet potato mash ingredients and mash with a potato masher until smooth and all combined. Set aside covered to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, make your turkey chili filling, once you get your sweet potatoes on to cook. Arrange a 10-12 inch medium-large cast iron or high-lipped saute pan over medium-high heat.
- Add your olive oil and vegetables, sautéing 2-3 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Push the vegetables to the outer circle of the pan and add ground turkey in the middle.
- Break turkey up a bit with a spatula then leave undisturbed, 2-3 minutes to brown. Continue to break up turkey and add spices: chile powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Continue to stir and saute until vegetables are very tender and all turkey is cooked through, approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in bone broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let turkey chili simmer 20-25 minutes while sweet potatoes are cooking and you make your mashed topping.
- When turkey chili is finished simmering and most of the liquid has been absorbed, turn off heat and evenly transfer your sweet potato mash atop. Smooth the top with a spatula then transfer to the top oven rack with the broiler on HIGH for 6-8 minutes until bubbling.
- Let shepherd's pie cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with more fresh cilantro and sliced avocado.