Chili Shepherds Pie
November 26, 2007
Oh me and my backlog of recipes. Well, photos anyway. I don’t seem to be writing as fast as I’m making and photographing. And then, there’s the whole wandering off to other countries and the complete destruction of my kitchen – just makes the whole thing a bit hard.
Yet the cooking thing seems to continue… But the emphasis is now on making big pots of stuff and how to have it a million times and not get bored. (At least until we have a kitchen sink again.) Thus I bring to you; Chili Shepherds Pie. Ever since I was introduced to shepherds pie I’ve wondered why there isn’t an American version. (Although, I suppose the equivalent would be Ranchers Pie or something.) Seemed to me that chili topped with a twice baked potato topping loaded with cheddar cheese and baked up would be very yum. And it is… very yum.
Honestly, I really think the potential on this is limitless. You could pair any kind of chili with any kind of potato mixture, be it rustic or refined, flavorful or subtle. Personally, I can’t wait to try my green chili with some finely beaten mashed potatoes with Cotija cheese.
Chili Shepherd’s Pie
part of 1 recipe of The Merciless Chili of Quetzlzacatenango
4 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 c light* sour cream
1/2 c cheddar cheese
1/4 c green onions, thinly sliced
1 – 2 T butter
salt & pepper
Preheat your oven to 375°f. Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork. Cook until they’re tender and easily pricked with a fork.
Cool and peel. Mash up with a fork. Toss together with the rest of the ingredients. Spoon chili into shallow individual bowls and top with potato mixture. (We liked a 1:1 ratio.) If you want to make the top all golden, brush with a bit more butter. Bake in 375°f oven for 30 – 45 minutes.
Eat and enjoy!
Behold the perfect ratio!
* okay, this is a little quirk of mine – I just like the flavor of light sour cream better than regular, it mellower and doesn’t remind me of food my mom made in the 70s.
Feed me! 
November 26, 2007 at 11:25 am
This looks great! You’re right that something so basic (and full of potential) has a place in every cuisine type. I discovered when I moved to Quebec that French-Canadians have their own version of shepherd’s pie that they call Pâté chinois, which has absolutely nothing to do with china. It’s ground beef on the bottom, corn in the middle, potatoes on top. Not exactly exciting, but chefs in Quebec have played with it and it can sometimes be ridiculously good. I agree that you’ve got to have cheese, though. Cheese makes everything better.
November 26, 2007 at 8:27 pm
I feel so inferior, sitting down to my Trader Joe’s shepherd’s pie. It’s decent, but nowhere near droolworthy like yours!
November 28, 2007 at 4:43 pm
You know what would be good, is this with soft polenta instead of potatoes. Not to suggest the potatoes aren’t delicious, but polenta would be interesting too.
November 29, 2007 at 10:09 am
hannehanne – Thank you. And I agree – it does seem like something that should be in every cuisine type. Awhile back I was working on a project to identify universal food types and then trying to figure out recipes for them that optimized health and tastiness. The project was just huge though – so I shelved it for awhile. But I should add this to the list.
Vicki – Thank you. And I’m sorry about that. Don’t want to make anyone feel inferior!
Keely – That would be good – but I think I’d go for more of an Italian shepherds pie then. Which sounds fantastic, really. Hm. Maybe this weekend. Thanks for putting that into my head!
December 1, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Or corn bread topping, like biscuits on top of chicken pot pie.
This looks completely awesome and a great way to use up the rest of the massive batches of chili my hubby makes. That’s a great idea for Monday night supper if I can get him to make chili tomorrow.
December 2, 2007 at 7:54 am
Yes, absolutely on the corn bread. Chili pot pie! That does sound good – my friend did something like that for a local cooking contest here and I posted it to the blog. It was smoked biscuit in mole sauce topped with corn bread.
December 12, 2007 at 4:18 pm
[...] chili recipe from Running With Tweezers and use to make sheperd’s pie with chili, per this recipe from To Be Mrs. Marv. Yum, yum, [...]
January 26, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Yikes-a-rama, what an idea. But I am thinking that since there is a thing called Cincinnati chili (chili with spaghetti), maybe you could have Cincinnati chili pie and top it with – - dadum — mac and cheese. What do you think? Sounds gooooood to me.
January 5, 2009 at 7:40 pm
[...] isn’t as strong as it used to be, ’cause I can’t find it. I did find one that looks good, and it’s nice to have recipes, but using leftovers really gets to the point of [...]
July 29, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Loved this chili recipe…made a few changes to the ingredients, like swapping peppers if I couldn’t find the ones listed. Added a little chipolte sauce too, but pretty much kept it as is. I made the potatoes and spread over chili in a 9X13 casserole. If you decide to do it this way, however, make more potatoes. Very, very good! I brought it to a themed book club pot luck and it was gobbled up!