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1
For the filling:.
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Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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3
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or deep saute pan.
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Brown the lamb and beef.
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5
Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon.
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Add the onions and carrots to the pan and saute until carrots are almost tender, about 5 minutes.
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Add green beans, mushrooms, tomato puree, thyme, parsley and cinnamon to the pan.
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Stir and saute for 2 minutes.
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Next, stir in the flour, which will soak up the juice.
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Add a small splash of water or wine if needed, and stir and cook about 1 minute.
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Deglaze the pan with a few more splashes of wine, scrapping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the remaining wine and the beef consumme.
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12
Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
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13
Return the meat to the pan and bring to a boil.
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Cover, turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until the lamb is fully cooked.
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15
For the crust:.
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Peel the potatoes, cut them into large even-sized pieces and place into a pot of cold, salted water.
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Bring the water to a boil and cook potatoes until they are tender, about 10 minutes.
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(Potatoes are done when a knife can easily go through.
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).
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When the potatoes are done, drain off the water, return them to the saucepan, cover with a clean tea cloth to absorb the steam and leave them for about 5 minutes.
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Remove cloth, turn on heat to medium.
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Stir potatoes until fluffy and any excess water has evaporated.
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This will prevent your mashed potatoes from becoming starchy.
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Next, add the butter and mash them to a puree.
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25
Season with salt and pepper.
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Add 1-2 Tablespoons of milk if pototoes seem too dry or stiff.
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When the meat is ready, spoon it into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and level it out with the back of the spoon.
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28
After that, spread the mashed potato evenly all over.
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(I like to sprinkle the mashed potatoes with paprika at this point - I LOVE paprika!
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).
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Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potato, scatter the cheese over the scallions.
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Bake until the top is crusty and golden, about 25 minutes.
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Note: To save time, I lay 5-6 sprigs of thyme into small sauce pan with the beef consumme and simmer about 5 minutes, and then strain the consumme before adding to the filling.
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34
I don't like to cleaning and chopping fresh thyme.
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35
One time we make this with leftover rare roast beef cut into large cubes.
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36
We simply skipped the step about browing the meats, and then added the beef after all the other filling ingredients.
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37
We did not simmer the filling as we didn't want to toughen the roast beef cubes.
