2 pounds ground meat (lamb, beef or turkey...I like turkey!)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1½ cups beef, chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
Cut russet potatoes into evenly sized discs, about ¾" thick. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium or medium-high to maintain a light boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and drain. Put potatoes back into pot.
Heat milk and butter in microwave until warmed, about 30-60 seconds.
Add milk, butter, salt, pepper and egg yolk to potatoes and mash (with an electric hand blender or potato masher). Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400ยบ F.
In a deep 12-inch frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and cook about 5 minutes.
Add ground meat and cook until meat is no longer pink, stirring and breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the salt, pepper, sage and thyme while the meat is cooking.
Sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the meat, then whisk in the broth. Stir in worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and cook a few minutes until everything is fully mixed.
Pour meat mixture into a large casserole dish (a 13"x9" or equivalent). Carefully spread the mashed potatoes over the top, doing your best to create a seal around the edge between the potatoes and the pan and spreading the potatoes so there are no holes in the surface. If there are holes it's not the end of the world - you'll just get gravy bubbling up over the potatoes.
Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are lightly browned and dish is bubbling. I will sometimes turn on the broiler for a few minutes at the end to get the tops of the potatoes even more browned.
Recipe by This Week for Dinner at https://thisweekfordinner.com/classic-shepherds-pie-recipe/