Imagine this: As you get home from work the golden sunlight is slanted through the treetops ablaze with Fall color. If you hurry, you can still catch a bit of sunshine outside as you walk/run, garden or take a family trip to the playground. You pop a casserole dish into the oven and grab your sneakers before heading outside into the crisp weather. Forty minutes later, you reenter the warm kitchen to the savory and pungent aroma of a hearty Shepherd’s Pie waiting for you and your family. Full of comforting flavors of potato, meat and onion, packed with veggies, and with a hint of something sweet and surprising (that’s the pear and buttermilk), this dinner is all in one pan. And the best part? It’s all just $2 a serving!
That’s right! This budget-friendly Buttermilk Pear Shepherd’s Pie recipe with fresh, homegrown Weaver’s Orchard pears and produce is dinner for days (10-12 servings, including seconds)! This recipe lends itself so well to meal prepping, and with just a little effort, I always think you might as well double your project, so I like to make this meal in two 9×13 inch pans to make reheating dinners easy.
With just a few simple ingredients, you can make this tasty Fall dinner yourself! Stop by our Farm Market for some delicious red potatoes at 99 cents/pound, a bunch of homegrown carrots, one sweet onion, and – the star of the show – two juicy Coldsnap pears. Fluffy red skin mashed potatoes with buttermilk and pear (a unique flavor combo I picked up from Swiss cooking) is a pleasant Fall twist on this classic dinner that I hope you will enjoy. So, come on out to Weaver’s Orchard this week to get all the produce you need for this nifty, time-saving dinner, that makes sure that you save your time for soaking up the sun at the end of these short Fall days with those you love.
See our updated Farm Market hours here.
Buttermilk Pear Shepherd’s Pie
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Bake Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 mins
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
- Category: Budget-Friendly Meals, Main-Dishes, Pears, Gluten-Free, Recipes
Ingredients
- 5–6 red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
- 2 Weaver’s Orchard Coldsnap Pears, sliced (skins on)
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ stick butter
- 1 homegrown sweet onion, diced
- 1 ½ pounds ground pork (beef or lamb are great substitutes)
- 2 tablespoons flour of choice
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 bunch homegrown carrots, scrubbed and sliced (skins on)
- 12oz bag frozen peas
- ½ cup shredded cheddar
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Additional sprig of fresh or dried sage and freshly ground nutmeg, optional
Instructions
- Set a large and a small pot of water to boil on the stove. Wash, scrub and chop the potatoes into small pieces and add to the big pot, once boiling. Cut the carrots into small rings and add to the small pot, once boiling, and cook until a fork easily pierces (about 8-10 mins) and drain. Slice the Coldsnap pears (skins on) into pieces a similar size as the potatoes and set aside. Boil the potatoes until they are about the same softness as the pears (about 10-12 mins) and add the pears to the potatoes, cooking until everything is soft and mashable (about another 10-12 mins).
- As the potatoes and carrots boil, set a large frying pan to medium-high heat with a little olive oil. Dice the onion and add to the hot pan, cooking until starting to brown and translucent. Add the ground pork, half a sprig of diced sage (optional) and season with salt, pepper and (optional) nutmeg. Lower the heat to medium until the meat is cooked-through, and then add ½ cup of sour cream and flour to the frying pan, stirring until a sauce thickens. Add additional seasoning as desired, then turn off the heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Once the potatoes and pears are cooked through, strain through a colander and return to the hot pot. Begin mashing with a potato masher before adding the butter, buttermilk, salt and pepper (and sage and nutmeg, if desired).
- Use two 9×13 glass dishes to build the pies. Start with a layer of drained carrots, then add the frozen peas, the meat, and a thick layer of mashed buttermilk pear potatoes on top. Grate cheddar atop and add salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg (if desired). Cover pans with foil and bake at 375 for 40 mins. Uncover and bake another 2-5 minutes on broil (oven temps vary, so be very careful to not leave the oven during broiling to avoid burning). The Shepherd’s Pie will be cooled just enough by the time the table is set. Enjoy!
Notes
Reheats well in oven. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 45-50 mins per pan, or for 10-15 mins per serving, taking off the foil and broiling for the last 2-5 mins.
Keywords: Budget-Friendly Meals, Shepherd’s Pie, Buttermilk, Mashed Potatoes, Pears