Cauliflower Cottage Pie (Paleo)

Say it with me, cauliflower cottage pie. What is a cauliflower cottage pie? It is a cottage pie, more commonly known as a shepherd’s pie, topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. It is believed that cottage pies originated from Scotland. Usually its anatomy consist of a meat and gravy filling topped with mashed potatoes. The modern day shepherd’s pies are made with minced meat but the original cottage pies were made with left over meats (likely from a roast), creating a genius brew of leftover ingredients.

My inspiration for the cauliflower cottage pie recipe came from the Gruffalo. “What’s a gruffalo? Why didn’t you know?” It is a children’s book by Julia Donaldson and one of my son’s favorite bedtime stories. Our nightly bedtime ritual consists of winding down together watching either The Gruffalo or The Gruffalo’s Child. Both the Gruffalo and the Gruffalo’s Child are both voiced by actor’s with Scottish accents. In the story, the mouse fended off the gruffalo by telling him that his favorite food is “gruffalo pie”. I thought to myself, Scottish, meat pie, a shepherd’s pie it is!

Growing up, shepherd’s pie was a popular dish in our household. It was always one of my favorites. How can anyone say no to a flavor filled meat gravy topped with creamy garlic mashed potatoes? I know I sure can’t. After going paleo, I tend to stay away from white potatoes, so I wanted to come up with an alternative. That’s how I came up with the Cauliflower Cottage Pie. Not only is it low-carb, it is also absolutely delicious! You can also see that I have the scary eye-ball salt and pepper shaker to keep celebrating the Halloween spirit (my girlfriend made me do it). Let’s delay no further, here is the recipe.

Cauliflower Cottage Pie

Mashed Cauliflower:

 

2 Heads of Cauliflower

4 – Garlic Cloves

4 Tbsp – Grassfed Butter

1/2 tsp – Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp – Toasted Onion Powder

1 Tsp – Parsley Flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pie Filling:

 

1.5 lb – Ground Beef

1/2 – Yellow Onion (Diced)

4 – Garlic Cloves (Minced)

1/2 Cup – Peas and Carrots (Frozen)

2 Cups – Chicken Broth

2 Tbsp – Tomato Paste

1 Tbsp – All Natural Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tsp – Dried Thyme Leaves

1 Tsp – Dried Rosemary Leaves

1/2 Tsp – Dried Marjoram

1/2 Tsp – Smoked Paprika

1/2 Tsp – Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp – Toasted Onion Powder

2 – Bay Leaves

1-2 Tsp – Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Salt – To Taste

2 Tbsp – Tapioca Starch

Before we start prepping the cauliflower cottage pie, you know I like to talk about ingredients. If you like lamb or mutton, I love a 50/50 mixture of ground beef and lamb, but pure beef or lamb both works. As for peas, I have talked about this in one of my previous recipes. It is totally up to you on whether or not you allow them in your diet.

To begin the cauliflower cottage pie recipe, we will prep the cauliflower mash. Begin by washing and cutting the heads of cauliflower into small chunks. You can either steam or boil the cauliflower and garlic cloves until they are fully cooked. I steamed mine for 20 minutes.

After steaming, I ran it through my salad spinner to get rid of any excess moisture. If you do not have access to that, you can use paper towels to pat them dry or you can put it in a cheese cloth and squeeze out some of the excess water.

In a food processor, blend together the cooked cauliflower, garlic cloves, butter, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Set speed on high and blend it until it is completely pureed. If you don’t have a food processor, a blender or immersion blender will work just fine. If your puree seems a bit thin, you can add a bit if coconut flour to thicken it.

Set your cauliflower mash aside and let’s get started on the filling. Most people like to cook the filling and put it into a casserole or pie dish. I beg to differ because I have enough dishes to wash as it is. So, we will make it easier and use a cast iron skillet. I prefer cast iron but you can use anything that is oven-safe and stove top safe to make the Cauliflower Cottage Pie.

Start off by browning the ground beef in the skillet with a little bit of salt and pepper. After you brown the beef, remove it from the skillet and drain it. Now, heat some butter in the skillet, add in the garlic and diced onions and cook them until they are slightly golden brown. Stir in the previously cooked ground beef and the frozen peas and carrots.

Now we can season the filling with thyme, rosemary, marjoram, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and stir in the rest of the ingredients except for the half a cup of chicken broth and tapioca starch.

Let the meat simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow the bay leaves’ flavor to be extracted and remove it from the filling. While the filling is simmering, preheat your oven to 375°. Mix together the remaining half a cup of chicken broth with the tapioca starch and stir it into the filling. This way, it will prevent any clumps from forming. This will thicken the mixture. Remove the skillet from the heat and we can start assembling the cauliflower cottage pie.

Spread the mashed cauliflower over the meat filling evenly and score the top with a fork to create some textures. You can also pipe the mashed cauliflower if you prefer it that way. After the assembly, put the pie in the oven and bake it for 20 minutes. I would recommend setting a making sheet or drip pan under the skillet in case it bubbles over. If the mashed cauliflower is not brown after 20 minutes, utilize your broiler. Set the broiler on high and let it brown the top until it is nice and golden (make sure to watch it closely). There you have it, my cauliflower cottage pie is ready to be served! As you can see in the pictures, the salt and pepper shakers are already eye-balling the pie….get it?

 

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