For most of us, there are certain dishes - the mere mention of which - instantly brings a flood of happy childhood meal times memories rushing to the surface. I would argue that, further still, a good many of these are tied to certain months of the year, especially if you grew up with a family that cooked in keeping with the seasons.
Hands down one of the most iconic and classic wintertime meals from youth was my mom's awesome shepherd's pie (technically, cottage pie as it was made with ground beef, whereas shepherd’s pie, by its original definition, involved ground lamb - but we, like most folks in North America and even the UK, where both versions originated, called it shepherd's pie all the same). To this day, my stomach stirs and my taste buds perk up at the mere idea of it.
With the season of ice and snow (and even more snow!) out in full force here still, I got to thinking about shepherd's pie - that comfort food of ground meat, chopped veggies, tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes (or, as my mom sometimes did, a mixture of white rice and cheddar cheese instead of spuds) that millions of people have enjoyed sitting down to a steaming hot plate of for over two hundred years now.
My recent ponderings - and craving for - shepherd's pie led me to discover today's 1950s recipe for Crown o 'Gold Meatloaf, which is really neat twist on this hearty winter staple food. Instead of spuds (mashed or one of my favourite ways, topped with shredded hash browns), rice, dumplings, mashed cauliflower, or the like for the lid, it uses fluffy egg whites to create something that is akin in a way to the top layer of a lemon meringue pie.
{Mustard, horseradish (omit if desired, a little garlic could easily take its place), green onions, ground beef, and eggs combine in this meat loaf meets shepherd's pie inspired fifties dish that as easy to make as it is wonderfully filling. Image source.}
This twist is definitely fun and has very, very mid-century feeling to me. Of course, if you prefer (or, like me, aren't able to eat eggs for whatever reason), you can always used mashed spuds here and get a dish that for all intents is strikingly similar classic cottage or shepherd's pie. You can also easily ditch the yolks in the body of the meat loaf/meat pie here, too. If doing so, I'd just use a little bit of gray, tomato sauce, white sauce, cheese sauce or shredded cheese as a binding agent.
Feel free to vary the meat. Ground chicken, turkey, veal, pork, or a vegetarian/vegan meat substitute all work wonders in dishes like this. Though the only veggies called for here are green onions, feel free to add in any and all others that call your name. Carrots, parsnips, peas, green beans, sundried tomatoes, corn, and even squash would all be awesome choices to use in this stick-to-your ribs cold weather staple.
I've been making a spin of my mom's classic shepherd's pie recipe for decades now, but sometimes I like to shake things up and try other versions, too - especially when they're of vintage nature like this great 1950s recipe, which I'd be apt to serve with a green salad, light vinaigrette, hot butter (GF, in my case - ditto for the bread crumbs in today's recipe) rolls, and homemade apple sauce for a hearty dinner that is sure to combat even the biggest cold weather induced appetites, no problem!
Are you a fan of shepherd's/cottage pie, too? Does this mile high egg white topped version appeal to you or would you rather stick with the mashed potato version?
