Coming from a home with a love of food, our palates were opened to a variety of flavours that were not strictly Caribbean; it was great. Maybe that was the contributor to my sibling’s choice of culinary school. It certainly helps to keep me fueled.
I am really proud of this recipe and I hope that it is as delicious to eat for you as it was for me. If someone else already thought of Cassava and Potato Shepherd’s Pie, then great minds think alike. I will have you know that I did use some of my favourite people as guinea pigs for this and got all thumbs up.
Cassava also known as Yuca is a starchy root-vegetable(or what we call a ground provision) that is present in many Caribbean, South American and African dishes. It is a really versatile vegetable but MUST be cooked properly as it can be hazardous to the body if eaten raw. You can read more about cassava’s health benefits and nutritional facts here.
For those of us whose gluten intake must be minimal to none, here’s a fun fact: tapioca and all things tapioca come from cassava. As we go more into recipes that involve breads and pastries, you’ll notice tapioca starch is a main ingredient.
I am still trying to find a word that describes the flavour the cassava adds to this recipe. If you’ve cooked this and found it please let me know. Either way, delicious is delicious and for now, that word will have to do. This does make ALOT so feel free to halve it if you’re not serving an army of stomachs.
IMPORTANT: do not skip any of the cooking steps in this Shepherd’s Pie. As mentioned earlier, cassava must be cooked thoroughly.
Cassava and Potato Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 4 cassava tubers
- 4 medium baking potatoes
- 1 1/4 cup Lactose Free Sour Cream
- 1 cup Lactose Free 3% milk
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 1/2 cups Lactose Free mild Gouda cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Lactose Free smoked Gouda cheese
- Sea Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pkg 11kg lean ground beef and pork mix
- 3 tbsp curry powder (Masala)
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1.5 tbsp maggi seasoning
- 3 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp San-J Tamari gluten free soy sauce
- 1 sm red onion chopped
- 1 banana pepper chopped
- 2 eggs
Instructions
SEASON ground beef and pork mixture in a pyrex dish, with 2 tbsp curry powder and all of the cumin, coriander, maggi, Lea & Perrin, turmeric, paprika and soy sauce. Mix until well blended. Cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate and let sit for 2 hours to overnight.
PEEL cassava tubers by cutting skin off with knife. (the skin is too tough to be peeled with a regular peeler.) Chop into bite size pieces. Place in a heavy bottomed pot and fill with water until covered completely.
BRING cassava to a boil. Season with salt. boil until most of cassava is translucent.
DRAIN water from cassava. Place in a blender with 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup cup butter, 1/2 cup smoked gouda, 1/2 cup mild gouda and 1 cup sour cream. Pulse until mashed and well blended. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
POUR mashed cassava mix into large glass bowl.
PEEL potatoes. Chop into bit size pieces. Place in pot and fill with water until covered completely.
BRING potatoes to a boil. Season with salt. Boil until potato is translucent and soft when pierced with a fork. You can also taste to determine desired firmness.
DRAIN water from potatoes. In same blender, place potatoes and pour the rest of the milk, butter, 1/2 cup smoked gouda, 1/2 cup mild gouda and sour cream. Pulse until mashed and well blended. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
POUR mashed potato mix into same large bowl as cassava mix. Fold with spatula until well blended. Set aside.
SAUTE red onion and banana pepper with 1 tbsp olive oil in medium saucepan. Cook until onion is translucent.
ADD seasoned meat with remaining tbsp of curry powder. Cook and stir continuously until meat is browned and cooked through. Set aside and let cool.
BEAT eggs. Mix into cooled meat mixture until well blended.
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees celsius.
ASSEMBLE pie. Place meat mix in bottom of oiled pyrex or desired deep baking dish. Pour cassava and potato mash on top. Smooth with spatula to even out pie and push to edges to cover meat completely. Sprinkle remaining smoked and mild Gouda on top.
BAKE in oven for 45 - 60mins until top is golden brown and bubbling.
Let sit for 15- 20 mins before serving. Feeds 8-10.
Notes
After-the-fact Wisdoms:
Cassava mix will be a bit lumpy when first mashed. The second cooking step which is baking it in the oven, will soften it even more.
The potatoes are important for the smooth texture as well as the taste.
I used a mild flavoured cheese so that the taste of the cassava and still stand out. You can use any cheese you heart desires, however a stronger cheese will hide the cassava flavour.
Cassava and potato mash can be prepared a couple of hours to a day ahead.
You can use any meat mix you prefer. I used the beef and pork for a balance of lean and fatty meat.
DO NOT add salt to any red meat seasoning that will not be cooked immediately after. The salt toughens the meat. Using an ingredient like soy sauce helps add salt.
It is important to let the meat cool prior to assembly so that the egg does not get cooked before setting in the oven.
If you've made any changes of substitutions that you think are amazing then please share! I always love playing around with recipes and giving them a new twist.
Bon Apetit and happy eating!
