SteemitculinaryChallenge #17: The Potato-less Moroccan Shepherd's Pie

Yes, you read that correctly. I have made a potato-less, Moroccan spice inspired shepherd's pie. It's firmly rooted with turnip, carrots, parsnips, 8 different spices and raisins!

Here's a list of the ingredients required:

1. 1 medium size turnip;
2. 6 medium size parsnips;
3. 2 medium size carrots;
4. 1.5 lbs of ground beef (To make this vegan, use 2 cups of chickpeas instead and skip the ghee.) 
5. 1 small onion;
6. 1 cup of water;
7. 1/2 cup of sultana raisins;
8. 2 tbsp of coconut oil;
9. 2 tbsp of maple syrup;
10. 1 + 1 tbsp of ghee (butter will work, too, or omit to convert to a vegan recipe);
11. 1 tsp of pureed garlic;
12. 3 tbsp of Morocan spice blend (I combined the following spices: 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp of ground ginger, 1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan salt, 1/2 tsp of ground pepper, 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ground cayenne pepper, 1/2  tsp of ground coriander and 1/4 tsp of allspice.) 
13. a pinch of cinnamon to sprinkle on the top;
14. and 3 small sprigs of parsley to garnish.

The tools you will require are:

1. a vegetable peeler;
2. a sharp butcher's knife;
3. 3 medium size bowls;
4. a pototo masher;
5. a large spoon;
6. a fork;
7. a spatula;
8. a frying pan;
9. a medium size pot;
10. and a selection of measuring cups and spoons;

Directions:

• Cut and peel the turnip;

• Cut the turnip into small cubes.

• Boil the turnip in a pot on the stove top for 30 minutes, or until a fork will go through it easily.

• Peel and cut the carrots, parsnips and onion.

• Saute the onions and carrots in coconut oil, in a frying pan, over a medium heat on your stove top.

• Drain and mash the cooked turnip in a medium size bowl.

• Add 1 tbsp of ghee and 2 tbsp of maple syrup and mash again to combine the ingredients.

• While the carrots and onions are sauteing, boil the parsnips until they are soft and will pierce easily with a fork. Remove from heat.

• Transfer the cooked carrots, onion and garlic to another bowl and let cool.

• In the frying pan, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. When it's done cooking, drain the fat from it.

• Add the carrots, onion, and garlic mixture to the beef. Add the spice blend and 1 cup of water. Mix well.
• Continue cooking over a low heat for 7 minutes.

• Add the raisins.

• Continue cooking this mixture for another 4 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the raisins from burning while they cook and let all the flavours meld together.
• Drain the parsnips and transfer them to a medium size bowl. Mash them and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Mash again to combine the ghee.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Fill the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with the mashed turnip mixture.

• Add the beef mixture as a second, even layer.

• Add the parsnips as the third layer.

• Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the parsnip layer has browned around the edges and on the top. Remove the outside ring of the springform pan and dust the parsnip top with cinnamon. 

• Garnish with parsley and serve.

Let's take a closer look:

This pie will serve 5 people.

I do hope that you will enjoy this Moroccan-inspired pie. As there are no potatoes in it, this recipe is Paleo-friendly and as mentioned, it can also easily be converted to a completely vegan recipe as well.  

Here's the list of people who I simply must acknowledge for  their on-going and relentless support of the Steemit Culinary Challenge as we engage in the 17th week of the contest:

@englishtchrivy ( the organizer)

@liberosist (this week's guest judge)

@oaldamster (the logo designer)

@vegascomic (the trophy designer)

@smooth (a prize sponsor)

@sirwinchester (a prize sponsor)

and @knozaki2015 (a prize sponsor)

Thank you to all of you who are continuing to support the challenge. It's a fantastic contest and if you enjoy cooking and blogging about cooking, I would strongly encourage you to try your hand at it.

I welcome your comments and invite you to join me...there is always room for one more at my table.

Cheers!

~ Rebecca Ryan