Southwest Shepherd’s Pie

I have an overwhelmingly large amount of ground turkey in my home. I bought two pounds today on sale at Smart & Final along with a pound of ground turkey breakfast sausage. When I came home I discovered I have four more pounds of ground turkey in my freezer. So I set out to find some recipes to use up at least some of the ground turkey and I came across an interesting recipe at delish.com that gives a southwest twist to the traditional Shepherd’s Pie. I’ve never been a huge fan of Shepherd’s Pie because I don’t love the vegetables in it. But a quick glance at the vegetable list for this recipe told me I’d probably like it.

My version is below.

ingredients.

1 T. avocado oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
2 Serrano peppers, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey
1 T. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 T. chili powder
1 (14.5-oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. corn kernels, fresh, frozen, or canned
1 (20-oz) container Green Giant Mashed Cauliflower Cheddar & Bacon
2 T. corn starch, divided
4 oz shredded cheese (I used Tillamook Colby-Jack)
2 green onions, sliced, greens and whites separated

directions.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, heat oil. Cook onion and red pepper until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Add pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes more.
Add ground turkey and sauté until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Stir in tomatoes and corn. In a small bowl or ramekin place one tablespoon of corn starch. Add a small amount of warm water until you get a thin paste. Add to turkey mixture and let simmer until liquid is slightly thickened. Pour into a pie plate or casserole dish.
Cook mashed cauliflower according to directions and then mix with the white parts of the green onion, a tablespoon of cornstarch and a pinch of salt. You can omit the cornstarch here if you like the consistency of the mashed cauliflower but I thought it was a bit runny. Spread cauliflower mash over turkey mixture and smooth top. Cover in cheese.
Bake until mashed cauliflower/cheese begins to turn golden/has melted, 20 minutes.
Garnish with the remaining green onion.

I had a feeling I was going to like this dish but I had no idea I was going to LOVE it. It was perfect. A bit spicy. Full of vegetables I like with less carbohydrate than the traditional Shepherd’s Pie. Filling. Delicious.

As an aside, the cauliflower mash was pretty decent on its own.

Here’s the skinny on one serving of this dish: 376 calories, 19 g fat, 26 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 24 g protein.

Makes 6 servings.