Tender short ribs and veggies in a savory gravy with a celery root puree crust.
This recipe is a slight departure from a regular shepherd’s pie. Instead of using ground beef or lamb, it is made with short ribs. The potato crust is also swapped-out for celery root puree. But don’t worry, I didn’t skip the potatoes altogether. There are sweet potatoes baked in the filling!
Let’s talk beef. I used boneless beef short ribs in this pie. Short ribs usually come in a large rectangular chunk, with or without bones. They have some hard fat and sinew on the outside and occasionally a line a fat through the meat.
This fat and sinew will need to be trimmed off. There will fat marbling in the meat that does not need to be removed, only any large portions of hard fat.
If the ribs come with bones, they will also need to be removed. You can do this easily by slicing off the fat between the bones and meat. Once the meat is all trimmed, cut it into 1-inch chunks. This allows the meat to cook faster and gives you perfect bite-size pieces.
Marinating the beef is a must. The marinade not only seasons the meat, but it tenderizes as well. The ribs do not need to marinate for long, 30-minutes to an hour. By the time the celery root puree and the prep for the filling are done, the ribs should be ready. Then all that’s left is to put the filling together, top with the puree, and bake.
Celery root is one of my favorite root vegetables, right up there with carrots and turnips. It is sweet, aromatic, and versatile. I use it in stews, roast it for a side dish, and puree it as in this recipe. If celery root is not available to you, use mashed potatoes, or you might try parsnip puree. Either would be delicious on this pie!
Short Rib Sheppard’s Pie
Ingredients
Short Rib
- 1 1/2 pounds short ribs trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp worcestershire
- 1 tbsp brown mustard
- 1/4 cup flour
Celery Root Puree
- 6 cup celery root cleaned and diced 2 large roots
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Sheppard's Pie
- 1 cup onion diced 1/2 onion
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup sweet potato diced 1/2 potato
- 2 cup tomato diced
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp oregano dry
- 1 tsp thyme dry
- 1/8 tsp chili flake
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cup chicken stock
- short ribs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg for wash
Instructions
Short Rib
- Trim the short rib of fat and sinew. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Mix with salt, pepper, mustard, and worcestershire. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Right before cooking mix with flour.
Celery Root Puree
- Remove the skin and dice the celery root. Add the root to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender. Drain and place the root in a blender with butter, cream, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
Shepard's Pie
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large skillet with 2 tbsp of oil. Sear off the short ribs in 2 batches. Cook until browned, remove from pan, and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil to the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and sweet potato to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, and chili flake. Cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Scrape the bottom and add the short rib back to the pan. Bring to a simmer. Cook until vegetable and meat are tender. The sauce should be thick. Remove from heat and season to taste.
- Pipe or spoon celery root puree on top of the beef mixture. Brush with egg wash. Cook in the oven until heated through and browned on top. 30-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
