Les Petits Chefs were thrilled to welcome Rossy Earle back for the FIFTH visit to our kitchen lab! I can’t tell you how grateful I am to folks like Rossy – who are willing to take time out of their busy schedule to come and share their culinary knowledge and culture with my students. This week she brought with her a recipe for a kind of Panamanian Shepherd’s Pie – perfect for the dropping temperatures at this time of year.
The topping (and in Rossy’s version, the base as well) is made with cassava/ yuca instead of potatoes which the boys were interested to see comes peeled and frozen… (they were also excited to hear that cassava makes excellent fries!)
There was a fair bit of chopping involved – Rossy demoed each item – and the boys did a great job of making sure everything was evenly diced.
A few of us “got lucky” and got to work with the ground beef. Honestly the things the boys get excited about – one week they don’t want to know about raw meat, the next they are fighting to work with it!
The boys who chopped the veggies sautéed them in separate pans so the filling would cook faster when it was finally combined.
Meanwhile, butter was chopped to add to the cooked cassava/ yuca. Mmmm – buttery mash!
And once all the components were complete, we got to assembling.
Some of us really liked the cheese topping. Ahem.
And for the first time I can remember, I sent the boys off with their “pastel” to finish cooking at home (although some of them were asking for plastic forks so they could eat them on the way home – all the components were cooked so it wouldn’t have been an issue but still…). Yes, this is the price to pay when you are overly ambitious with 12 boys under the age of 12 in a science lab in 60 minutes. However, I love that Rossy (and all my guest chefs) are ambitious. Raise the bar high and the boys will come up to meet it. Always.
At the top of this post, you can see Rossy’s own version of the pie – I love that she made it before she came so she could double check the quantities for the ingredients (dedicated!). She also bought me two tiny pastels to bring home (plus I got awesome leftovers) and I can tell you that this is a dish worth seeking out. It looks just like Shepherd’s Pie but as soon as you taste it, you know it’s much more special. I know I will be making this again in the winter!
Thanks Chef Rossy for your willingness to come and work with us. We SO appreciate everything you do!
You might also like:
Rossy Earle makes empanadas and dulce de leche candies with Les Petits Chefs
Rossy Earle makes alfajores with Les Petits Chefs
Rossy Earle makes “temptation plantain” with Les Petits Chefs
Rossy Earle makes corn and coconut bollos with Les Petits Chefs
Follow Rossy on Twitter and check out her range of hot sauces – SupiCucu.
Mardi’s last comment was spot on: she served this to me, and I took a bite and immediately raised an eyebrow. What was different, hmmm? Mardi told me before I had a chance to try and suss.
I have to say – loved the variation. Distinctive flavour, “lighter” on the mash, if that’s not a contradiction. Bright undertones on the palate; but still a hearty autumn dish. Most definitely a repeater. (Thanks Chef Rossy for providing my dinner.)
This I paired with a red, something also suitable for autumn. A Syrah from the Languedoc region of France – in fact a Chateau Canet 2009, which we just visited in August. For a Syrah, this one was lighter-bodied (relatively), and a nice match. The dish itself could work with a wide variety of wines…including white. A good Chardonnay with a bit of oak would be a splendid white choice, or a nice Riesling. Something with body, a little more oomph. On the red side, I picked my bottle based on memories…I’d probably prefer a nice Cru from Beaujolais – Morgon maybe.
Hope you all enjoyed as much as I did, LPC!
Yeah this is a new favourite!
You can never have too much cheese!
This looks delicious, a Latin Shepherd’s Pie.
Slow clap… I’m amazed at the fearless little chefs (and the teacher too!). The little pasteles look delicious. They are also great with shredded chicken stew as a layer.
Oh that sounds wonderful too!