Last night, I decided to make a shepherd’s pie for dinner. I pretty much always make a shepherd’s pie the day after we have a whole roasted chicken for dinner – it’s a great way to use up a lot of the leftover chicken without having.. straight-up leftover chicken.

To get started, I drizzled a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan, added a couple tablespoons of butter, and threw in two to three big handfuls of prepared leeks (read here how to prepare them for cooking). I set the pan on medium low heat, and let them cook for about ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, while I worked on chopping up the other ingredients.

I diced up the chicken, and sliced some green beans from the garden into about 1″ pieces, cut on the bias (at a 45-degree angle). I also had some baby carrots in the fridge, so I sliced those into rounds about 1/4″ thick. There was also some fresh basil in the fridge, so I took some of that and chopped it up, too, to boost the flavor of the dish.

Once the leeks looked and tasted nice and soft, I added some salt and pepper and removed them to a small bowl for later.

Then I sauteed the sliced carrots in the remaining oil for a few minutes, to soften them a bit. Note: don’t cook to long, otherwise they’ll get mushy in the oven when you cook your shepherd’s pie! Saute them just long enough so the are tender but still firm on the inside.

In a large bowl, I gently stirred together the chicken, green beans, carrots, basil, and most of the leeks – I saved some leeks to use for the topping of the shepherd’s pie.

Next, I worked on the gravy part of the shepherd’s pie. I added to the (now empty) pan about a tablespoon EACH of butter, olive oil, and flour. I turned the heat to medium and with a whisk, stirred until the flour was dissolved into the butter-oil mix. I removed it from the heat, and poured in some chicken stock (about 3/4 to 1 cup). Then I added some Worcestershire sauce (a few shakes, to taste), and some pepper (to taste). Whisk or stir to mix. Added salt is not necessary, since the chicken stock (mine was from a bouillon cube) was already pretty salty. If you use a low-sodium or homemade stock, taste the gravy first to see if it needs a little added salt.

I then just scooped the chicken-veggie mixture into my unbuttered, ungreased, un-Pam-ed baking dish (I use either an 8×8 glass dish or a smallish casserole dish, which yields enough shepherd’s pie for two plus one dinner of leftovers). Next I poured the gravy mixture over the top, and topped it with some leftover mashed potatoes I had made the night before to accompany the roast chicken.

It’s important NOT to add the gravy to the meat/veggie filling, but rather add them to the baking dish separately. Trust me, I’ve done it and it ends up in a goopy mess once you stir the liquid into the filling. And no one likes that! And if you’re worried about some parts of the pie being dry, fuhgettaboutit! Pouring the liquid over the top AFTER the filling is in the baking dish is just fine – the liquid will distribute throughout the pie during cooking, and you’ll end up with a succulent, moist, chunky, perfect shepherd’s pie.

You could also try adding a little milk to the gravy before pouring on top, or replace the stock with milk. Just don’t add too much (you can always add more, but can’t add less), and please don’t cook the milk on the stove top before adding to the pie! Scorched milk is oh-so-gross, and heating it beforehand is just not necessary.

Once the mashed potatoes are added to the top of the pie – and they don’t have to be completely level; in fact, some peaks and valleys in the potato topping makes for some nice browning action – it was leek time. I sprinkled the remaining leeks (which I had reserved earlier) on top of the potato, and followed with a sprinkling of Parmesan and cheddar cheese. Again, use whatever cheese you please – that is, any hard cheese you please. Please don’t use feta, goat, bleu, brie, Camembert, or other crumbly or soft cheese. This will not end well, and you’ll be sad you ruined your beautiful and otherwise tasty shepherd’s pie.

Next I popped it in oven for about 30 minutes until the cheese was melted and the peaks/valleys in the top showed a little browning action.

This is a great meal to have by itself, since it has protein, carbs, and veggies all in one. Or you can serve with a side salad or maybe some bread, if it tickles your fancy. And the leftovers are pretty amazing, too.

A note on shepherd’s pie: I’ve made shepherd’s pie many times, and have tried different vegetables depending on what I had on hand. I’ve used a frozen veggie mix (carrot, corn, green beans), fresh carrots, leftover cooked root vegetables a variety of vegetables will work – just use what suits your taste and what you have in your kitchen. (A shepherd’s pie is, after all, a great way to use up leftovers!) I’ve never used it, but I bet diced celery would make a great addition to this dish, maybe with some carrots and onions. I try to stick with about three kinds of vegetables – otherwise it gets too busy and crazy in pie-town! I imagine if you used some leftover roasted root vegetables (think carrots, parsnips, onions, maybe even potatoes), these would add great flavor to the shepherd’s pie. Just dice them up and throw them in! Have leftover beef or other meat instead of chicken? Use that! I just tend to use chicken because 1. We eat it quite frequently and so often have leftovers; and 2. It’s not as rich as other meats so the shepherd’s pie has a less-heavy taste to it, which I prefer.

The shepherd’s pie turned out great!! And what a great way to use up some leeks! They lend a mild onion flavor to the dish. We ended up pairing it with some breadsticks from Trader Joe’s that we had in the fridge. And we’ve got just enough pie for one meal of leftovers… which is sometimes better than fresh, since the flavors have had a chance to all meld together for a day or two.

For my recipe for Shepherd’s Pie with Cheese-Crusted Leeks, click here.