Shepherd's Pie

It's been a while since there was a pie recipe around here, and this isn't quite the same as the rest of the series, but it was an experiment that worked, so I'm willing to share.

1 medium onion, diced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 lb. asparagus, cut in 1" pieces
5 small sweet potatoes
2 1/2 cups minced roasted lamb (trimmed of all fat, gristle, etc.)
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups pan drippings (including water to deglaze the pan), fat skimmed off
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Salt

Obviously, the first step is to roast the lamb and pour off the juices into a cup and put both in the refrigerator. This is basically a leftover recipe.

Boil the sweet potatoes in salted water for 30 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork. Cool slightly and remove the skins. Mash and set aside.

In a 2 qt. saucepan, saute the onion in 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until golden. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir until the mushrooms release their juices. Resist the urge to sit down and eat the whole pot of mushrooms and onions right now. Pour mushrooms and onions into 3 qt. casserole dish and set aside.

In the same cooking pot, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add flour and stir until the mixture is smooth and begins to brown slightly. Add drippings slowly, stirring constantly to make gravy. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken, then remove from heat and add worcestershire sauce. Taste and season with salt if needed. (If the roast was rubbed in salt, you may not need any more.)

Add the minced lamb and asparagus to the mushroom-onion mixture in the casserole dish. Stir in the gravy.

Salt the mashed sweet potatoes to your taste, and spread over the lamb mixture to cover the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until the potatoes are crusty and the sauce is bubbling around the sides.

Serves 8 as a main dish. I served it with homemade biscuits and a fruit salad.