By December 2034. Christmas. Maya is one year old — her first real Christmas, or at least the first one she'll participate in rather than sleep through. Diego and Keisha brought her on Christmas Eve and we did tamales the way we always do, the whole process — spreading masa, filling, folding, steaming — except this year Maya sat in her high chair at the kitchen table and watched with an expression of fascinated suspicion that made everyone laugh for most of the afternoon.
She's walking now, unsteadily, with that determined concentration of children who have recently discovered feet. She made circuits of the kitchen island while we worked. Lisa gave her a piece of masa to hold and she examined it with great seriousness before eating part of it and putting the rest on her shirt. That's acceptable tamale participation for a one-year-old.
Marco came home from Boulder — he's graduating in the spring with his business degree, and he's talking about going into coaching, which surprised exactly no one who has met Marco Medina. Elena drove up from Albuquerque, her book out for eight months now and selling better than the small press expected. Sofia flew in from California — she graduated from Stanford in June and she's staying on as a graduate assistant in the athletic department while she figures out her next move. All four of them were in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, and Lisa and I were in the kitchen, and Maya was doing circuits in the kitchen, and the tamales were steaming, and I looked around and thought: Ruben. You would have loved this. You would have eaten seven tamales and said the eighth one was for the road.
Every year after the tamales come off the steamer, there’s this window — an hour, maybe two — where everyone is still in the kitchen and nobody wants to leave. That’s the moment this sweet potato shepherd’s pie was made for. It’s the kind of dish Ruben would have had a second helping of without apology, the kind that holds a room together when the room is finally, miraculously, all in one place. I started making it on the nights when I need something that feeds people the way Christmas Eve feeds people — slowly, warmly, all the way down.
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup whole milk or cream
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (for mash)
Instructions
- Boil the sweet potatoes. Place cubed sweet potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook 15–18 minutes until fork-tender. Drain well.
- Make the mash. Return drained sweet potatoes to the pot. Add butter, milk, cinnamon, and salt. Mash until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Brown the meat. In a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef, breaking it apart, until no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
- Build the filling. Add onion and carrots to the skillet. Cook 4–5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, and thyme.
- Add liquid and vegetables. Pour in beef broth and stir to combine. Add peas and corn. Simmer 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
- Top and bake. Spoon the sweet potato mash evenly over the filling, spreading to the edges of the skillet. Use the back of a spoon to create gentle peaks. Bake 20–22 minutes until the top is lightly golden and the filling is bubbling at the edges.
- Rest before serving. Let the pie rest 5 minutes before scooping. Serve directly from the skillet at the table.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 480mg