Shepherd pie, a meat pie with a crust of mashed potatoes is one of the ways we use frozen vegetables we grew the past summer. I have eaten similar dishes, Hachis (chopped or minced) in France or “escondidinho” (hidden) in Brazil and they all have this nice way to use root vegetables as well. The addition of a gift of venison made this a delicious meal.

Here how I made this dish, but one can make it without meat and use other vegetables they like. I decided on sweet potatoes but I often use carrots.

1) I start by prepping the venison. I add boiled water to the defrosted 1 pound of ground venison. Wait one minute and drain. Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice and saute the meat in high heat oil. Add to the meat 1 onion chopped, 5-6 large whole tomatoes from our garden (but you could use canned, sun dried or fresh in season), 2 sweet potatoes, diced (for sweetness), a whole head of garlic, minced, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 2 hours.

2) Meanwhile, I cooked 6 medium russet potatoes on salted water until soft enough to mash with a fork. Drain the water, add 4 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of sour cream and mashed until smooth, reserve.

3) When the sauce is thick, add 2 cups of frozen green beans and 1 cup of frozen corn. Bring to a boil and turn it off.

4) To assemble the pie, add the meat mixture to the bottom of the baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven 400F for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly.