There are some meals that you remember from your childhood, and you can almost smell the mouth-watering aromas wafting out of your mother’s kitchen.  The steam swirling around the stove, obscuring the small appliance lights over bubbling pots and pans.  I remember my mother working over the stove and countertops, moving quickly and gracefully as she stirred, tasted, and tweaked — a kind of artist.

When she went back to work, the traditional Persian meals my mom used to craft each night were too time consuming for her schedule.  She began searching for new; equally delicious, but simpler meals.  These suppers became some of my favorites, including the one I’m going to share with you today: Shepherd’s Pie.

The great thing about Shepherd’s Pie is its versatility.  I added asparagus to mine, in a desperate attempt to use some of the vegetables in our kitchen.  I thought it made a wonderful addition to the dish, but you can always leave it out for a more traditional recipe.   You can also replace the peas and corn with peas and carrots (bleh).  Using red potatoes makes it a little more festive, especially with the bright-colored vegetable filling.

Shepherd’s Pie

3-4 medium sized russet potatoes, cubed, with or without skins

3-4 cloves of garlic

3-4 quarter-inch thick pats of butter

2 -3 tablespoons of milk or cream

salt

pepper

1 pound low fat ground turkey (I used Trader Joe’s 99% fat free ground turkey; it’s super-light and the birds are barn-raised)

1 medium bunch asparagus, chopped into 1/2 inch peices

1 small bag frozen peas and corn

2 packets McCormick brown gravy, prepared (or whichever brand you prefer)

Boil your potatoes and skinned garlic cloves until soft.

While your potatoes are boiling, set your frozen veggies to boil in a small pot…

And your turkey to fry in a large frying pan.

Once the turkey is cooked through, set it aside to wait and sauté your asparagus.

When your frozen veggies are cooked through, remove from pot and drain (I put them in the same bowl as my turkey).  Prepare your gravy according to packet directions.

Combine turkey, veggies, and gravy in large bowl (or just put them back in your frying pan), then pour into the bottom of a large, rectangular casserole dish.

When your potatoes are done boiling, drain and return to pot.  Add butter, milk, and spice and blend with hand mixer.

Carefully spoon potatoes on top of veggie/turkey mixture, smoothing on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for twenty-five to thirty minutes.

Enjoy!