Shepherd’s Pie A-La Winter CSA


Hello everyone, Jess here.  Happy Friday to you!  

This was one of those days where the CSA ingredients all came together without much fuss.  Sausage, cabbage, onion, and potatoes all made an appearance from the final Winter CSA share box of the season.  

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I removed the casings from a package of Springdell Hot Italian Sausage from the Winter CSA. I broke up the meat with my spatula as I gently browned it over medium heat until no longer pink, then removed it from the pan.

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One diced onion went into the pan next, with the minimal amount of fat  from the sausage meat.  

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The sausage became the first layer in my casserole dish.  In retrospect, I’m wishing I started with the cabbage layer and then covered it with the sausage. Cabbage is just so good at absorbing the flavors of just about any meat.

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Once the onion was translucent, I tossed in the purple cabbage, shredded, and began to gently stir.

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In went about a cup of beef bone broth (frozen here).  Once it was heated, I braised the cabbage for about 25-30 minutes, until tender to taste.

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As the broth melted in and began to braise, I put in about 1 tablespoon of unfiltered cider vinegar, just to add some acidity and a bit of pizzaz.

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Next went the cabbage layer onto the sausage layer.  As I had mentioned, when I make this again, I’ll be flipping the sausage and cabbage layers around so that more of that sausage goodness soaks into the cabbage.

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Topped with some creamy garlic mashed potatoes, and a little sprinkle of parsley, and this was ready for the oven!

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350 degrees until the layers were warmed through, and this was ready to enjoy!  

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This is even better the next day after the flavors all have a chance to meld.  That Springdell Hot Italian sausage makes all the difference in the flavoring.  The bone broth braised cabbage is very mild, as are the potatoes, so I was counting on the spices from the sausage to shine through.  It all worked out pretty nicely! 

 


About Jess

Jess Anderson is the creator of CSA|365 and is passionate about the local food movement. A long time member of Springdell and a busy mother of two, Jess loves keeping her family fed by honest local food.