When it’s cold outside, we always crave a shepherd’s pie — but with a bit of extra kick, right?

Recipe: Extracted from The Lucky Taco Cookbook by Sarah and Otis Frizzell

One winter’s day, a container of leftover calabacitas stirred up some inspirational vibes. And sure enough, a Mexican-style shepherd’s pie was right on the money. So delish, and such a good winter warmer!

Serves: 4, or 5 alongside peas or some broccoli for the topping

INGREDIENTS

5 large potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
50ml milk
100g butter
pinch of sea salt
pinch of white pepper
pinch of grated nutmeg
2 tsp toasted cumin seeds

For the filling:
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground allspice
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1kg lamb mince
¼ cup canola oil, for frying
½ cup red wine
2 cups Calabacitas
2 large handfuls of spinach leaves (optional)
handful of grated Parmesan
¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
200g Lucky Taco Salsa Roja, to serve

METHOD

For the topping, boil water in a saucepan and add potatoes and garlic. Boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Drain. Add milk, butter, salt, white pepper, nutmeg and toasted cumin seeds, and stir to combine. Set aside.

For the filling, place spices, tomato paste, salt, pepper and lamb mince in a large bowl and mix together.

Place a large frying pan over high heat, add canola oil, then mince, and cook, stirring to break up, until mince turns brown. Make sure pan is on full heat, then add red wine. Stir well, then let it boil down until mixture is moist rather than wet.

Add calabacitas and spinach (if using) and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer mince mixture to a large baking dish. Top with mash and spread evenly. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top of mash and return to oven for another 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Serve piping hot with a dollop of salsa roja on the side.

Note: You can make this pie vegetarian by omitting the lamb mince and using only the calabacitas mixture.

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Extracted from The Lucky Taco Cookbook by Sarah and Otis Frizzell, published by Penguin Random House NZ. RRP $50.