Hunters Pie with Herb Gravy

January 5, 2011 By Leanne Vogel May 29, 2016

I don’t know what I was thinking when I boiled up 15 potatoes and 2.5 lbs of meat for the test run of this recipe. We were left with 2 heaping bowls of meat and potatoes that physically would not fit into our 2.5 qt casserole dish, no matter how physics sliced it. So, seeing as we were on vacation and the dogs were being really… really good… we decided to give them the extra meaty bits and mashed potatoes. Not the picture at the top to the right – the dog piles were at least 4 times the size of what I’m carrying in that picture. Probably a bad choice looking back on it now. We definitely paid for this ‘treat’ during our trip home from Golden BC the next morning. Needless to say it’s been a long day, but the interior of the car is really, really clean! This is yet another reason why it’s so fantastic to follow my blog – I do all the dirty work for you and come up with recipes that wont leave you with wasted ingredients that can lead to hours of nasty and smelly cleanup!

For more details on the controversy surrounding hormones, antibiotics, and details on wild-game meats, check out The Meat Controversy. Recipe #2 in the Winter: A Time of Hibernation series

Hunters Pie with Herb Gravy

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, Egg-free

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 8-10 servings

The herb gravy gives this casserole a lighter, undeniably unique and delicious flavour (and makes loads of leftovers for freezable lunches!)

Ingredients

Mashed Potato Topping

6 potatoes, chopped (I used a mixture of red and purple potatoes )
¼ cup coconut oil
¾ cup almond milk (you could use vegetable broth but I opted for almond milk to increase the calcium)
½ teaspoon herbamare

Herb Gravy

2 cups vegetable both (I used Harvest Sun Yeast Free Vegetable Bouillon)
½ teaspoon parsley
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon rosemary
1.5 tablespoon potato starch

Meaty Bits

1 lb ground yak
1 lb ground elk
1 cup broccoli, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F
Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Strain, and place in a large bowl
Add coconut oil, almond milk and herbamare and mix until the potatoes have a smooth, milky consistency. Set aside
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring to a boil 2 cups vegetable broth, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Let boil for 5 minutes before removing from heat and allowing to cool for 5 minutes (if potato starch is added to boiling hot liquid it will turn to gelatin consistency and will ruin your gravy – although the gelatin is really fun to play with and could be an interesting craft-day activity with the kids)
Remove ¼ cup of broth from the sauce pan and pour into a mug
Slowly add potato starch and stir constantly until all potato starch has been incorporated
Add the potato starch mixture back to the saucepan and mix until combined. Set aside
Brown yak and elk in a large frying pan
Once meat is browned, add vegetables and cook for 3-5 minutes ensuring that the vegetables remain crunchy
Combine herb gravy with meat in frying pan and place in a 2.5 qt casserole dish
Drop mashed potatoes on top of meaty bits and gravy, and flatten out, then scrape with a fork to form peaks (helps the potatoes get a bit crispy)
Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes