Shepherd’s meat pie with elk sausage

Shepherd’s meat pie with Italian elk sausage includes chopped celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, fresh tarragon, shallots, a little bacon and mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/2 pound ground elk
• 1/2 pound ground elk Italian sausage
• 3 celery stalks (chopped 1/4 inch or shredded)
• 3 carrots (chopped 1/4 inch or shredded)
• 3 zucchinis (chopped 1/4 inch or shredded)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 shallots
• 1 slice bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup shredded cheese blend
• 1 cup mashed potato
• Fresh Tarragon
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Puffed Pastries (defrosted)
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Add ground elk and elk sausage to skillet and cook until browned. Remove meat from skillet and set aside.

3) Add butter and bacon to skillet and proceed to sauté chopped celery, carrots, zucchini, onion, shallots and fresh tarragon. Approximately 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add mashed potatoes, elk meat and cheese to pan. Remove from heat and stir.

4) On a floured surface, roll 1 pastry sheet to be the size of your pie dish. Place the pastry sheet on the bottom of the dish. Transfer meat and vegetables into the pan.

5) Brush the outer edge of the bottom pastry sheet with egg wash.

6) Roll the second pastry sheet out on floured surface and cover the top of the meat. Press and close the edges of the pastry sheets together. Brush top of the pastry sheet with remaining egg wash. Season with salt and pepper. Cut an ‘X’ into the top of the pastry.

7) Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Cover with tinfoil for the last 20 minutes so the pastry doesn’t burn. Remove from oven when done and enjoy.