My Mind's Eye

Remember your Angels are Watching

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

In Purrsit of Flavo(u)rs

I thank Da Phenny and Chef Shoko for 
hosting.


Today I'd like to share a very much loved and tried and true recipe with you.


Basque Potato Pie
I bet you wonder what Basque is...well I'll tell you what Gigi Google says:
Basques are indigenous to and primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country (Basque: Euskal Herria), a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.

As I looked up Basque I determined it is a regional version of Shepherd's Pie



Here is the original recipe 

Preheat Oven to 350-375 depending on oven
3 TBSP butter
3-4 Medium Idaho Potatoes (any potato works)sliced thin, I leave skin on)
1/4 tsp salt (optional) 
1 medium onion chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1- 8 oz can tomato sauce
3/4 cup shredded Monterey  Jack Cheese,  (I use what I have on hand all are good)

*Note from Cecilia:  Over the years I have tweaked it just a tad, with spices instead of salt.  I use about  a 1 1/2 tsp of thyme, Mrs. Dash Italian Medley and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb).  We like potatoes I usually a few more than recipe.


Directions:
In a large skillet melt butter, add sliced potatoes. Lightly brown sliced potatoes on each side. Then line the bottom and sides of an oven safe dish. I used 9" pyrex pie plate
In same skillet brown beef, onions when browned add *spices and tomato sauce and about 1/2 cup of cheese.  Add beef mixture over the potatoes. Add remaining cheese on top of beef mixture.
Bake 30-35 minutes.  Let pie stand about 5 minutes before serving 



Pictures as I was preparing it.
Pardon the fuzzy photo of the 'taters
Photo on the left is just before it goes in the oven.

Original recipe is typed so I'm not sure if I found it in a magazine.  They say the mark of a good recipe is the condition it it is in: i.e. lots of
spills on it.  Also the paper on which it is typed very 'weathered'
It is so well loved it now lives in a plastic sleeve in my cook book.

Click on the links of the host to see other yumminess
Da Phenny and Chef Shoko

26 comments:

  1. ooooh! that sounds good!!! and imagine to have a typical wine with that taters... like a Txakoli , that is the pawfect combination!!!

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  2. Hari OM
    I might try this with my soymince! Tatties and cheese in any combo is fine by me! YAM xx

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  3. The recipe looks yummy and reminds Gail of a rather wonderful experience she had in Winnemucca, Nevada, on 10th August 1982. I bet you're already wondering how she can remember the exact date and why that particular town! Well Gail was travelling around the USA with her then boyfriend Steve, and it was his birthday when, en route from Salt Lake City to San Francisco by Greyhound bus, they stopped overnight in the town of Winnemucca. To celebrate the birthday, they decided to splash out on a nice meal and were directed to an old hotel in town. It was a traditional Basque restaurant, as the town had a resident population originally from the Basque region of Spain. Everyone was sat round a big table and you paid a fixed amount and helped yourself from various pots of stew and vegetables. The place had a lovely, friendly atmosphere, and it was the best food they'd had in weeks! So Basque cuisine has very happy memories for Gail. Perhaps she'll try this Potato Pie. Years later, when working in Oklahoma, Gail met a geologist who had worked in Nevada and had visited the same restaurant. I wonder if it's still there?

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  4. Whenever we try new recipes, we stick them in a plastic sleeve as well. If they are deemed to be repeatable, they can easily be stuck in a binder with all the other repeatables.
    I might give this one a go as we now take it in turns to cook.

    Klem, Mara

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  5. This sounds soooooo yummy. We may have to give this one a try!

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    Replies
    1. Mom uses the dough that you find in the deli department at the grocery store.

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  6. Jerry would love this recipe... so would I but he would really like it. I like the idea that you use the spices to cut down on salt. Potatoes, ground beef and cheese... comfort food recipe. I usually always leave the skin on potatoes if possible. Easy with it all in the Pyrex pie plate!

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  7. sounds delish.. this is how my friend makes her shepherd pie, her mother taught her, my mother taught me her shepherds pie, but it had biscuits on top

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  8. It's rich and ever so good. Comfort food.

    Have a fabulous day, honey. Big hug. ♥

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  9. That sure sounds like a skillet full of yum to us!

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  10. That sounds very yummy! We'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

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  11. Yummmeers!!! I can eats the leftovers! I'll be overs soon.....
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  12. All the recipes we are reading about today are so interesting. Yours sounds very good too, now if only Mom had some potatoes:) She used the last of them Sunday.

    Woos, Lightning and Timber

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  13. This sounds very yummy. Our mom saved the picture of your recipe to try some day.

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  14. That looks sooo good. Thanks for sharing the recipe. XO

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  15. Mmmm. The Runner loves potatoes so he'd love this one. Thank you!

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  16. I am definitely making this. I have two other versions of Shepherd's Pie, and it is one of our favorite dishes. Thanks!

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  17. That sounds delicious! Unfortunately, living the Keto lifestyle we can't have potatoes anymore. I'll pass this on to my daughter-in-law though!

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Cecilia and Angel Madi
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