By Kevin Williams
This is a random recipe I found from the old Lanc. County Cookbook I ordered a few months ago. Really, the book is an amazing treasure trove of very authentic Amish recipes that have literally been passed down through the generations. You just don't find that in many Amish cookbooks today. You can still find reasonably priced used copies of the book, by Sallie Lapp, for sale on Amazon. I got mine for about $3. I don't think you can find them that low anymore, but there are still some deals. Anyway, back to the recipe: a classic, hearty, farmhouse supper. Enjoy!
Lancaster County No-Crust Beef Pie
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 /4 cup beef gravy
- salt and pepper
- 2 eggs, separated
Instructions
- Saute the onion in the shortening until tender and golden brown.
- Mix with the mashed potatoes, ground beef, and gravy.
- Thin the gravy with a little milk if it is a thick gravy.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and any other seasonings or flavorings you prefer.
- Add beaten egg yolks and parsley
- Mix well.
- Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
- Spoon the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.
- This pie will be light and fluffy!
I would agree that is seems best to brown the meat first and stirring raw meat into mashed potatoes does not sound appealing and i almost think it might color the potatoes if raw (bloody).
Thanks, Nana, if you concur, I feel much better!
Just a thought---this recipe seems almost like a souffle, and as such, I think where it says to add the beaten eggs and parsley, that should be just the yolks. You add stiffly beaten whites later. That is why she says it will be light and fluffy. Since it bakes for 1 hour, the beef would probably be okay unbrowned but it wouldn't hurt to brown it. I'd add more onion too!
Dorothy, I think you are absolutely right about this and I'm going to change the instructions to reflect that!
I second the notion of browning ground beef. As a not-so-newlywed, I made a breakfast pizza for a ladies' brunch at church. The directions didn't say to brown the ground sausage, but it was evident when I pulled it out of the oven that I should have done so. Much of the sausage did cook through, but some of it remained raw. It was horrible.
Ugh, doesn't sound good, but live and learn!
#5 is "beaten eggs" and #7 is stiffly beaten "egg whites", so there is a hitch there. Either more than two eggs total, or #5 is supposed to be just the yolks that are beaten first.
Always good to hear from you, Nancy, I concur with what you are saying!
Directions for this one is pretty lame. Read thru and tell me what u find.
Dan, I did just print the instructions "as is", I am sure the Amish woman who wrote out the recipe knew in her head what she meant, but just didn't articulate it well, I am making some changes to the instructions now re the eggs!