With the inclusion of Chilean cheese, pastel de papas resembles a hotter version of shepherd’s pie. It is warming and hearty.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 50 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 5 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons butter, or to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons shredded Panquehue cheese
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (Optional)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes, adding garlic for the last minute. Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste; cook until tomatoes soften and begin to lose their shape, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef to the skillet; cook and stir until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in Panquehue cheese, parsley, and cayenne pepper; season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and let sit until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
- Drain potatoes in a colander, then allow to steam dry for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer potatoes back to the pot, add butter and salt, and mash until smooth. Let cool until just warm, 5 to 10 minutes, then stir in beaten egg.
- Spread 1/2 of the mashed potatoes over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer ground beef mixture over top, then completely cover with remaining potatoes.
- Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are hot and lightly browned on top, about 40 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 366 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 91 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 100 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Good fun meal. Of course I customized it for my family, added numerous vegetables while ground bison and tomatoes simmered. Spices per my family taste too.
interesting though; grew up in chile and never heard of this before now
Great Recipe!
Made this exactly as shown and thought it was a delicious meal. I will make again for sure.
I made this for hubby while I was on a diet and unable to taste it. I used sambel chili mix in the mince and a mash of potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrot. I used the egg despite some reviewers saying they did not as I wanted the potato to set firmly and get that nice little crust layer it does when you use egg. Hubby said it was a 2.5 – 3 star recipe as something was off in the spices, but he is not sure what or he would of rated it higher. Still did not stop him going back for seconds though.
My daughter has made this several times for Food Day in various Spanish classes. It was there this recipe was renamed Chilean Crack Potatoes; you find yourself thinking about how to get more for later in the day. I just made it myself for the first time and would suggest cutting the oil by more than half. Colby Jack is a substitute for the cheese, and we use 4 oz. Oh, in the interest of time, I do use garlic instant potatoes; two 4 serving envelopes. The other reviewer is right, it could use more potatoes – depending on preference. Without a doubt these would be over the top if made wtih real potatoes.
I looked for the panquehue cheese in at least five stores and couldn’t find it, so I used cheddar jack cheese. I left out the tomato paste and ended up draining the meat mixture (because a half cup of veg. oil seemed like a lot). I thought this was a good dish though I probably will not make it again anytime soon.
This was a great dish. I couldnt find the cheese so I used a mexican blend cheese. Also made one with tofu and it was very good.
Great recipe which lends itself to more creativity! I added sliced green olives, cilantro, diced green hot chili, diced raw tomato and red onion. No egg in the mash…two levels are super yummy! I also put in lima beans with canned corn…great meal with lots of leftovers! Enjoy!
I kept the full 8 serving portions for the potato mixture (potatoes, butter, and eggs), but cut everything else in half. I also used red potatoes, with the skins. I added about 1/2 t cumin and a few shakes of chili powder, and went a little heavy on my pinch of cayenne pepper. Lastly, I used Monterey jack cheese into the ground beef mixture, and then in the last 10 minutes of baking, I added about 2 T more of the same cheese to the top of the pie. Smells great as it cooks. Conclusion: Good comfort food for a cold autumn evening! The boyfriend has never had Sheperd’s Pie, and he enjoyed this. Will make it again…
I lived in Chile for 2 years and our language teacher served us this dish. It is now a family favorite. I do not add any of the tomato products but everything else is the same. A delicious comfort food that is easy to make!
I gave it 4 start only because the amount of mashed potatoes is half what it should be. In a sheperd’s pie you only need potatoes for the top, but in a pastel de papas you need it for top and bottom, and this was barely enough for a top. A WORD OF WARNING: if you’re cooking less than 8 servings, check the amounts you’re given! From the 2 tbsp of cheese in the 8-serving recipe, I ended up with 5 CUPS!! for a 4-serving recipe! In Uruguay, neighbour to Argentina and Chile, our pastel de papa doesn’t take cheese, but I enjoyd the taste of cheese in this. We skip the eggs too and the result is a more solid mash potatoes, but just as good.
I’ve never made anything from this website that has never been reviewed, but this sounded so good, I took a chance. I was not disappointed, and I will make this again. I did make a couple of minor changes, mostly out of necessity. For instance, I live nowhere near a metropolitan place where the suggested cheese is available, so I shredded in pepper jack cheese, instead. I also thought it would be nice sprinkled on top, so I shredded a liberal amount there. (It made a wonderful, golden crust! I did cut down on the baking time by about 10 minutes, though…so as not to burn the cheese.) I was out of cayenne pepper, so I threw in some red pepper flakes instead.