This meal fucking slaaaaaaaayed. It was so so good! The sweet and spiced yams with the savory filling was beyond perfection. I’m sure I’m not alone when it comes to picky eaters. My oldest is pretty good and he’s super dessert motivated. I was always able to get him to eat veggies if the threat of losing dessert came up. My youngest… not so much. This kid has the fortitude of a monk! It wasn’t a problem on this day, though… he willingly and joyfully ate 👏🏽 that 👏🏽 shit 👏🏽

Start with a basic mirepoix. As far as veggies go, feel free to stop there if you like. I add more. I like to add bell peppers and zucchini. Pea’s or tomatoes would be a great addition as well!

Start by sautéing your veggies until the onions start to turn transparent.

Once they start to become tender, add in the meat. About halfway to browned, add the zucchini.

When the meat is cooked through, flatten it out in your skillet. Side note, if you’d rather, feel free to transfer it to a 9×12 baking dish. I prefer to keep it all in my cast iron skillet but I have a big one!

Next, you’re just going to spoon your mashed yams over the top of the meat mixture and smooth it out. I made a design with a fork but I just felt so gottdamned fancy that night! You don’t have to do it 🙂

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 lbs. ground beef, the best quality you can afford (ground turkey, chicken, pork or lamb too. Whatever you’ve got)
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper (I used red, but whatever you like or have is fine)
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• two small zucchini
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (feel free to thicken with flour or cornstarch if you like)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• S&P to taste

Topping

• 3 medium sized yams, peeled and diced (I used the garnet variety)
• 2 tablespoons nut milk of your choice (regular is fine if you do dairy)
• 3 tablespoons of ghee or butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• Salt to taste

Directions

Filling

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Dice all of your veggies to just bigger than pea size.
3. Drizzle a hot pan with oil and add all veg except zucchini. Saute until onions start to look transparent.
4. crumble ground meat into your veg mixture and start to brown. When your meat is halfway to browned, add in the zucchini.
5. Add in spices and arrowroot powder. Stir to combine well and cook mixture until browned.

Topping

1. Steam yams until fork tender.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mash until smooth and creamy. You may mash by hand or with a beater or in a blender. I used my immersion blender and made the yams my bitch.

Spread the yams over the top of the meat mixture and bake for 45-60 minutes until topping has reached your desired crispness.

I hope you and yours enjoy this as much as me and mine did! This shit is going into regular rotation!

Swearing Mom out.