Contribution by Paul McConnell

PM: I don’t usually measure when I’m cooking and I only ever follow recipes loosely. Over the years I got into the habit of writing down my best dishes in a Moleskine notebook because I didn’t trust myself to remember what I’d done.

I also stuffed that notebook with personal mementos: a poem I had written for my daughter when she was a newborn called 9 Pound Polly; my father’s obituary; recipes that I’d coerced out of my mom, and so on.

For decades I had carried around a postcard from Sudan University and it ended up there too. That was from Allen Ginsberg and in it he critiqued several of my poems with pithy one-liners. My friend and I had gone to see him read at a theater in DTLA and afterward we stood in line to meet him and have him sign an annotated copy of his masterwork Howl that we brought along. We also had a stack of my poems that my buddy insisted on giving to the bard. About two months later an envelope came in the mail containing that cryptic postcard and one of my poems that was actually a typewritten original that he had thought to return. Twenty-two year old me was ecstatic to say the least. I had all but forgotten about our little hand-off at that point.

Anyway, I lost that notebook [in the fire], and all the barely legible scribbles of inspiration it contained, but I have the memories of 12 wonderful years at the helm of that kitchen that I designed, standing at the large island that would become the emotional locus of our little family, where we took almost all our meals and debriefed on our days, and where we invariably gathered with friends and extended family when it got too cold or too buggy to sit outside in the looming nighttime shadow of the San Gabriels. 

p.s. ‘Papa’s Famous’ was the prefix I used for most of my recipes in the notebook. My daughter coined it initially to ask for something specific for dinner, to butter me up, as in, can we have Papa’s Famous Chili? Or Papa’s Famous Chicken and Red Lentil Stew? It worked every time, even if it made the recipe names sound clunky.

Paul McConnell and his family have resided in Altadena for 12 + years. They lost their home in the Eaton Fire.

PAPA’S FAMOUS AL WAZIR SHEPHERD’S PIE

A Mediterranean Twist on a Classic

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (you can add 1 large diced carrot too, or 1 c frozen later)
• 1 lb gound beef or lamb (or Impossible)
• 1 sprig of thyme leaves (and/or parsley, oregano or mint and so on)
• Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes to taste)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 tsp Cumin (sometimes I’ll add a dash of coriander as well)
• 1 tsp smoked or regular paprika (for mix and sprinkle)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbs worcestershire or soy sauce
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1 c broth/stock (dealer’s choice)
• 1 c of frozen or canned peas
• 1 c (or more) of canned garbanzo beans
• ~ 2 lbs mashed potatoes (I like using fresh with a healthy scoop of whole milk plain greek yogurt or sour cream and butter of course but I’ve even used instant mashed and that worked fine)
• 3-4 Tbs pesto or chimichurri as a topping
• 1/2 c Tahini Sauce or Bang Bang sauce as drizzle
• 2/3 c crumbled Feta cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile heat 2 Tbs of olive oil over med-high in a large cast iron skillet. Add onion to soften. Add protein of your choice. I like to season with a little S&P here; possibly even some garlic powder. Brown the meat/meat substitute all over and add whatever fresh or dried herbs you’re using, including the Aleppo Pepper and Cumin and Paprika.
• Gently stir in garlic for a minute or so, add Worcestershire or Soy. Add tomato paste and flour and stir until mixed evenly. Add in broth and frozen/canned veggies, bring to a easy boil and then simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
• Remove Cast Iron skillet from heat and top pan mixture with a thick layer of prepared mashed potatoes, going all the way to the edges of the pan 
• Bake for about 25 minutes
• Dollop with pesto or chimichurri, drizzle tahini or bang bang and olive oil
• Sprinkle paprika and feta cheese (optional)
• Return to oven for 5-10 minutes being careful not to burn the topping
• Remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

PM: Cast Iron skillet will be very heavy and very hot and will require both hands. Make sure you have a cleared place to land it ahead of time and some good pot holders.

Also, I’ve had mixed results cooking with Impossible. I’ve learned in general its usually best to brown and season it and then set it aside on a plate while you do all the other steps and then reincorporate the dry crumbles as a layer in the assembly. In this case, mix it back into the resting skillet before you top with potatoes. Otherwise you risk it being overheated and liqidated and turning to mush.

I offer this recipe as a memory and as a guide. Make it yours. Have fun with it.

The following images are from Altadena Cooks’ attempt to recreate Paul’s beautiful recipe (using ground lamb and homemade chimichurri made with a lil basil and mint thrown in):

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Note: This contribution was sent to Altadena Cooks through email correspondence, and responses have been edited lightly for clarity. See an issue? Please email me at altadenacooks@gmail.com