Beef and Mashed Potatoes Casserole (Brazilian Escondidinho)
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It took me a while to figure out a title for this recipe. In Brazil we call it “escondidinho”, which means “little hidden one,” if translated literally. Probably because the beef is hidden under the mashed potatoes. I could’ve also named it Sheppard’s Pie because it is kinda similar, but not quite… So I settled on a generic Beef and Mashed Potatoes Casserole name that will, as we say in Brazil, please Greeks and Trojans! :)
The Escondidinho can be made with a huge variety of meats – chicken, fish, jerked beef, shrimp, pork – and with different types of mashed roots, like yucca, sweet potatoes, etc. The original one, I believe, is made with carne seca (similar to jerked beef) and mashed yucca. But today I’m sharing with you a very simple yet delicious one, made with ground beef and mashed potatoes, perfect for the cold weather that is arriving.
If you’ve seen my post for Chicken Fricasée Casserole, you already know that I absolutely love casseroles, not only because they are delicious but also because they are easy and ideal for busy days. You can make it ahead and leave it in your fridge and bake it at the end of the day when you come home from work!
There’s nothing like a hot casserole freshly out of the oven on a chilly night. I must say I’ve been reading lots of posts from my friends on Facebook, complaining about the end of Summer. Nothing against Summer – it is awesome! Barbecues! Picnics! 4th of July! – but I couldn’t be more excited for the Fall. And these past two days I’ve been finally feeling like it is almost here! I had my first warm Pumpkin Spiced Latte! Yeah, I say warm because I cheated and I had an iced one in August because Starbucks brought it earlier this time. So I broke my “no PSL before Fall” rule and didn’t even care about it because it was delicious!
But anyway, this is about casseroles and not about pumpkin spiced lattes. Yet! (I’m on a mission to recreate PSL at home! Yeah yeah!)
As you can see in my pictures, I’ve made two different sizes of this casserole, both in Cast Iron skillets. I love cast iron cookware and I think they look amazing. I wish I had lots of different sizes and at least 8 of the individual ones, but I only have one! :( (My birthday is next week… Hint, hint! lol) So, while the recipe below says that you’re supposed to use a 12-inch cast iron skillet, you can totally use individual ones (probably about 6) or a regular baking dish (a small lasagna dish would work great!).
So what else can I say? Close your eyes and visualize: spoonful of meaty, creamy, cheesy warm casserole on its way to your mouth. Are you happy/excited? That’s it! Nothing more to say. This is pure fabulousness!
Beef and Mashed Potatoes Casserole (Brazilian Escondidinho)
Yield:
6
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1.5lbs ground beef
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1.5 Tbsp flour
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1 sprig rosemary, minced
- 1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the mashed potatoes:
- 1.5lbs Russet Potatoes
- 1 8oz package cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Nutmeg to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
To make the mashed potatoes:
- In a large pot, cook the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Once the potatoes are done, let them cool a bit (just enough so you can handle them) and then peel them.
- While they are still hot, mash them in a bowl and reserve.
- In a sauce pan, heat the heavy cream and the cream cheese, whisking until the cream cheese dissolves.
- Add the heavy cream/cream cheese to the potatoes and mix well until you have a smooth mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
To make the beef:
- In a large skillet, heat the butter and sauté the garlic and onions until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and the herbs and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned (about 10 minutes).
- Add the flour, the parmesan cheese and the crushed tomatoes.
- Cook until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Add the egg yolk and season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the beef to a seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Top with mashed potatoes and then with the mozzarella.
- Bake in over for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned.
19 Comments on “Beef and Mashed Potatoes Casserole (Brazilian Escondidinho)”
Wow this cassserole looks so hearty, cheesey and of course delicious! Craving a bowlful right now.. looks like the ultimate comfort food!
Wow, & all I did for dinner was cook 1lb of a 5lb meat-roll, fried in 8 oz of beer; and mix product with mashed-potato mix: made with evaporated milk, and half stick butter. I call it the ‘7-Day Sodium Layaway’. ? I’m on day 2. Wish me luck.
Dear Olivia,
I would like to share my concerns on health consequences for us sloths. As sloths, we are strictly vegetarian and I believe beef would probably kill us. In my home land, we would make a similar dish using bird droppings and termites for a delicious meal! Please consider added a sub-section on your website dedicated to sloths!
Dear Sloth, please forgive the lack of sloth friendly recipes on my blog. I’m so ashamed! I promise I will try to rectify and post more recipes dedicated to sloths! Best, Olivia
Sloth …
Your name would indicate that you are a kin to the notoriously slow creature. Which would further indicate that you must have very slow reading skills. You must have noticed immediately that the first word in the recipe title was “Beef …” Didn’t this give you a clue that this dish was not meant for you … or, any other sloth-like creatures sharing similar tastes?
If you find my comment somewhat “snarky” that me be my attempt to match your own. I, we, would all be fascinated to read the comment section regarding your recipe using “bird droppings and termites for a delicious meal.
Maybe you should start you open blog before being so rude as others are of different standards and cultures. As I like to say you should always try it before you say you don’t like it. If you are a vegetarian then why would you add a living thing like bugs? Just a question I suppose.
GREAT REPLY — these ‘types’ of ‘people’ should find something POSITIVE to do instead of smearing hate and negativity. The internet has brought out the slime in society.
I agree and why attack a food blog for crying out loud it’s only food so if you don’t like it go read up on something else!
Seriously?? With the nearly infinite recipes online – you need to put your two cents in on a perfectly good recipe posted on a happy site by imposing your dislike for the recipe due to your your sedentary lifestyle aka issues here ?
Trolls like you are a waste of molecules – go somewhere and find some positive things to do in your life.
If you don’t like something then simply “don’t like it and move on” .. don’t hang around and spread your hate and self-discontent.
Sloths? Please tell me you are kidding. We have to meet and hang out if you are a sloth that reads and writes. I will cook for you real vegetarian food too. That recipe with bird droppings sounds awful lol
This is an AMAZING recipe! I had mucked up some mashed potatoes (like 2 pounds!) And needed something to do with them besides toss them. I tried this recipe but I was nervous; I’m not much of a casserole girl myself. But this turned out LOVELY. completely fixed my mashed potatoes up. I added mushrooms to the meat mixture, added a few more spices (paprika, oregano, a bit of cumin and lots of onion powder), and covered the cheese with a fried onion topping (can you tell I love onions?). It came out delicious! My wife loved it and asked me to add it to our list of dinner standbys! Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ll definitely be following your blog if every recipe is this good!
Oh I might try the fried onion topping! Sounds delicious! 😊
I just love it. Love it. You have given me a nice recipe to go by. I followed it to the T but added a personal touch. I thank you so much for your blog.
Ohhh my gosh!! Ayyy meu Deus! Que delicia! I followed your recipe exactly – except I later realized I forgot to add the Parmesan. But oooooh boy was this good! Perfect for a chilly night. Thank you for all your recipes! You are awesome Olivia!
This sounds lovely. I too love anything like a casserole such comfort food. I’m going to call your dish ‘Hide and seek meat’ cos you say different meats can be used and, l think it deserves a cooler description than beef and mashed potato casserole .
That’s a very good name! :)
Absolutely out of this world amazing! Obrigada Olivia!
So glad you liked it! 😊
I tried this one recently, and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with the world.