Question: What to serve with?
By: Rich Grant
Published: July 10, 2010

I'm going to be in a cooking contest with a Mexican Shepherd Pie. Reicpe is hamburger, tomatoes, ROTEL, olives, corn, cheese and a few more things. What would you serve along side to make a great presentation. It will be in November in New England. I was thinking Avocados but they can be tricky here at that time. Ideas to go along side?  The idea is to create a plate for viewing and the rest for the judges to taste.

go here and you can see the recipe

http://www.kingochowdah.com/feastnh.pdf

Answers:
Chris Paulk

Visually shepherd's pie has a lot going on- lots of colors & texture. I would keep it simple and vibrant - maybe a lightly sauteed spinach or chard- can be tossed with raisins & pinenuts. It wont't overwhelm the shepherds pie.
Lauren

I think you should serve one of two things.  1. A simple salad made up of romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro etc.. OR 2. an avocado pico de gallo.  Diced tomatoes, cubed avocado, onion, cilantro, lemon juice.  Tasty and visually pleasing.  You'll definitely need to add some green.  Good luck!
The Heritage Cook

You could take a lettuce leaf and fill it with the pico de gallo - everything in one package and beautiful! Good luck!
hanen daoued

have a look
http://heavenplanet.blogspot.com/
Camella Black

Why not some sort of fruit salad or salsa? This could be made with mangos, peaches, pineapple or any number of fresh fruits. I also love frozen fruit slices or a pear salad; while both of these are usually served in the warmer months I believe that they would balance out the pie... good luck.