Islanders’ casserole inspires cooks’ creativity

Imagine an upside-down shepherd’s pie topped with tomato sauce. That is how to make Red Top, whether the Vinalhaven version or not.

Maura Michael helped me out with this one by loaning me a copy of a community cookbook called “Fish Scales and Chocolate Chips: A Vinalhaven, Maine Cookbook,” assembled by MacFee Press and Bakery from recipes shared by lots of cooks. On page 36 is plain old Red Top and on 37 there is the very similar Vinalhaven Red Top.

A little blurb in the book tells the story that Josephine Clayter’s mother, Louise Sanborn, and her friends found the recipe in the newspaper, sometime around 1940 or so, and used to serve it at a club meeting.

Vinalhaveners are still making and eating this casserole at home, and at potluck and church suppers. Even Meals on Wheels delivers Red Top, which is more of a strategy than a recipe. It is downright elastic, infinitely expandable and flexible enough to absorb miscellaneous vegetables like corn, peas or green beans. You can make it to use up leftover mashed potatoes or you can boil them from scratch.

Though the classic Red Top is slathered with condensed tomato soup, there is nothing to say you can’t use either a homemade or pre-made spaghetti sauce. It might not be orthodox, but you could probably even use ground turkey instead of beef.

Even the quantities are open ended. One recipe says for ingredients you need “layer of mashed potatoes,” “layer of cheese,” “scrambled hamburg with seasoning,” and “1 can of condensed tomato soup, undiluted.” Personally, I love the freedom an open-ended recipe like that affords me, though I know some folks are unsettled by it. (With the attached recipe I have been a bit more specific.)

One rule of thumb I use is “one person-one potato” which works out just right, even if I am making mashed or salad for 30 or 40.

To me “seasoning” is onions, minced garlic, and, since there is tomato involved, oregano, a bit of thyme, ground celery seed, salt and pepper. But heck, why not use what you have and like: Italian or taco seasonings would work perfectly well. As for cheese, one of the recipes called for Velveeta but my tastes run more to cheddar or mozzarella.

Red Top Casserole

Serves six.

6 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion

2 (or more) cloves of garlic, optional

1 teaspoon at least, of your choice of herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 cups of corn, peas, or green beans (optional)

4 ounces of cheese, grated

1 can undiluted condensed tomato soup

Prepare the potatoes, and while they are boiling, brown the hamburger, adding the onions, garlic, and seasonings. Preheat the oven to 350?. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or deep, round casserole, mash the potatoes, and spread them over the bottom of the dish. Layer the cooked meat over that, and then, if you wish, vegetables. Sprinkle on the grated cheese, then spread the tomato soup on top. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until well heated through.

Looking for …

Now here is an intriguing query: Mike Gleason of Bangor wrote to say “Probably close to 20 years ago, I was reading a book about life in Maine’s woods camps, and food was a prime topic. There was mention of a triple-layer “pie” that was a favorite of the woodsmen. One layer was pork, one was apple, and the third was something else (perhaps potato, perhaps a repeat of the pork or apple). Each layer was separated by a crust, and there was a bottom crust and a top crust. In short, it sounded “wicked good,” and I’ve been searching and asking ever since for a name and recipe, but to no avail. Can you help?”