Rich Steak Pie with herby crust

So this is a proper pie. It has a lid and a bottom. Some people don't call pies that just come with a lid a pie. Either way its so rich and deep in flavour. Once you make this you will never buy shop bought again. The pastry is herby and so fragrant, even someone like me who doesn't have great pastry making skills achieved this without too much stress.

Delicious herb crust with rich steak filling

Dredge the beef in flour and season with salt and pepper

Brown the beef in batches so not to overcrowd the pan otherwise the beef won't brown and may boil

Remove the beef and add the vegetables

Add the stock to deglaze the pan

Add the beef back into the pan. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 2 to 2 and a half hours until beef is tender. Let it cool and add stilton.

Meanwhile make the pastry. Pulse herbs, flour, butter and salt and add ice cold water

Cover in clingfilm and let it rest in fridge for minimum of 30 minutes

Roll 2/3 of the pastry and line a tin fill it with the cooled beef filling and roll out the 1/3 of pastry as a lid. Bake for 45 minutes until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling.

Delicious

Serve with braised red cabbage and green beans

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg beef brisket

• Plain flour for dredging

• Coarse black pepper and salt

• Olive oil

• 2 onions

• 2 carrots

• 4 fresh bay leaves

• 2 potatoes

• 1.2 litres beef stock

• 100 g Stilton

• 1 large free-range egg

• 400 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

• 200 g salted butter , (cold)

• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

• ½ a bunch of fresh thyme

• ½ a bunch of fresh oregano

Instructions:

1. For the filling, slice the beef into chunks, then toss with the flour and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

2. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into a large pan over a medium heat, add the beef in batches as overcrowding the pan will cause the beef to boil and it wont brown all over, remove to a plate.

3. Peel and roughly chop the onion, and trim and finely chop the carrots. Add to the pan with the bay leaves and cook for 5 minutes, or until starting to soften. Meanwhile, peel and chop the the potatoes into 1cm cubes.

4. Pour in the beef stock to deglaze the pan. Add the cooked meat back to the pan with the onion and carrots.

5. Bring to the boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender, adding splashes of water to loosen, if needed.

6. For the pastry, put the flour and cubed butter into a food processor with a good pinch of sea salt, then pulse until just combined.

7. Pick and roughly chop the herb leaves, then add to the food processor along with 100ml of ice-cold water and pulse again until it forms a rough dough. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

8. Once cooked, season the filling to taste and leave aside to cool.

9. Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 and lightly oil a 20cm loose-bottomed round cake tin.

10. Cut off two-thirds of the pastry and roll out on a clean flour-dusted surface. Loosely roll the pastry around your rolling pin and unroll it over the cake tin, gently easing it into the shape of the tin. Patch up any holes and trim the edges neatly.

11. Spoon two-thirds of the cooled filling into the pastry-lined tin (freeze the rest and serve as you would a stew on another day) and crumble the Stilton on top. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg.

12. Roll out the remaining pastry so it’s slightly bigger than the tin, top the pie, crimping the edges to seal, then make a small incision in the centre for the steam to escape.

13. Use any spare pastry to decorate the pie, if you like. Egg-wash the top of the pie, then bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pastry is golden and the pie is piping hot.

14. Leave to stand for 30 minutes, then serve up – delicious with braised red cabbage and steamed greens.

Enjoy xoxo