A rich, slow-cooked beef filling under the most buttery, crispy, golden pastry. Top only, because in this house there are no soggy bottoms. Once you’ve made your own, the servo pie will never taste the same.
Serves: 6
Time: about 4 hours, mostly in the oven
Ingredients
Filling
1.2 kg chuck steak, cut into chunks (ask your local butcher)
2 tbsp olive oil
200 g bacon, diced
1 brown onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, finely diced
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
1 cup red wine
1 to 2 cups vegetable stock, enough to just cover
3 tbsp plain flour
A small pinch of salt (the bacon does most of the work) and pepper
Pastry
I use RecipeTin Eats’ pie pastry for the top. Find it here: [link]
A splash of milk, for brushing
Method
Heat the oven to 160°C.
Brown the steak in batches in a heavy ovenproof pot, then set it aside. Batches matter, because a crowded pot stews the meat instead of browning it.
In the same pot, add the bacon, onion, garlic, carrot and rosemary. As they soften, scrape up all the browned, crusty bits the meat left on the bottom of the pot. That’s where so much of the flavour is, so don’t leave any behind.
Return the meat, pour in the red wine and add enough stock to just cover.
Put the lid on and cook in the oven for about 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is falling-apart tender.
Thicken the filling. Spoon a little of the cooking liquid into a glass, stir in the flour until smooth, then pour it back into the pot and stir through. Simmer on the stovetop for a few minutes until thick and glossy.
Let the filling cool completely.
Make the pastry and turn the oven up to 200°C.
Spoon the filling into a pie dish, top with the rolled pastry, pierce a few small holes in the top and brush with milk.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden.
My tip
Don’t skip the thickening step. Mixing the flour into a little of the liquid first means no lumps, and that thick gravy is what makes it a proper pie.
How I use it
Leftover filling makes a cracking jaffle the next day. More ways to use your homemade staples are coming in my Kitchen Staples book. Join the waitlist here:
Slow Beautiful Christmas
If you love making things by hand, join me this Christmas. Six live cook-alongs, 30 of my family’s Christmas recipes, and a small group making it all together. Doors close 6 November.
