serves 6
680g stewing beef, diced
salt and pepper
2 heaped tbs flour
olice oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
4 sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped (I don't like parsnips so use more carrots and celery)
1 handful fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme and bay) leaves (I use 2 tbs dried mixed herbs instead)
1 pint Guinness
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 pack puff pastry
1 egg
Method
1. Season beef with salt and pepper, sprinkle with flour and toss around until coated.
2. Heat oil in pan and fry meat till golden brown.
3. Add onion and fry for 1 more minute then add carrot, celery, parsnips and herbs. Fry for 4 more minutes.
4. Pour in Guinness
5. Add tinned tomatoes and bring to boil.
6. Stir, simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
I usually just eat it at this stage, with mashed potatoes.
To make the pies
1. Preheat oven to 190'C/375'F.
2. Put meat filling into baking dish.
3. Roll out puff pastry, dusting with flour, until 0.5cm thick.
4. Cut out a circle slightly bigger than the top of your baking dish.
5. Brush rim of dish with beaten egg and put circle on top, squashing excess pastry outside the dish to secure.
6. Score the top in a criss-cross fashion and brush on more egg.
7. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.