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Beef and Guinness pie recipe

A classic, comforting pie with a slow-cooked filling - Andrew Twort & Annie Hudson for The Telegraph
A classic, comforting pie with a slow-cooked filling - Andrew Twort & Annie Hudson for The Telegraph

I love the sound of beef and Guinness together, but in reality the pie needs a bit of sweetness to counteract the bitter taste of the reduced stout. I solved this by adding some port. I must say that it worked a treat. I sometimes even include a few oysters, which I put in cold under the pastry before cooking.

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours 35 minutes - 3 hours 35 minutes

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp oil 800g braising steak, diced into 2.5cm cubes

  • 1 large onion, finely diced

  • 1 large carrot, finely diced

  • 2 sticks of celery, finely diced

  • 1 small floury potato, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, finely diced

  • 500ml stout, such as Guinness

  • 125ml ruby port

  • Sprigs of thyme and rosemary

  • 1 sheet of all-butter puff pastry

  • Flour, for dusting

  • 1 egg, beaten well, for egg wash

METHOD

  1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the meat and cook for five to seven minutes until brown all over. Remove the meat using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.

  2. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up all the good bits left from the browned meat. Gently fry the vegetables for five minutes until they start to brown, then season well with salt and pepper and add the potato. Return the meat to the pan and stir it through so it begins to brown again.

  3. Add the stout, port and herbs to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and slowly simmer for two to three hours, checking every now and then, and topping up with water if required – the liquid should just cover the meat. The trick here is to wait until the meat is showing signs of being cooked – after about two hours – before removing the lid and allowing the liquid to reduce to a sauce consistency. Check the seasoning.

  4. When the meat is cooked, transfer the mixture to a pie dish (I use a round tin, 23cm in diameter, but just a few centimetres deep). The filling should almost fill the dish. Allow it to cool a little while you prepare the lid.

  5. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5.

  6. Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut a circle 1cm larger in diameter than the pie dish (as the pastry will shrink a little in the oven). I use a very sharp knife (sometimes even a Stanley knife) for this, as it prevents the puff pastry from pinching at the edges, which stops it rising.

  7. Place the pastry lid on top of the pie and put the dish on a baking sheet. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and golden-brown. Serve with seasonal vegetables.