Sunday
Jamie Oliver's steak, Guinness & cheese pie
Slow-braised beef in a dark, glossy Guinness gravy, folded through with sharp cheddar and buttoned under a golden puff pastry lid. From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners (2004) — the ultimate comfort pie, made in my kitchen more times than I can count.
The pie to best all pies. Rich, indulgent, English/Irish to its bones — and always, always a wow.
Method
- 01
Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas 5. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large ovenproof pan on a medium heat and add the onions. Fry for 3-4 minutes until softening, then add the garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- 02
Turn the heat up, add the beef and a good pinch of sea salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes to brown a little, then sprinkle in the flour and stir again.
- 03
Pour in the Guinness and the tinned tomatoes, then half-fill one of the tomato tins with water and add that too. Stir well, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid or a piece of tin foil and put in the oven for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the gravy is thick and glossy. Check halfway and add a splash of water if it looks dry.
- 04
Take the pan out of the oven, remove the lid, taste and adjust the seasoning. Turn the oven up to 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6.
- 05
Stir the grated cheddar through the hot stew so it melts into the gravy. Tip the filling into a large pie dish (about 25cm) and let it settle.
- 06
Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about 0.5cm thick, a little larger than the top of your dish. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg, drape the pastry over the top, press to seal, and trim the edges. Score the top lightly in a criss-cross pattern and brush all over with more beaten egg. Cut a small steam hole in the middle.
- 07
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden and puffed and the filling is bubbling up through the vent. Rest for 5 minutes before serving with buttery mash and steamed greens.
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