Main Baking

Steak, Leek & Mushroom Pie with Guinness

Filled with meltingly tender slow-cooked beef, sweet leeks and earthy mushrooms, this pie is a bit of a labour of love but so worth the effort. Serve with plenty of creamy mashed potatoes and peas

25 minutes prep, About 2 hours, 15 minutes cook

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

700g stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 trimmed leeks, sliced

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

250g mushrooms, coarsely chopped

100g bacon (about 3 rashers), coarsely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsps plain flour

330-ml can Guinness

2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

A large handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped

375g ready-rolled puff pastry

Melted butter or milk, to brush

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3. Heat the oil in a heatproof casserole dish. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until browned. Remove the meat from the casserole dish, season and set aside.

Add the leeks, onion and carrots to the pan, adding a little more oil if necessary. Cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms, bacon and thyme and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Season well. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Return the beef to the casserole dish, add the flour, stir to coat the meat in the flour and cook for 2–3 minutes. Pour in the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce. Add the bay leaf and parsley and pour in sufficient cold water to just cover. Stir to mix, cover with a lid and bake in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours.

Remove the casserole dish from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.

Transfer the beef mixture to a 30 x 20-cm baking dish. Unroll the pastry and use to cover the pie filling. It should look rustic, so fold over the edges and crimp roughly with your fingers. Using a sharp knife, and starting at the top edge, make lengthwise slits on the diagonal, in stripes about 1⁄2 cm apart, all the way across.

Brush with melted butter or milk and bake in the preheated oven for about 25–30 minutes, until golden. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and peas on the side.