Beef and Vegetable Pie

I love going home-cooked food – my mother makes a really yummy pie which is incredibly easy to make, plus all the winter weather made me crave it more, so I had a go myself. Again there’s not ‘strict’ recipe but I’ve sort of put together one if you want to follow it.

Beef and Vegetable Pie, serves 1-2

-Some chunky diced beef (you can buy this pre-pared easily), about a few hundred grams (or you can just judge by eye how much you need)

-Puff pastry (I used Jus-roll ready made kind) thinly rolled out and enough to cover your chosen ovenproof dish

-Onions

-A selection of vegetables such as carrots, celery etc.

-Salt and pepper to season

-Liquid stock (Chicken/beef/vegetable)

-Cornflower (or plain flour)

1. First season the beef with salt and pepper and let it marinate for a little while if you have time.

2. Seal the beef in a well-oiled hot pan until brown on all sides. This should only take a few minutes. Leave aside to rest.

3. Use the same pan (with all the beefy juices) and gently toss in some chopped onion.

4. Gradually add in your other chosen ingredients – I didn’t have many vegetables left as it is the end of term so it was slim pickings! Once the onions have started to caramelise, add in a good mug or two of liquid stock. Let it simmer gently for 20 minutes or so. You can also put your meat back in now along with any juices escaped.

5. When you are satisfied with the taste, turn off the heat and stir in some cornflour (I wasn’t going to buy it just for this so I settled for plain flour that was already in my cupboard). Add it in slowly stirring continuously so that the filling does not become lumpy.

6. Roll our your puff pastry to the thickness of about a pound coin and prep your ovenproof dish – spoon in a good amount of filling and ensure it is all covered by the pastry. Bake at about 200 degrees Celsius until the pastry is golden brown (I was a little impatient after half an hour so mine doesn’t have as good a crisp as I would like, but I was hungry…)

I ate mine with a little bulgur wheat (cooked in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes). Enjoy!

> I would love to hear about your favourite pie combinations below in the comments so feel free to type away!