NewZealandWoman’sWeekly 35
PHOTOS:
TODD
EYRE
N i c i ’ s
n o te s
- I’m in the habit of making
the filling a day ahead as I
think it improves the flavour.- I usually avoid using tomato
purée (too strong), but for
this recipe it allows me to
keep the liquid to a minimum
while dialling up the flavour.
- I usually avoid using tomato
Beef, beer & blue cheese pie
Sticky lamb
shanks with
Parmesan mash
SERVES 6
This is such a satisfying dish and
so easy to cook! The Parmesan
mash is a real crowd-pleaser.
6 lamb shanks (or adjust for
1 shank per person)
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 whole garlic bulb, halved
through the waist
2 bay leaves
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
150ml red wine
Zest from 1 lemon
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
MASH
6 agria potatoes, peeled and
roughly chopped
1 tsp sea salt
100ml cream, warmed
100g Parmesan, grated
Salt and black pepper,
to season
1 Preheat oven to 220°C.
Prepare your shanks by scoring
around the bone at the end –
this ensures that the meat and
tendons shrink back evenly
during cooking. Toss them
in a roasting dish and cook
until nicely browned – about
15-20 minutes.
2 Scatter the onions around the
shanks, add in the halved garlic
bulb, cut-side up, the bay leaves
and seasoning. Mix together the
balsamic, sugar and wine, then
pour over the shanks. Cover
tightly with two layers of foil.
Reduce oven temperature to
170°C and bake for 2 hours.
3 Remove the foil and check
the shanks – they ought to be
meltingly tender.
4 In the final 45 minutes of
cooking, make the mash.
Boil the potatoes in well-salted
water until cooked. Pour over
the warmed cream and mash
until smooth. Stir through the
Parmesan. Taste and season
with salt and pepper.
5 To serve, dollop large
spoonfuls of hot mash onto
warm plates and top each with
a shank, some onions, garlic
and gravy. Scatter over a mix
of zest and parsley. Dig in!SERVES 4-6
This pie is an absolute winner- hearty and rich, packed full
of meat and gravy, spiked
with tangy blue cheese and
topped with flaky pastry.
It’s golden!
2 tbsp flour
500g beef chunks – I use
chuck or blade steak
Oil
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
6 garlic cloves
330ml draught beer
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp
cracked pepper, to
season
100g blue cheese
250g flaky pastry
Egg wash
1 Sprinkle the flour over the
beef chunks and toss to coat.
2 In a saucepan, heat the oil
and brown off the meat in
batches. Set aside.
3 In the same saucepan,
sauté the onions, carrots
and garlic until they begin
to soften. Pour over the
beer and, as it bubbles up,
scrape off any yummy bits
from the bottom of the
pot. Add the meat back
in, along with the tomato
puree, bay leaf, salt and
pepper. Lower the heat
and simmer for 1 hour
or until the meat is meltingly
tender. Cool.
4 Heat oven to 220°C.
Grease a 23cm (or similar)
pie dish.
5 To make the pie: Ladle thecold pie filling into your
dish. Feel free to pile it
up as it will settle as it
cooks through. Scatter
over chunks of blue cheese.
Roll out the pastry to fit as
a lid and brush egg wash
around the edges (this helps
to seal your pie). Drape the
lid over the filling, then
squeeze and pinch the
pastry onto the rim of your
dish, sealing it well. Use a
sharp knife to make plenty
of steam holes in the pastry.
Brush some more with the
beaten egg. Lower oven
temperature to 180°C and
bake for 40 minutes or until
golden and bubbling.
6 Serve great spoonfuls
of pie with Dad’s favourite
vegetables!