The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2021-12-19)

44 • The Sunday Times Magazine

The Dish

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W

hat could be more jolly over

Christmas than a steaming,

golden-topped, homemade pie

placed down on the table for all to

share? Perhaps you go weak at the

knees at the thought of lifting the

lid off a bubbling Fray Bentos, or

maybe your gran used to warm

your cockles with her homemade

steak and kidney, but I’m guessing

that if you’re a fellow pie

enthusiast, there’s a Proustian pie

somewhere in your past that

makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Making a pie is wonderfully

satisfying but it is one of those

things that can eat away at an

entire morning or afternoon if

you’re not careful. As it’s a hectic

time of year, I wanted to share

some pie recipes that take the

strain out of making them. Both

of these can be made ahead of

time and kept in the fridge for

a couple of days very merrily,

and would be ideal either in the

run-up to Christmas, or for those

in-between days before New Year

when you might have people

coming over.

Only one of the recipes, the

beef and pickled walnut pie, has

a bottom layer of pastry and you

don’t need to worry about a soggy

bottom here because its rich gravy

is the whole point. You want this

to soak a little into the crust.

Just make sure to bake it on a

heated baking sheet so that those

sides get nice and crisp.

It’s best to bring these pies out

of the fridge half an hour or so

before cooking them to bring

them up to temperature, but if you

are cooking from chilled, add ten

minutes on to the cooking time.

Make life easy on yourself this festive season by preparing a

hearty, warming feast in advance of any family gatherings

Merrily on pie

Rosie Birkett

1

SERVES

4-6 people

INGREDIENTS

500g shin beef, cut into chunky pieces

350ml stout or dark ale

390g jar of pickled black walnuts

3 tbsp neutral oil

6 small round shallots, peeled

and left whole

2 large carrots, scrubbed and

chopped into chunky rounds

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs of thyme

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

8 large chestnut mushrooms,

quartered

3 tbsp plain flour

50ml madeira or port

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

500g block of shop-bought all-butter

shortcrust pastry

1 egg, beaten

01 Put the beef in a bowl and

season well with salt and

pepper. Pour over the ale and

3 tablespoons of the pickled

walnut vinegar, and allow to

marinate for at least an hour.

02 Once marinated, remove the

meat (reserving the liquid for

braising), dab dry with kitchen roll

and heat the oven to 160C (180C

non-fan). Heat a little oil in a

lidded ovenproof casserole over a

medium-high heat, and brown the

beef and shallots all over. Add

500ml water, remove from the

heat and pour over the marinade,

adding in the carrot chunks and

bay. Cover with a lid or foil and

braise in the oven for 2.5 hours,

stirring occasionally, until the

meat is tender and the stock rich.

03 Pour the casserole into a sieve

or colander set over another pan to

collect the stock, and use the same

pot you cooked the beef in to cook

the rest of the filling. Pour in the oil,

set over a medium-high heat and

add the thyme, celery, mushrooms

and a good pinch of salt and freshly

ground pepper. Fry for 5-6 min.

04 Turn the heat down a smidge,

scatter over the flour and mix in

with a wooden spoon, then slowly

pour in the madeira, cooking it off

to a paste. Add the reserved stock

and 100ml water, stir and cook for

5 min until the sauce has thickened.

Add the beef and carrots and Dijon

mustard, taste and adjust according

to your liking. Allow to cool.

05 On a lightly floured surface, roll

out two thirds of the pastry into a

disc that’s slightly bigger than the

20cm pie dish. Transfer it with

your rolling pin to the dish and

press gently into the base and up

the sides. Roll out the rest of the

pastry to a slightly smaller disc for

the lid. Spoon the cooled pie filling

on to the pastry and nestle in the

walnuts. Paint the sides of the

pastry with eggwash and then

lie the disc on top of the filling,

pressing the edges firmly together.

Glaze with more eggwash and cut

a cross in the middle to let steam

out. Refrigerate for up to two days

until you’re ready to bake.

06 Bake on a heated baking sheet

at 170C (190C non-fan) for 30-35

min. Serve with a watercress

salad or wilted greens.

Shin beef and

pickled walnut

shortcrust pie

This would be lovely with suet

pastry, though it’s also great with

shop-bought shortcrust. Leave out

the walnuts if you want and add

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar instead.

LUKE J ALBERT FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE