Friday Pie Day: Hearty Beef and Rosemary Pie

I was going to do the Easter thing with today's Friday Pie Day - no, not a chocolate egg pie (man, should have gone with that!), but a lamb and rosemary style one.

And, well I pretty much went all the way with this - apart from the lamb.

I rarely buy red meat this days - not because I'm going off it or anything (Are you crazy? Do you know who I am?), but just because poultry and the like is more economical. So on those rare occasions that I do go for red meat, I want to make it justified.

Now, when I got to the supermarket, I hunted down the lamb, was all ready to buy it - but then a pack of stewing beef caught my eye. It was on offer and I felt it'd be rude to let that one go. I considered changing the recipe I had in mind for the lamb, but, since I had a batch of fresh rosemary waiting for me at home, I figured I should just give it a shot anyway.

What with this being a hearty stew kind of pie, it's best to precook and simmer the meat filling first and allow it to cool completely if possible. This will stop you from getting a soggy pie crust when you dish it into the pie shell. And you don't want that now, do you?

And be warned, this is called a Hearty pie for a good reason - it is very filling! I didn't bother making potatoes or chips to sit alongside this, just a few extra roasted veggies instead, which I parboiled first before chucking into the oven to roast along with the pie. Perfect.

Hearty Beef and Rosemary Pie

Print-friendly recipe

For an 8" pie dish:

200g plain flour
100g cold butter, diced
Pinch of salt
Some ice cold water
OR
300g shortcrust pastry
Plus a little milk or beaten egg to glaze

450g stewing steak, cubed
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
3 garlic cloves, grated
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
175g celery, chopped
50g red onion, chopped
1.5 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
200ml hot beef stock + 1.5 tbsp cornflour

If using pre-made pastry, go to step 2.

1. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Rub in the butter to breadcrumb mixture. Add a little cold water and knead into a dough, adding more water if needed. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar, oil, honey and garlic. Add the steak cubes, mixing well.
3. Put on a pan on medium heat. Add the saucy steak cubes to brown, for about 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the cherry toms, celery and red onion, mixing everything together well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour in the cornfloured beef stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down to the lowest heat. Cover and leave to bubble for about 35-40 minutes. If you can, allow the filling to cool completely.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut a third off the pastry and set aside. Roll out the larger piece onto a floured surface, into a large circle to line the base and sides of an 8" pie dish.
7. Spoon the beef filling into the pie dish. Roll out the remaining third of pastry into a circle and transfer to top your pie, pinching the sides together to join. Stick a fork through the top, then brush over with some milk or beaten egg. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.

More beefy recipes