[from jamieoliver.com, before they foolishly edited the recipe to reduce
the amount of cheese and pastry]

steak, guinness and cheese pie with a puff pastry lid

serves: 4 to 6
ingredients

• olive oil
• 3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 30g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• 4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced
• 1kg brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x 440ml can of Guinness (no lager, please!)
• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
• 200g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 500g best-quality ready-made all-butter puff pastry
• 1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten

This pie is a real winner! As it uses bought puff pastry, it’s quick to
prepare, and you can make the filling the day before if you want.

Preheat the oven to 190ΊC/375ΊF/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a
glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about
10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the
garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix
everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of
salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the
flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the
pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½
hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it
back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until
the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect
pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place
the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the
heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to
cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry off the block. Dust a clean work surface
with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured
rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Butter a deep pie dish,
then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the
side. [iain: recommend cooking pastry based *before* adding the stew, to
stop it being so soggy.] Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it
out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the
pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and
criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the
pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look
nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie
directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is
cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.