Beef & Guinness Pie With Sour Cream Pastry

Serves 6
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours + 40 minutes baking

INGREDIENTS
1 quantity Sour cream pastry rested and chilled (recipe below)
1 free-range egg, whisked with 2 tablespoons milk
800 g (1 lb 12 oz) chuck steak, cut into 4 cm (1½ inch) cubes
4 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
300 ml (10 ½ fl oz) Guinness
2 brown onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 celery stalk, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 fresh bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)
250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) beef stock

METHOD
1 Start by making the filling. Toss the beef in the flour and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat half the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole dish. then cook the beef in batches over medium–high heat for 5 minutes, or until browned all over. Remove to a bowl.
2 Pour the beer into the pan and give it a good stir to deglaze the pan. Let the beer bubble away for 2 minutes to bring up all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. Pour the beery pan juices over the beef.
3 Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan, then sauté the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and bay leaves for 10 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a further 2 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, along with all the beery juices. Pour in the stock and pop on the lid. Cook over low heat for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and the sauce is lovely and thick. Place the mixture in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool; overnight would even be better, to allow the flavours to develop.
4 When you’re ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease a 23 cm (9 inch) pie dish. On a lightly floured workbench, roll out half the pastry to about 5 mm (1⁄4 inch) thick, then ease the pastry into the pie dish. Fill the pie with the chilled beef mixture. Roll out the remaining pastry to about 5 mm (1⁄4 inch) thick, then carefully place it on top of the pie. Using your fingers or a fork, press the top and bottom pastry edges together to seal them. Trim the pastry edges, then prick the centre with a fork to let the steam escape.
5 Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.

Sour cream pastry

Makes 575 g (1 lb 4 oz)
Preparation time 10 minutes + 50 minutes resting

INGREDIENTS
150 g (5½ oz) chilled salted butter
300 g (10½ oz/ 2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
125 g (4½ oz/½ cup) sour cream

METHOD
1 Chop the chilled butter into chunks, then place in a food processor with the flour. Pulse until the butter is the size of cherries. Add the sour cream and pulse again, until just incorporated.
2 Turn out onto a cool, floured surface and form the dough into a rectangle. Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3 Roll out to the shape and thickness directed in your recipe, then press into your pie or tart tin. Trim the pastry edges, then rest in the fridge again for 30 minutes, before baking and filling according to your recipe instructions.

Tip
The pastry can be wrapped up and frozen for up to 3 months; simply thaw it in the fridge for a day or overnight before using.

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