Meat and onion pie

A classic British minced beef and onion pie with a rich gravy, topped with a light puff pastry lid. Comfort food just as you'd want it in a pub.

Serves: 4
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

Filling

• 500 g beef mince
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 25 g butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 200–250 ml beef stock (start with 200 ml, only add more if it becomes too dry)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp thyme
• salt
• black pepper

Puff pastry lid

• 250 g puff pastry (1 sheet or squares), chilled
• 1 egg

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 210 °C and place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
• Lightly grease an ovenproof dish or pie dish (± 24 cm).
• Cut the onion, garlic and carrot as above.

Method

1. Gently fry the onions
   Heat the butter and oil in a large pan over medium-low heat, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 12–18 minutes until soft and golden brown.
2. Fry the carrot and garlic
   Add the carrot and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Brown the mince
   Add the mince and cook until separated and well browned.
4. Cook off the tomato purée
   Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.
5. Cook out the flour
   Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir well. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the flour looks dry and no longer smells raw.
6. Thicken the gravy
   Add 200 ml stock, stir until smooth, add the Worcestershire sauce and thyme, and simmer gently until a thick gravy forms (15–25 minutes). You should be able to draw a clear line with a spoon.
7. Season the filling and let it cool
   Season with salt and black pepper and let the filling cool until lukewarm or almost cold.
8. Spoon the filling into the dish
   Spoon the filling into the dish.
9. Apply the puff pastry
   Lay the puff pastry over the dish (as a lid only). Press the edges against the rim of the dish and trim away any excess pastry. You can lightly crimp the edge with a fork.
10. Slash the pastry
    Cut 2–3 small slits in the pastry to let steam escape.
11. Brush with egg
    Beat the egg and brush it over the pastry.
12. Bake the pie
    Place the dish on the hot baking tray and bake for 25–30 minutes until the puff pastry has risen high and is a deep golden brown.
13. Let the pie rest
    Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serving suggestion
Mashed potatoes and peas are classic. An extra spoonful of gravy is always welcome.