A great pie is the sum of two equally important parts: the filling and the pastry. There are many filling variations – leftover curry, such as chicken kapitan, works very well – but any braised dish with a good ratio of sauce to meat or vegetables will work. It’s important that the sauce is slightly thick, but not gluggy. Be inventive with leftover roast chicken, roast vegetables and gravy.
Begin this meat pie recipe three days ahead, starting the pastry first. The puff pastry makes double what you need, but freeze half and keep it for a future pie.
Tip 1: Refrigerate your beef cheek filling
This allows the filling to cool and thicken overnight.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 2: Add acid to your pastry
Adding vinegar (or lemon juice) to the pastries helps stop the gluten developing, resulting in a shorter, more tender pastry.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 3: Chill your pastry
Pastry should always be chilled before you work it; otherwise it will shrink, lose shape or melt if too warm.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 3: Dust off any excess flour
Be sure to dust off any excess flour during the rolling and folding process, otherwise it toughens the pastry.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 4: Don’t cut the resting time short
Don’t cut the resting times short; the equal consistency of the base and the butter results in even layers and beautiful flaky pastry.
Tip 5: Use shortcrust pastry for the base, and puff pastry for the lid
Using shortcrust pastry for the base makes it easier to handle, especially when eating individual pies. A base isn’t necessary for a large pie, but will add a good ratio of pastry to filling.
The top, meanwhile, is made from buttery puff pastry, which is light and crisp, and will rise in the oven. Err on the side of too dark when baking; the pie will be all the better for it.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 6: Use metal pie tins
The best pie tins are made of metal – they produce a crisp base – but ceramic can also be used. If you’re making individual pies, bear in mind the cooking time will vary.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Tip 7: Pierce a hole in the centre of the puff pastry lid
This allows steam to escape during the baking process.
(Photo credit: Alicia Taylor)
Ingredients
Beef cheek filling
Puff pastry
Pastry base
To assemble
Method
1.Heat oil in a large casserole over medium heat. Add mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up, until browned (6-8 minutes). Transfer mince to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat in pan.
2.Add beef cheek, in batches, to casserole in a single layer and brown over medium-high heat (4-5 minutes). Drain fat into a bowl and reserve. Deglaze pan with half the wine, scraping base, then transfer beef-cheek mixture to a bowl
3.Wipe casserole clean, then return fat to casserole with onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary, stirring over low heat until onion is tender (10 minutes). Add celery and stir until tender (10 minutes). Stir in vinegar, half the stock and remaining wine, and simmer until flavours combine (5 minutes). Add tomato, remaining stock, beef-cheek mixture and mince, and season to taste with 1 tsp salt and ¾ tsp freshly ground white pepper. Simmer, covered, over low heat until beef cheeks are almost tender (about 1½ hours). Stir through mushrooms and simmer until softened (10 minutes).
4.Mix potato starch with 60ml (¼ cup) cold water in a bowl until smooth, then stir it through beef mixture to combine. Bring back to the boil, then remove from heat and transfer to a container to cool. Refrigerate overnight to chill and thicken. Meanwhile, prepare pastry.
Puff pastry
5.Dice 135gm butter (refrigerate remainder). Combine flour, salt and diced butter on low speed in a food processor until it resembles sand (about 1 minute). Add vinegar and 305ml water, and mix on low speed until just combined and smooth (about 2 minutes). Shape dough into a 2cm-thick rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6.Roll out dough to a 20cm x 50cm rectangle. Cover and refrigerate. Place remaining chilled butter between two sheets of baking paper and beat with a rolling pin into a 20cm square. The butter should remain cold yet pliable. Place butter 10cm from one end of the pastry, fold bottom third of pastry over butter, then fold over remaining third of pastry to cover.
7.Turn dough 90 degrees clockwise and roll pastry away from you to a 20cm x 50cm rectangle. Fold top third of dough down, then bottom third over again. Turn 90 degrees and repeat, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8.Repeat folding and rolling twice more (4 folds in total), then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
9.Halve dough and roll one half to a 4mm-thick round, or cut individual 4mm-thick rounds (freeze remainder for another use for up to 2 months). Cover and refrigerate until required.
Pastry base
10.Combine flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse until it resembles fine crumbs with no lumps left. Combine vinegar with 60ml water and add to flour mixture. Pulse a couple of times until a dough forms.
11.Shape dough into a disc about 2cm thick, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
12.Bring dough to room temperature (20 minutes), then roll out to a 4mm-thick round. If making individual pies, cut rounds about 1cm larger than pie tins.
To assemble
13.Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 25cm-28cm pie tin (see note) with pastry base dough, pressing well into the sides. Fill with chilled beef-cheek filling. Brush edge of pastry with eggwash and top with puff pastry lid. Pierce a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape. Trim edges, press all the way around to seal, and brush top with eggwash. Use trimmings to create decorations and brush with eggwash again. Bake until pie is deep golden, pastry is cooked through and filling is hot (40-45 minutes).
To peel tomatoes, score the bases with a cross and hold them over a flame until skin blisters and can be easily removed. Alternatively, score bases and blanch tomatoes in a saucepan of boiling water.
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