Ground Beef Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 lbground beef
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 2 tbspall-purpose flour, for thickening
• 2 1/2 ozmushrooms, chopped
• 1 cupbeef stock
• Worcestershire sauce, a couple of dashes
• 14 ozshortcrust pastry (ready-made)
• 1egg yolk, for glazing the pastry

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat and fry the ground beef for 4 to 5 minutes, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink.

2. 2

   Add the chopped onion and cook for 2–3 minutes, then stir the tomato paste in and give it another 2–3 minutes to darken.

3. 3

   Sprinkle the flour over and cook it for a minute, stirring, so it thickens the gravy without tasting raw.

4. 4

   Add the mushrooms, the beef stock and a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes until thick.

5. 5

   Leave the filling to cool for about 30 minutes before it goes anywhere near the pastry. Hot filling melts the fat in shortcrust and you lose the crisp base. Heat the oven to 400°F for the last 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Tip the cooled filling into a 1-liter pie dish. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until it is a little larger than the dish, drape it over and press it firmly onto the rim.

7. 7

   Beat the egg yolk. Trim the overhanging pastry and flute the edge, then cut leaves from the trimmings and stick them on with a dab of the yolk.

8. 8

   Cut three or four slits in the lid to let the steam out and brush the whole top with the rest of the egg yolk.

9. 9

   Bake for 20–25 minutes, until deep golden, and serve cut into wedges.

Nutrition per serving