Ground beef Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 lbground beef
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 2 tbspall-purpose flour, approx 1.5 tbsp; 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 oven to 400°F/gas 6.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a deep skillet and fry the ground beef for 4–5 minutes, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it browns.

3. 3

   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.

4. 4

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

5. 5

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

6. 6

   Leave the filling to cool before it goes anywhere near the pastry. Hot filling melts the fat in shortcrust and you lose the crisp base.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

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

9. 9

   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.

10. 10

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