Beef, Onion and Red Wine Pie

Last week Wil gave me the new Donna Hay cookbook for my birthday.  Seasons is a collection of her best seasonal recipes from her magazine over the years, beautifully shot as usual. On Saturday morning, over a cup of coffee I sat down and leafed through the Autumn and Winter chapters in search of a tasty mid-week meal to prepare. 

One thing about New Zealanders is we love pies. Not the fruity kind like the Americans (well, we do like those too) but the meaty kind, steaming hot, freshly made and with a super light crust. Pies are one of the foods I miss most from home, whether the greasy service station version on the way home from a night out, to the delicious award-winning gourmet version fresh from the bakery on a Saturday morning. I haven't managed to get my hands on a pie since leaving NZ and so when I stumbled upon a page or so of pie recipes I had to give one a try.  I decided to start with the beef, onion and red wine pie and it did not disappoint.

I prepared the pie filling the night before so that it would work as mid-week meal without us having to wait until midnight for dinner. It was straightforward and quickly achieved in between Sunday dinner and dessert.  Then all I had to do tonight was roll out the pastry (I cheated a little and used store-bought) pour the filling into my shiny new ramekins, put on the tops and bake.  Then I had plenty of time to prepare my vegies and get everything on for tomorrow night's tea (it's a good'un be sure to check back!).

Wil proclaimed this an 8 out of 10, later revised to a 10 but I think that was more out of admiration for the chef than the dish itself. I don't think it is my favourite pie, but it certainly was good and I would recommend it.  The only changes made were to halve the recipes as I was just making it for the two of us and the store only had two ramekins so we have no lunch portion for tomorrow.  Because I made individual pies instead of one large pie I also only used to pastry top them, which has the added bonus that I still have enough for another round of pies next week, I think a chicken pie will be up next!

2 tbsp olive oil

1kg beef chuck steak, chopped

1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 up red wine

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp thyme leaves

2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

1/4 cup water, extra

1 x 200g sheet store-bought shortcrust pastry, thawed

1 x 375g block store-bought puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat a large saucepan over nigh heat. Add the oil and beef and cook in batches for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock, water, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cooker for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. Combine the cornflour and extra water, add to the beef mixture and cook, stirring for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened. Set aside to cool completely.

Line a 22cm pie dish with the shortcrust pastry. Spoon the beef mixture into the fish. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until 3-4mm thick. Cut out a 22cm round, place on top of the pie, press the edges of the pastry together a trim. Brush the top of the pie with the egg and make a slit in the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden.

Serves 4.