SPICED BRAISED BEEF PIE

Spiced braised beef pie image

This puff pastry pie is filled with tender slow-cooked beef flavoured with cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise and soy sauce- seriously sumptuous

Provided by Angela Boggiano

Time 2h20m

Number Of Ingredients 15

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Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1kg good-quality braising steak , cut into 2.5cm chunks
1 large onion , finely chopped
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
small piece ginger , finely chopped
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
25g plain flour , plus a little extra for dusting
1 tbsp tomato purée
3 medium carrots , cut into large chunks
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
100ml soy sauce
3 red chillies , left whole, but pierced
375g pack ready rolled all-butter puff pastry
1 egg , beaten

Steps:

Heat half the oil in a heavy-based flameproof casserole pan on a medium heat. Fry the meat in batches until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.
Turn down the heat, add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for a few mins until starting to soften. Crush the Sichuan peppercorns using a pestle and mortar, then add the flour and mix well. Add the spiced flour to the onion, mix well until all the onion is coated, then return the meat to the pan along with the tomato purée, carrots, star anise and cinnamon. Give everything a good stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 min.
Add the soy sauce, chillies and 400ml water. Bring up to a simmer and cook very slowly - the sauce should be bubbling gently but not boiling - for 1½ hrs until the meat is really tender. Leave to cool.
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Once cool, spoon the filling into a 2-litre pie dish, removing the cinnamon stick, chillies and star anise. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface until it is about 2cm larger than the dish. Put a pie funnel in the middle of the pie (it will stop the pastry sinking and becoming soggy).
Brush the edges of the dish with a little of the egg to help the pastry seal. Lay the pastry over the top, pressing down well. Pierce centre and trim off the excess pastry with a sharp knife. Brush liberally with egg and bake for 30-35 mins.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 586 calories, Fat 32 grams fat, SaturatedFat 13 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 34 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 9 grams sugar, Fiber 3 grams fiber, Protein 40 grams protein, Sodium 5.6 milligram of sodium