Meat Pie

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 kg Blade Steak, chopped into 2-3cm pieces or you can use 500gr mince meat
1 Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Plain Flour
1 cup Beef Stock
400 g can Diced Tomatoes
2 Carrots, chopped
375 g Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
1 cup Frozen Peas
1 Egg, lightly beaten

How to make it;

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and cook meat in 4 batches, over high heat, until well-browned. Set aside on a plate. Add onion to pan and cook, over medium heat, until soft and golden-brown.
2. Sprinkle flour into pan and cook, stirring, for about 30 secs. Gradually add stock, stirring and scraping bottom of the pan. Add tomatoes, meat and any juices to the pan, and stir to combine.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to very low and simmer, with lid tilted slightly, for 1 hr. Add carrot and cook for a further hour. Remove lid from pan for the final 15 mins of cooking and stir regularly, until gravy has reduced and thickened. Stir in peas and cool completely.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan. Spoon meat mixture into a 5-cup capacity pie dish. Roll pastry out to about 4 cm larger than the top of your pie dish. Cut long strips about 1cm wide, and press them onto lip of the dish.
5. Nestle a pie bird in the centre of the meat mixture. Cut a cross in the centre of the pastry. Dampen pastry strips slightly with wet fingertips. Lay remaining pastry on top, easing the cut cross over the pie bird. Trim away excess pastry, and use a fork to press on the pastry strip. Brush with egg, and bake for 25 mins, or until golden brown.

You can make the meat mixture up to 2 days in advance. Keep refrigerated, but return almost to room temperature before baking, so it heats through properly. If you don’t have a pie bird, just cut four slits in the top of the pastry.