Shin of Beef Stew

As I write this, I have an overwhelming urge to sit down and eat a mince pie. Why? Because I’m cooking shin of beef. More particularly, because I’m cooking shin of beef in a winey, tomatoey, cinnamon sauce that is filling the house with the scent of mulled wine.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1.3kg shin of beef, chopped into rough 2-inch cubes
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 3 red onions, roughly chopped
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 3 cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C.
• Put the bulb of garlic, whole and entirely unpeeled, into a pan of hot water and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool before peeling the cloves and mashing them. The result is a mellow garlic paste.
• Heat the oil in a large casserole and cook the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and cinnamon on a medium heat for about five minutes.
• Meanwhile, toss the pieces of beef in seasoned flour and then add to the pot with the vegetables.
• Add the wine, the chopped tomatoes, and the bay leaf.
• Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 3 hours.
• Serve with mashed potatoes, and a leafy green vegetable.

Meat and Potato Pie

My parents visited last week. They’ve been following the Atkins diet since just after Christmas, so for a long weekend we ended up eating a lot more meat (And cream. Mmmm.) than we had been for a couple of months. But how frustrating it is not to be able to treat your nearest and dearest with really indulgent, comforting food! Couple this with a healthy helping of nostalgia, and I was left with a burning desire to make a meat and potato pie. The kind of pie my mum would have made when we were growing up: tender beef, rich gravy, and a layer of shortcrust pastry just teetering on the safe side of stodgy.

Serves: 2 (1 pregnant woman, 1 Man)

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 1lb stewing beef, diced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp gravy granules
• 1lb potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
• pinch of salt

For the pastry:

• 3 oz plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 oz margarine and lard
• cold water

Method:

• Put the onion and beef in a pan and add water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• For the pastry, rub the margarine and lard into the flour until it forms crumbs. Add cold water little by little, stirring with a knife, until the mixture just comes together. Knead lightly for a minute, then flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
• As the meat reaches the end of its simmering time, cook the potatoes until they are just tender. Drain them, then set aside.
• When the meat is cooked, drain off the cooking liquid and reserve it. Thicken this cooking liquid with gravy granules. You shold need about a tablespoon. (If you were to use a stock cube and maybe even some red wine instead of just plain water when you cooked your meat you could thicken this cooking stock with flour, but I’m making this pie the way my mother would have made hers, and that is, unashamedly, with gravy granules!).
• Divide the pastry into two segments, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger section and line your pie dish with it. The pastry can fall over the edges of the pie dish; you can always trim it later, and it is better and easier to seal the lid to the pastry rather than to the pie dish. Put the cooked meat into the bottom of the pie dish, then pop the potatoes on top, and lastly, add plenty of the gravy.
• Roll out the remaining pastry and place gently over the pie. You can moisten the edges of the pastry with water or milk to help it to seal, and remember to press down, with fingers or  a fork. Cut slits in the top of the pastry to allow any steam out.
• Cook in the preheated oven for forty to fifty minutes.
• Devour.

There are certainly things I could change about this recipe to improve it. My pastry was far too thin and didn’t rest against the filling, so it became a little crisp rather than soft and comforting dream I was imagining. Easily solved. More pastry next time, and plenty of gravy should solve that problem. I sent P. up to the butchers to buy the meat as well, and bought a generic ‘stewing steak’ that I’m guessing might be brisket. I wonder if I might get a more unctuous, tender meat if I used a cut such as shin. But it has been months – no, years – since I’ve had a homecooked pie, so the complaints are few!