Good Old Steak and Guinness Pie

Good Old Steak and Guinness Pie (serves 6)

1.5 lb stewing beef, diced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaping Tbsp flour
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
4 sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
1 handful of fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme and bay)
2.5 cups Guinness or other stout
2- 14 oz cans of tomatoes
1- 1lb 2oz package of puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg, beaten

Season your beef generously with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the flour and toss around until coated. Heat 2 or 3 glugs of olive oil in a large casserole-type pan and fry your meat, in 2 batches if need be, until golden brown. Add the onion and fry for 1 more minute, then add the carrot, celery, parsnips and herbs. Fry for a further 4 minutes then pour in your Guinness. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Stir around, then simmer for around 2 hours or until the meat is really tender. The sauce should be nice and thinck with an intensely tasty flavor. Season. At this point you could serve it as a stew with mashed potatoes, or it will keep really well for a good 5 days in the fridge (while improving in flavor at the same time).

To make the pies, preheat the oven to 375F. Put your meat filling into an appropriately sized baking dish or dishes. You can make small individual pies- any high-sided reound oven proof bowls are fine - or you can put in a large casserole dish. Roul out pastry, dusting with flour, until 1/4 inch thick. If making individual pies, cut out circles about 1/2 inch bigger than the tops of bowls. Brush the rims of the bowls with beaten egg, then polace the pastry circles on top, squashing the excess pastry down the outside of the bowls to secure. Lightly score the top of the pastry in a criss-cross fashion and brush with more of the beaten egg. If using a casserole dish, brush rim with egg, place rectangle of pastry on top, score top, and brush with beaten egg. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 45min until golden and bubbling.

**Missy's note: in my opinion you can use any variety of root veggies: carrots, potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga...