Recipe OF THE WEEK

GAMES OF THRONES BEEF AND BACON PIE

Serves 6 † 450g stewing beef, cubed † 2 tbsp olive oil † 10 strips thick-cut bacon † 2 carrots, chopped † 1 onion, chopped † 235ml red wine † 235ml beef broth † 150g raisins † 2 bay leaves † 1 tsp chopped thyme

† ½ tsp ground allspice † 500g shortcrust pastry † 1 tbsp flour, for dusting † Salt and black pepper METHOD 1 Preheat oven to 170C/325F and season beef. 2 In a casserole dish, brown beef in olive oil. Remove and set aside.

3 Add diced bacon and cook until crispy. Remove and set aside, leaving fat behind.

4 Add carrots to bacon fat, sauté until they are softened, then add onion. Keep cooking until onion is soft and beginning to caramelise.

5 Add beef, red wine, beef broth, raisins, herbs and spices.

6 Cover casserole dish with lid. Put in oven to braise for 1–2 hours until beef is tender. 7 Break beef into smaller pieces and stir in bacon. 8 Increase oven to 190C/375F and roll out pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Grease and line two 12oz ramekins with pie dough. There should be enough dough left over to top them. Trim away excess. 9 Spoon beef mixture into each ramekin. 10 Roll out dough again and top each ramekin with a layer of dough. Crimp edges of pie to seal and cut vents into the centre.

11 Bake pies for about 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

■ Geeky Chef Strikes Back! by Cassandra Reeder. Published by Race Point Publishing

This warming pie inspired by Game of Thrones mixes salty bacon with sweet dried fruits PICTURE:RACEPOINTPUBLISHING/THEQUARTOGROUP