INDIVIDUAL BEEF PIES WITH OYSTERS

If you’ve never eaten the classic combination of beef and oysters, you should try it. I made this in Cornwall where chef Paul Ainsworth and I got amazing oysters from Luke, the oyster farmer at Porthilly Farm. The place is perfect for oyster production thanks to the tidal stream bringing seawater to feed and filter the oysters.

Serves 6

3tbsp vegetable oil

2kg (4lb 8oz) shin of beef, diced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 shallots, peeled and diced

500ml (18fl oz) beef stock

250ml (9fl oz) British bitter

A little plain flour, for rolling out

500g (1lb 2oz) ready-made puff pastry 2 egg yolks, whisked

For the oysters (optional)

A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley

100g (3½oz) sourdough bread, roughly chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

12 just-shucked oysters in their shells

Heat the oil in a large, nonstick casserole dish then fry the meat in batches until well browned all over. Transfer each batch to a plate and season well. Once all the meat has been browned, return to the dish with the shallots and pour the stock and beer in. Cover, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours. Spoon into a large shallow dish and cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/ gas 6 and set out 6 x 12.5cm pie dishes ready to assemble your pies. (We used mini ovenproof saucepans.) Lightly dust a clean work surface with a little flour then roll out the pastry until it is 2mm thick. Using the top of a 12.5cm pie dish as a guide, cut out 6 circles slightly larger than the pie dishes.

Fill your dishes with the stew, then brush the edges of the pastry lids with egg wash, turn over and lay on top of the dishes. Seal the edges then brush the tops with egg wash. Sit the pies on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes, until crisp and golden.

To prepare the oysters (if using), put the parsley and bread into a food processor then blitz to make fine breadcrumbs. Add the lemon zest and blitz again. Season well. Arrange the oysters on a baking tray, spoon the crumb mixture on top and bake on the top shelf for 10 minutes. To serve, pop each pie onto a plate with 2 oysters per person.

The bandstand in Whitby harbour in North Yorkshire might not be an obvious place to cook a lamb dish, but from here you can see the amazing moorland all around the town that stretches for miles inland, with sheep grazing on the heather and grassland. The heather honey works so well in this dish, as do the heather flowers and elderflowers, if you can find them in season. Serves 4

4 x 125g (4½oz) lamb loins or fillets

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1tbsp olive oil

1tbsp heather honey (from supermarkets) A small bunch of fresh heather, flowers picked (optional)

25g (1oz) butter