Steak & chips pie

All the flavour of steak and chips, with red wine gravy, in a pie.

Serves 6 Prep 20 mins Cook 3½ hrs unbaked

2 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for

the dish

6 thin slices braising steak

(about 750g-1kg)

2 onions, chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped

1 tsp treacle or sugar

1 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting 175ml red wine

600ml beef stock made with 2 cubes ½ bunch thyme

3 bay leaves

500g block shortcrust pastry

800g frozen oven chips or fries

1 Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat half oil in a flameproof casserole pan and brown the steaks really well on either side, then set aside. Add the onions and carrots to the pan, drizzle over a little more oil, then cook over a low heat for 5 mins until coloured. Add the treacle or sugar, and scatter in the flour, stirring until you have a brown paste. Tip the meat and any juices back into the pan and stir. Pour over the wine and stock, season, tuck in the herbs and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for about 2 hrs, or until the meat is tender, then leave to cool and chill until needed. Can be prepared up to two days ahead and chilled.

2 Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 with a baking sheet inside. Oil a 24-28cm pie dish (ideally with a lip) and dust well with flour. Roll out the pastry to a thick-ish round then use it to line the dish with a slight overhang. Lift the steak out of the gravy, then spoon in the vegetables and a little of the gravy. Lay the steaks over the top to form an overlapping layer (serve any leftover gravy alongside in a small jug). Pile the chips over the meat. Trim the edges of the pastry and crimp the edge.

3 Bake for 40 mins until the chips and pie crust are golden – cover the chips loosely if they are browning too quickly. Scatter over some salt then serve straight from the dish. PER SERVING 972 kcals, fat 48g, saturates 16g,

carbs 4g, sugars 9g, fibre 11g, protein 37g, salt 1.7g