You could make the puff pastry if you wish (the recipe is in the book), but we cheated and used a pack instead. It does take time to make this recipe, but you could make the filling in advance if you wish and it’s so worth it! We made the full amount but then put half of the filling in the pie and the other half in the freezer – things like this always taste good after freezing.

Ingredients (serves 4-6, fills a dish roughly 1.5 litres in capacity)

For the filling

10g dried porcini mushrooms

200ml very hot water

100g lardons (diced streaky bacon)

800g lean boneless stewing steak (chuck or skirt) cut into 5cm cubes

About 2 tbsp olive oil (if needed)

3 shallots, peeled and quartered

1 tbsp plain flour

500ml red wine

2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely sliced (we don’t have a crusher, so we sliced it!)

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper

1 375g pack all-butter puff pastry (thawed if frozen)

Beaten egg, to glaze

Method

1. Heat your oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the dried mushrooms into a heatproof bowl, pour over the very hot water and leave to soak and rehydrate until needed.

2. Put the lardons into a cold flameproof casserole dish and set over medium heat (we have a stoneware one that only goes in the oven, so we used a large non-stick pan for this bit). Fry, stirring frequently until the fat melts and the lardons are golden. Remove from the dish/pan with a slotted spoon to leave the fat in the pan, and set aside for later.

3. Add the beef to the dish/pan a few pieces at a time, and fry until brown on all sides (add a little oil here if needed). As each batch of beef is browned, transfer to a large plate with a slotted spoon. Then add the shallots and brown quickly, before removing and adding to the beef.

4. Turn the heat down to low and add the flour to the dish/pan. Stir until slightly coloured, stir in the wine and the mushrooms with their soaking liquid. Return the beef and shallots to the dish/pan along with the garlic, bay leaf, and a little salt and pepper (go easy on the salt – the lardons are salty!).

5. Bring everything to the boil. If using a casserole dish, cover and put in the oven. If not, transfer from your pan into an oven-proof dish, then cover and place in the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is very tender.

6. Remove the bay leaf from the dish. Stir in the lardons and then adjust the seasoning as required. If cooking the pie in the same dish, place your pie raiser (or egg cup) in the middle, and leave the whole thing to cool. (I must admit that we didn’t leave it to cool, mainly because we started cooking it later than we anticipated! So we just put the mixture in a new dish – see next step).

7. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, and trim the lid to the correct size of your dish. Then cut some 1cm strips of pastry and use a little water to dampen the rim of the dish, before pressing the pastry strips so they completely cover the edge. Join the ends and trim as necessary.

8. If you’re using a separate dish, fill it with filling and then place your pie raiser in the centre. Then (for either method!) dampen the pastry strip with water, cut a hole in the lid where the raiser will be and then place the lid on top. Press the edges carefully to seal it, and decorate it if you wish.

9. The recipe says to chill the pie at this point as the oven heats up to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. We ignored that bit too, and it was fine! Brush the pie with beaten egg to glaze, and then bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for a further 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Serve with some vegetables and mash or roasties. Yum!

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The original recipe for the steak and ale filling is from the BBC food website (I have adapted here from this pie recipe) and the cobbler originally comes from this recipe.

Ingredients

For the filling

1 kg/2lb 4oz braising steak, cut into matchbox-sized pieces

3 tbsp plain flour

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

300ml/ 1/2 pint brown ale (I used Guinness)

2 garlic cloves

2 onions

250g/ 9oz carrots

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

handful fresh thyme sprigs

300ml/ 1/2 pint good quality beef stock (I used a Knorr beef stock pot)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

250g button mushrooms

For the cobbler

200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp mixed herbs
2 tsp oil
150ml plain, unsweetened yoghurt

Method

1. Mix the beef with the flour and some salt and pepper. An easy way to do this without making too much mess is to put everything into a large food bag, seal, then shake well.

2. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large heatproof casserole up to a medium heat, then add half of the beef, shaking off the excess flour and keeping the chunks well-spaced so they fry rather than sweat. The original recipe says to brown for about 10 minutes, but it didn’t take that long so just cook until golden-brown all over.

3. Transfer the first batch of meat to a bowl, then add a splash of brown ale or water to the pan and scrape up any meaty bits. Tip the liquid into the bowl of meat. Wipe out the pan with some kitchen paper, then add a tablespoon of oil and brown the second batch of beef. When the beef is golden-brown transfer it to the bowl and set aside. Repeat until all the beef is cooked.

4. Chop the garlic, onion, and carrots into chunky pieces. Add the final spoon of oil to the pan and heat gently. Add the vegetables and herbs to the pan and fry to soften for a few minutes.

5. Put the beef back into the pan. Pour in the stock and brown ale, then add the tomato purée and balsamic vinegar. If necessary, add a little more stock or hot water to ensure the meat is covered in liquid (this will prevent the beef from drying out). Bring to the boil then cover and simmer the stew for 1-1½ hours until the beef is almost tender and the sauce has thickened. Chop the mushrooms in half and then add about half an hour in, stirring well.

6. The original recipe then says to set aside to cool, overnight if possible. But we wanted to have this for dinner (and I hadn’t started it early enough) so I just put some of it into an oven proof dish whilst making the cobbler. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6.

7. Make the cobbler dough by sifting plain flour and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the herbs. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and yoghurt, bringing it all together to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut into rounds, and then place them on top of the meat.

8. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cobbler is golden brown. Enjoy!

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