Think Green

Brown the beef, this means actually browning it, not just searing it because you need to create a good dark colour to your stew.  So make sure your pan is hot and do small batches so as not to lower the pan heat.  Remove – to a casserole dish.

Sear the onions and carrot, add to the casserole dish.

Deglaze your pan by adding a spoonful of stock and scraping the base of pan until it is ‘clean’.  The liquid will have mostly evaporated, add the flour and stir into the juices in the pan, brown and then slowly add the remaining stock, followed by half of the beer.  Pour this over the meat and add more beer to just cover the beef and vegetables.

Season well – I mean really well and taste it.  Add the herbs and mace.  Stir well and cook in the covered casserole dish in a moderate oven for 11/2 hours or until the meat is tender and falls off a fork when prodded.

Make the pastry:

Put cubed fats and flour and pulse in a food processor until it has turned to crumbs.  Add the water and pulse until it forms lumps.  Turn onto a floured table and lightly knead into a ball, cover and rest for 20 mins.

Roll the pastry into the shape of your pie dish.

Fill the pie dish with the meat filling, cover with your pastry lid and crimp the edges.  Use your left over pieces of pastry to cut out a pastry shamrock to decorate the pie.  Egg wash the pastry and bake in the oven180º- 190º for 30 mins or until the pastry is golden brown.  Use a temperature probe to test the heat at the centre of the pie, it should be 75º or over.

Serve with a pint of ice cold Guinness and some creamy mash.