Beef, Stilton and Onion Pie

This is just one of the amazing pies in Calum Franklin’s The Pie Room which will happily give you projects to work through all winter. He says it’s for ‘wintry days when the roads are blocked and you are snowed in’ but I’d be perfectly happy to have it on a grey November day. However one can’t argue with Calum’s conclusion that it’s ‘rich, decadent and best followed by a nap on the couch’.

Beef, Stilton and Onion Pie

SERVES 4–6

300g rough puff pastry (or shop-bought puff pastry) There is obviously a recipe for rough puff pastry in the book.

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for brushing

For the filling

600g beef chuck steak, cut into 4cm dice

100g plain flour

40ml vegetable oil

4 Spanish onions, peeled and halved but with the roots left on

400g chestnut mushrooms, halved

1 teaspoon table salt

300ml red wine

2 bay leaves

3 thyme sprigs

2 litres beef stock

100g Stilton cheese, broken into 2cm nuggets

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

pie dish (25cm long and 5cm deep)

Preheat the oven to 220°C fan/240°C/gas mark 9.

To prepare the filling, put the beef in a roasting tray, dust with the flour and toss the beef until all the flour has been absorbed by the meat. Add 20ml of the vegetable oil to the tray and toss well to make sure the meat is evenly coated. Put the tray in to the preheated oven and roast the beef for 20 minutes until browned and any juices released during cooking have evaporated.

While the beef is roasting, cut each onion half into six wedges through the root to leave petals. Put a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the remaining 20ml of vegetable oil and warm for 1 minute. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the onions have started to brown. Add the mushrooms to the pan with half the salt and continue to cook for a further 3 minutes until the mushrooms have just softened. Next, add the red wine, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer.

After 20 minutes, remove the beef from the oven and check it is nicely browned. If not, return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes. When the beef is ready, tip the onions, mushrooms, herbs and red wine into the roasting tray over the top of the meat. Put the frying pan back on the heat and pour in the beef stock – half at a time, if necessary – and bring to a simmer. Add to the tray with all the other pie filling ingredients.

At this stage, take the time to make sure the beef is not stuck to the bottom of the roasting tray: using a wooden spoon, dislodge any caramelised chunks of meat. Working carefully as the tray is hot, tightly cover the top of the tray with aluminium foil. Return the tray to the oven and continue to cook at 220°C fan/240°C/gas mark 9 for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C fan/180°C/gas mark 4 and set a timer for 1¾ hours.

While the filling is braising, prepare the pastry. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 5mm thick circle large enough to cover the pie dish. Slide the rolled-out pastry onto the lined tray and chill in the refrigerator for at least 25 minutes. Set aside any pastry trimmings for decoration.

After the beef has been braising for 1¾ hours, remove the tray from the oven and, using a dish towel to protect your hands, carefully peel back a corner of the foil. Spoon out one chunk of beef and check to make sure it is tender. It is okay if the beef has a little bite left in it, but it should not be chewy. If necessary, pop the tray back in the oven for a further 15 minutes and check again.

When the beef is ready, carefully remove all the foil from the roasting tray. Place a colander over a large bowl and tip in the filling. Let the mixture strain for a couple of minutes, then place the contents of the colander back into the tray and spread around to cool down. Transfer the strained liquid from the bowl to a large saucepan, bring to a simmer over a medium heat and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with the pepper and the remaining salt, adding a little at a time, stirring and tasting until it has the correct level of seasoning. Pour the reduced liquid over the mixture in the tray and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to speed up the process. Once the mixture is cool, transfer the filling to the pie dish and level the surface. Nudge the nuggets of Stilton into the filling, distributing them evenly across the surface but avoiding the sides.

Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan/220°C/gas mark 7.

Brush the rim of the pie dish with the egg wash, brushing about 2.5cm down the sides of the dish. Lay the pastry circle centrally across the top of the dish, allowing it to rest lightly on top of the filling. (The pastry lid should not be taut as it may droop during cooking and tear.) Press firmly down on the pastry against the egg-brushed rim of the dish to seal all the way round. Lightly brush the pie lid with more egg wash and decorate however you prefer using the reserved pastry trimming and then brush that with egg wash. Return the pie to the refrigerator and chill for a further 20 minutes.

Place the dish on a rack in the centre of the preheated oven and bake the pie for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the core temperature of the filling has reached at least 70°C on a digital probe thermometer. Alternatively, poke the tip of a knife through the pie into the middle of the filling and leave it there for a few seconds – it should be hot to the touch. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the dish around in the oven to ensure an even bake. Serve the pie simply with some boiled new potatoes and slow-roasted carrots.

What to drink: This justifies a really good red Bordeaux or other top notch cabernet sauvignon.

See also The best wine and beer pairings for steak pie

Extract taken from The Pie Room by Calum Franklin (Bloomsbury Absolute, £26)

Photography © John Carey (edited for the web)

Romy Gill's lamb harissa

One of the most beautiful and original books that has been published recently is Romy Gill's On the Himalayan Trail which focusses on the food of Kashmir and Ladakh. Here's her recipe for lamb harissa which - surely a bonus for meateaters - is commonly garnished with a sheekh kebab. I also like the idea it's a brunch dish!

Romy writes: "Harissa is better with lamb, but it can be made with chicken, too. Traditionally, the harissa is cooked overnight and served up at family brunches – it’s a staple of many Kashmiri households. I’ve cut down the cooking time here, but the result is just as delicious.

SERVES 10–12

INGREDIENTS

SUNFLOWER OIL, FOR DEEP-FRYING

500 G (1 LB 2 OZ) SHALLOTS, THINLY SLICED

1 KG (2 LB 4 OZ) LEG OF LAMB

2.5 LITRES (87 FL OZ/10 CUPS) WATER

12 GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED

11/2 TEASPOONS SALT

2 TEASPOONS GROUND GINGER

1 TABLESPOON FENNEL SEEDS

6 WHOLE CLOVES

8 CM (3 IN) CINNAMON STICK

10 GREEN CARDAMOM PODS

6 BLACK CARDAMOM PODS

6 BLACK PEPPERCORNS

75 G (21/2 OZ/GENEROUS 1/3 CUP) RICE FLOUR

250 ML (81/2 FL OZ/1 CUP) MILK

4 TEASPOONS GHEE, TO SERVE

Pour sunflower oil into a deep, heavy-based pan to a depth of 8 cm (3 in). Place over a medium heat and heat to 180°C/350°F on a digital thermometer. Alternatively, you can drop in a tiny piece of bread: if it sizzles and browns in 15 seconds, the oil is hot enough.

Once the oil is hot, carefully add the shallots to the pan and deep-fry until crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Place the lamb leg in a large pan. and add the measured water. Bring to the boil and skim off and discard any scum that rises to the surface. When the broth is clear, add the garlic cloves, salt, ground ginger and all of the whole spices. Cook over a low heat for 3–4 hours, or until the meat falls away from the bone.

When the meat is cooked, remove from the heat and strain the cooking stock into a jug, discarding the whole spices. Remove the flesh from the bones and set the meat aside to rest.

Add the rice flour to the stock and whisk to combine, then place it back in the pan over a low heat. Add the milk and the cooked meat, and cook for at least 1 hour, stirring frequently, until the gravy is smooth.

Leave to rest before eating. In Kashmir, they eat it warm, hot or cold. When ready to eat, divide among bowls. Heat the ghee and pour it over the harissa, then serve garnished with sheekh kebabs and the crispy fried shallots.

For the sheekh kebabs

SERVES 3–4

INGREDIENTS

1 KG (2 LB 4 OZ) MINCED (GROUND) LAMB (IDEALLY LEG MEAT)

2–3 TEASPOONS KASHMIRI CHILLI POWDER

11/2 TEASPOONS SALT

1 TEASPOON DRIED MINT

1 TSP GROUND CUMIN

1 TEASPOON SAFFRON STRANDS

1 TSP BLACK CARDAMOM SEEDS, CRUSHED TO A POWDER IN A PESTLE AND MORTAR

1/2 TEASPOON BLACK CUMIN SEEDS, CRUSHED TO A POWDER IN A PESTLE AND MORTAR

HANDFUL OF FRESH CORIANDER (CILANTRO) LEAVES, CHOPPED, PLUS EXTRA TO SERVE

1 LARGE EGG, LIGHTLY BEATEN

TO SERVE

SLICED SHALLOTS

LIME WEDGES

CHUTNEY OF YOUR CHOICE (OPTIONAL)

Combine all the ingredients, except the egg, in a large mixing bowl. Mix together, kneading as you would a dough, until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for1 hour.

Remove from the refrigerator, then place the mixture in a food processor. Add the egg and blend to a paste.

Divide the mixture into 6 equal-sized portions. Wet your hands with cold water and mould each portion around a skewer, gently pressing and shaping each into a long sausage. With damp hands, smooth the surface of each kebab.

Meanwhile, prepare a barbecue or preheat the oven grill (broiler) to high.

Cook the skewers on the hot barbecue or under the grill for 8–10 minutes, turning them after 5 minutes and rotating them frequently until well browned and cooked on all sides.

Serve scattered with coriander and sliced shallots, with lime wedges for squeezing and a chutney of your choice, if you like.

What to drink: Romy suggests drinking chai with this (the Noon Chai in the book) but if you wanted to drink wine I'd choose a mellow aged red like a rioja gran reserva or a mature Lebanese red

Extracted from On the Himalayan Trail by Romy Gill published by Hardie Grant. Photography by Poras Chaudhary and Matt Russell

Layered sweet and sour beef stew (Lah'meh Fil Meh'leh)

So many cookbooks these days have similar dishes that it's great to come across one that includes recipes you won't find elsewhere. That's absolutely the case with Eat Share Love a collection of recipes and stories from the home cooks of Bristol's 91 language communities collated by food writer and campaigner Kalpna Woolf.

This unusual sweet and sour Syrian stew from Viviane Bowell sounds really delicious and I can't wait to make it

Viviane writes: "My mother’s family originates from Aleppo in Syria. My grandparents left in 1910 for economic reasons and settled in Egypt as it had become the new El Dorado, due to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The Jews of Aleppo had developed an elite cooking style which featured fine ingredients such as cinnamon and allspice, and exotic flavours such as tamarind paste and pomegranate molasses. Dried fruits were commonly available in the markets of Aleppo and were added to all sorts of vegetable and meat dishes. This remained very much my grandmother’s style of cooking. She taught my mother everything she knew, and I have tried to keep the tradition going in my own way.

I have shared two Syrian Jewish recipes for this book: layered beef stew (opposite) and borekas, which you can find on page 142. These little pies are the trademark and the pride of Jews of Spanish descent. Their ancestors were expelled from Spain in 1492 and most of them settled in the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans. My father’s family moved from there to Egypt just before the First World War as the Ottoman Empire had by then disintegrated. Borekas were a staple in my family and part of my childhood. Every housewife had her own variation and prided herself that hers were the best. The ones I remember most fondly are my mother’s as her pastry just melted in the mouth.

LAH’MEH FIL MEH’LEH (LAYERED SWEET AND SOUR BEEF STEW)

This Syrian Jewish dish favours the sweet and sour combination of ingredients. It’s very easy to prepare, as it’s all cooked in one pot. The flavour will improve if prepared a day ahead and reheated in the oven before serving.

Preparation time: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 2+ hours • Serves 6-8

900g stewing beef
• 21⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄4 tsp black pepper
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 11⁄2 tsp allspice
• 2 medium onions
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 medium aubergine
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3⁄4 cup (134g) pitted prunes
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 21⁄2 cups (625ml) water
• 3 heaped tbsp tomato paste
• Juice of 2 lemons + 3 tbsp
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1⁄4 cup (51g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1⁄4 tsp salt

First, prepare the layers. Cube the stewing beef and then combine it with the salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl, mixing well with your hands. Cut the onions into wedges and separate them into layers, then peel and chop both types of potato into medium chunks. Cut the aubergine into 2cm cubes. Pour the vegetable oil into a heatproof casserole dish. Spread half the onions in a single layer over the oil. Place half the meat over the onions, pressing down firmly. If using a large saucepan, you may have to use all the onions in one layer and then all the meat. Add the vegetables in layers, beginning with the white potatoes, followed by the sweet potatoes, prunes and then aubergines, in that order. Press down firmly and then pour the chopped tomatoes over the vegetables.

Next, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, tomato paste, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce or molasses, tamarind paste, dark brown sugar and salt. Give the mixture a stir, quickly bring it to the boil and then pour the sauce over the layers in the casserole dish.

Cover with a lid and simmer the stew over a low heat for 1 hour. Correct the seasoning to taste. You may have to add more brown sugar, as the sauce should have a sweet-tart taste. Preheat the oven to 180°c (Gas Mark 4) and then transfer the casserole dish to the oven and cook for another 1 hour 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours until the potatoes and aubergines are soft. If necessary, cook uncovered for a further 15 minutes if the sauce needs to be reduced. Serve with white rice.

What to drink: There is actually a great Syrian red if you can get hold of it but otherwise I'd go for a full-bodied Lebanese red or a grenache/syrah/mourvedre blend. FB

Eat Share Love by Kalpna Woolf is published by Meze. All proceeds from the book go to the award-winning Charity 91 Ways to Build a Global City.

Tahini BBQ lamb chops with fresh plums and spiced plum sauce

Barbecue no longer automatically means burgers and ribs as Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co's recent book Chasing Smoke amply demonstrates. This is a gorgeous way of grilling and serving lamb chops

"If you can, buy nicely trimmed lamb racks without too much of a fat cap, so that you don’t need to worry about rendering fat off them before dividing into individual chops" they advise. "Be forewarned, though: there will be a fair amount of smoke while cooking these, so they are best grilled outside. We use tahini in a few different versions of BBQ sauce, as the sesame paste lends itself so well to roasted meats, adding a rich nutty note. Here we include anchovies for a savoury touch and pomegranate molasses for sweetness.

The accompanying plum sauce is like a chutney or Chinese plum sauce, with its sweet, sour and spicy flavours. It partners perfectly with these rich BBQ chops, and also works amazingly with a simple roast chicken or duck. The BBQ and plum sauces can either be made shortly before grilling the chops, or up to a couple of days in advance.

A feast for 4–6

2 racks of lamb, divided into 12–14 single chops
100 g / 31⁄2 oz baby red chard (or lamb’s lettuce
4 plums, halved and stones removed)

For the tahini BBQ sauce

150 g / 5 1⁄4 oz tahini paste
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced

2 salted anchovies, chopped

1 tsp pul biber or Aleppo chilli flakes
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

100 ml / 3 1⁄2 fl oz water, plus more if needed
1 tsp flaky sea salt

For the spiced plum sauce

Use a stick blender or a small food processor to blitz the BBQ sauce ingredients to a smooth, thick paste. You may need to add a little more water to reach the desired custard- like consistency, depending on the variety of tahini. You can use the BBQ sauce straight away or keep it in the fridge for a day or two until needed.

Put the plum wedges, sugar, garlic, spices, bay leaf and pomegranate molasses in a small frying pan, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes until the plums soften and start falling apart, then remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vinegar. You can use this straight away, or cool and store in the fridge for a few days.

When you are ready to cook, brush half of the BBQ sauce over the chops, coating both sides. You will need the rest of the BBQ sauce to brush on the chops as they grill. Place the chops one by one on the rack above a hot BBQ. Grill for 2 minutes, then turn them over and brush with some more sauce. Grill for another 2 minutes before turning them back over and basting again. Repeat the grill-turn-baste process until the chops have cooked for a total of 6 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving platter with the baby chard spread over it.

Pop the plum halves on the BBQ, cut-side down. Grill for a minute or so just to warm a little, then add to the platter with the chops. Serve with the plum sauce on the side.

To cook without a BBQ

Use a lightly oiled, preheated griddle pan on your stove and cook just as you would on the fire. But have your extractor fan on full blast, as it will get very smoky!

What to drink: A robust modern red with a touch of sweetness. A Spanish garnacha would fit the bill. FB

From Chasing Smoke: Cooking over Fire around the Levant. Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich published by Pavilion at £26. Photograph ©Patricia Niven.