Try this hearty Midlander pie with mash, carrots and asparagus by Alison Lycett
Ingredients
For the bouillon:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 450 g15¾ oz oxtail pieces
- Knob of butter, for frying
- 1 L cold water
- ½ tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig parsley
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp white wine
- Corn flour mixed with a little water to thicken
- Browning, to colour
For the short crust black pepper pastry:
- 200 g7 oz plain flour
- Pinch of baking powder
- 100 g3½ oz unsalted butter
- 200 ml7 fl oz water
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
- Salt, to taste
For the filling:
- 1 whole potato
- 50 g1¾ oz butter, salted
- 1 white Spanish onion, chopped
- 5 shallots, chopped
- 250 g8¾ oz mince beef
- 1 whole bottle of a light ale
- 5 good splashes beef bouillon (as above)
- 3 tsp wholegrain mustard
- Gravy powder to thicken (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 150 g5¼ oz stilton cheese, or to taste
For the pastry lid garnish:
- 1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash)
- Handful of grated cheddar cheese
- Pinch of paprika
- Pinch of cracked black pepper
For the mash:
- 2 floury potatoes
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 50 g1¾ oz butter
- A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 heaped tsp wild thyme (otherwise normal thyme)
- Rock salt, to taste
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
For the vegetables:
- Organic purple carrots (otherwise normal carrots)
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 25 g1 oz butter
- Asparagus
Method: How to make Midlander pie with vegetables
For the bouillon:
Sauté the onions, crushed garlic and meat together in a little butter until the meat is a rich brown colour, and the onions have caramelised.
Put all of the meat and bones in a large pot.
Add the cold water and simmer gently for four or five hours. Add the seasoning, celery, carrot, herbs, and the mustard. Simmer for an hour or until reduced.
Strain and remove the fat then add the mustard and wine and thicken with a corn flour/water paste and colour with the browning.
To make the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
Rub together the flour, baking powder and the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the water and mix together to form a dough.
Take 2/3 of the pastry dough and roll out for the base, retaining the other 1/3 for the lid. Line a pie case with the pastry and blind bake in the oven for approximately 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to one side for later.
For the filling:
Peel and boil the potato in salted water until cooked. Once cooked, leave to cool for 25 minutes and then dice.
Heat the butter in a pan and sauté the onions and shallots until browned.
Add the beef and stir for a couple of minutes.
Pour in the ale, bouillon and mustard and stir until cooked through. Bring to the boil, add the gravy powder to thicken if needed and then add the diced, boiled potato.
Pour the filling into the pie case and crumble the stilton over the top.
For the pastry lid:
Take the remaining pastry and roll on a floured surface to make the pie lid.
Brush with egg wash and score it in diamonds to allow the pastry to breathe and move when cooking.
Add a handful of grated cheddar over the top with a pinch of cracked black pepper and a pinch of paprika.
Cook in the oven at 180C/ gas mark 4 for approximately 20 minutes.
For the mash:
Peel and chop the potatoes and boil in salted water until cooked.
Add the cream, butter and nutmeg and mash well.
Once creamy in texture, add the wild thyme and stir through gently with a fork.
For the vegetables and to plate up:
Boil the carrots in water with ½ teaspoon sugar for about 15 minutes.
To finish, roll in the honey and butter in a pan over a low heat until glazed.
Boil the asparagus in water for less than 5 minutes so they are blanched.
Serve the individual pie with a side of creamy wild thyme mash, honey glazed carrots and blanched asparagus.
