In honour of St Patrick's day, Stacie Stewart is cooking up mini stout pies with calcannon, a typical Irish mashed potato dish. 

This is a beautiful rich indulgent pie that brings the most out of the cheap cut of meat, stewing steak benefits from a long slow cooking, making this a perfect lazy day dish or something wonderfully
transformed in a slow cooker. The colcannon is traditionally Irish and marries mashed potatoes with
cream and savoy cabbage with lots of seasoning.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1kg stewing steak chopped into thick pieces
1 carrot
2 sticks of celery
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 sprig of thyme
2tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
350mls (1 can) of Irish Stout
100mls of beef stock

For the pastry

400g plain flour
200g fat, butter – lard or both
Splash of water
1 egg
Pinch of salt

For the colcannon

8 floury potatoes
Cream and butter for mashing
½ savoy cabbage cooked until tender
Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Over a low heat sauté/sweat the finely diced onions/celery and carrot until soft. Add the thyme and 1 clove of crushed garlic.
  2. Add the flour and stir to coat which will give a nice thick gravy
  3. Turn the heat to high and add the beef
  4. Seal the beef on all sides and season with salt and pepper
  5. Add the Guinness and reduce
  6. Add the stock just to cover the ingredients
  7. Bring to the boil, put a lid on and simmer or bake on a very low oven for 2-3 hours. Or slow cook.
  8. For the pastry rub the butter/lard into the salt and flour until breadcrumbs then bind with an egg and water if needed to form a slightly sticky dough.
  9. Cover in clingfilm and rest for at least 20 minutes to relax the gluten.
  10. Fill the pie dishes with the mix which should be thick and dark.
  11. Roll the pastry and top the pies making sure you leave an air hole, egg wash
  12. Bake for 25 minutes on gas mark 5 until the pastry is golden.
  13. For the colcannon boil and mash the potatoes with cream butter and cooked cabbage.
  14. Season well and serve with the bubbling pies!