Toon Pie

I hail from the glorious land of Newcastle Upon Tyne, synonymous with cold weather, topless football fans and of course, the nectar of the God's; Newcastle Brown Ale. This week my Sunday morning was spent fawning over  the delightful Cheryl while watching last nights repeat of The X Factor during which a few pangs of homesickness arose. This pie was indeed the perfect cure.

50g unsalted butter 

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 

4 tbsp oil (I used olive oil) 

25g plain four 

3 tsp sweet paprika 

900g stewing steak 

2 white onions, roughly chopped 

150g button mushrooms 

2 carrots, roughly chopped 

400ml Newcastle Brown Ale 

300ml good beef stock 

1tbsp tomato puree 

1 bay leaf 

2 sprigs fresh thyme 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

300g of ready rolled puff pastry 

1 egg, beaten

Dry the meat in kitchen paper and sprinkle on flour paprika and ground black pepper and mix so all the meat is coated.

Heat the oil and half the butter to medium, in a large lidded pan and fry off the meat in small batches till the flour coating browns .

Place the batches of brown meat to one side as they become browned in the casserole

Next, using the same pan add the onion and garlic adding a little more oil if needs be. scrape the browned flour and juices on the bottom of the pan and mix with the veg as they fry until soft

Return the browned meat and its juices to the pan and add the mushrooms and carrots and cook until soft.

Stir in the tomato puree, so a paste is formed on the contents of the pan and then pour in the brown ale a little at a time so a sauce is formed by stirring through the casserole. Add the beef stock a little at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency

Sprinkle in the thyme and bay leave and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and leave on the stove for 1 1/2 hours. Checking on it occasionally

Once cooked, season the mixture and tip into an ovenproof serving dish. Brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg.

Roll out the pastry Pinch the edges of the dish so that the pastry will stick to it and trim off any remaining pieces of pastry from around the edge.

With the trimmings and any other left over pastry, make your decorations. The Traditional left pattern works well (today I went for something slightly more creative to celebrate the Toon Army's victory  over Arsenal)

Brush the pastry top thoroughly with the remaining beaten egg and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown on top. Serve with a good helping of mash, Yorkshire pudding and a good old bottle of Dog.

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