Angus rump and mushroom pie

For the pastry base:
180g flour
90g butter
40ml cold water
1 egg, whisked
salt

For the pastry topping:
1 sheet of flaky puff pastry, to fit the pie tin
1 egg, whisked
handful of grated cheese
2 tsp sesame seeds

For the filling:
350g Angus rump steak, diced into 1-2cm chunks
4 tbs oil
300g button mushrooms, quartered
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
2 tbs thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
half a cup of tomato paste
200ml red wine
2 cups of beef stock
4 tbs of cornflour, mixed with water to make a paste
salt and pepper

To make the pastry base:
Add the flour, salt and butter to the food processor and mix until it resembles coarse sand. Place mixture in a large bowl, add water and mix until you have a smooth dough. Allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Once rested, on a floured surface, roll out the pastry to half a centimetre thickness and line a deep pie dish. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

For the filling:
Preheat oven to 170˚C.

In a high-walled frying pan or large heavy-based pot heat oil and fry the beef. Don’t stir too much, so as to colour the meat well.

Using a slotted spoon remove the beef and place on a plate to the side. Add mushrooms to the beef on the side plate. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, thyme and rosemary to the pot and fry for five minutes. Return the beef and mushrooms and whatever juices have seeped out back to the pan. Add the tomato paste and fry for three to four minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the beef stock and simmer for 30 minutes until the beef is tender and the stock reduced. Whisk in the cornflour paste, bring back to the boil and simmer for another five minutes. It should be thick and rich in flavour. Check the seasoning.

Pour the beef mix into the pie case, freezing any leftover mix for another day.

Top off with the puff pastry, brush with egg wash and sprinkle over the grated cheese and sesame seeds to finish.

Bake at 170˚C for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with chunky roast chips and a good-quality tomato relish.