Recipe

Pie and mash

Pie Base - Suet Pastry

▢250 grams Plain flour
▢150 grams Suet
▢5 grams Baking powder
▢Pinch of salt
▢125 ml Cold water

Pie Lid - Shortcrust Pastry

▢150 grams Plain flour
▢75 grams Cold butter cut into small cubes - plus extra butter to grease pie tins
▢Pinch of salt
▢3 tablespoon Water
▢splash of milk - to glaze the pastry lid

Liquor - Parsley Sauce

▢900 ml Fish Stock - Use 2 x Knorr fish stock cubes (not the stock pot)
▢5 tablespoon Plain flour
▢180 ml Cold water (¾ cup)
▢2 Handful's Fresh parsley - finely chopped
▢Black Pepper & Salt - to taste

Mash Potato - Keep it simple, don't add milk or butter.

▢1.5 kg White Potatoes - Chopped
▢Salt
▢OPTIONAL to serve- Jellied eels

Brown off the mince in a pan over medium-low heat for 7 minutes, breaking down into small pieces as it browns.
Add beef stock, bring to a gentle boil then turn the heat off.
Add salt and pepper to taste

Sieve flour into a mixing bowl.
Add a pinch of salt, suet and baking powder.
Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients together.

Once all water has been added and the dough has formed into a ball. Remove from the bowl on to a well-floured worktop. Knead for a minute little until soft and pliable.

Roll out until 3 cm bigger all the way around the tin

Sift out flour into a mixing bowl (you can use the same one from before). Add cubed cold butter and salt, use your fingers to quickly rub butter into the flour.

Add 1 tablespoon at a time of cold water to form a dough.

Roll out until bigger than the pie dish, you want it to overlap the tin slightly. It will roll out thinner than the base.

Place your potatoes into a large pan of cold water. Bring to a gentle boil. cook for about 20 minutes. Continue making the pies and come back to the mash later! Once potatoes are soft enough, drain and put back into the pan to mash until smooth.

Use butter to grease the tins well, so pies are easy to remove when cooked.

Place the larger suet pastry base over the tin, use the ball of leftover pastry to gently push the pastry into the tins without tearing it.

Use a knife to cut down and around the pie tin edges.

Add the minced beef mixture equally into the prepared suet pastry bases, pour any remaining stock in with them too.
Get a bowl of water and wet down the pastry edges with A LOT of water.
Cup your hand and push the lid firmly onto the pie tin edges to seal. Use a knife to cut down and around the pie tin edges.
Use a pastry brush to very gently glaze the lid with milk.
Ready to bake, place all 4 prepared pies onto a baking tin. Cook in the preheated oven at 180°C fan / 200°C conventional / 400°F/ Gas mark 6 for 25 minutes.

Make up the fish stock from cubes with boiling water in a pan. Add sieve flour into cold water, whilst whisking, to make sure it mixes well
When you are positive there are NO LUMPS in the flour and cold water. Slowly pour whilst whisking into the stock. Bring to the boil.
Use scissors instead of a knife to chop the parsley very finely
Add parsley, salt and pepper, then lower to a simmer for 5 minutes. The liquor sauce is meant to be a thin sauce.

Add milk and some salt to the mashed potatoes
Ready to serve! Serve pie with a couple of scoops of mash potato and drizzle the liquor all over!