Pie & Mash Recipe

 What with Britain being cool again, we thought we’d give you a traditional English recipe. Pie and mash is classic English street food that has been served in specialist shops all over London for more than a century.

You could cheat and buy the pie, but if you want an authentic London culinary experience, follow this simple recipe.

Pie Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 chopped onion

• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

• 450 grams of  minced beef steak or beef mince

• 1 teaspoon of English mustard

• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée

• 1 beef stock cube

• Vegetable oil

• 150 ml of brown ale (Monteiths or similar)

• 100 ml of beef stock

• 2 tablespoons of plain flour

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Suet Pastry

•  350 grams of self raising flour

• 225 grams of beef suet (or similar, you can use lard)

• Large knob of butter, softened for greasing

 For the Pie Crust

• 450g/1lb ready-made shortcrust pastry, for the top of the pie

• 1 lightly beaten free range egg

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• 100ml or 3½fl oz hot milk

• Knob of butter

• Drizzle chilli oil (if you like a bit of heat)

 Parsley Liquor

• 50 grams of  butter

• 50 grams of cornflour

• 500ml of chicken stock

• A large handful of chopped parsley (leaves only)

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, roasted and pureed to taste

Preparation Method

1. For the filling, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for five minutes or until softened. Add the mince and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally, or until browned and cooked through.

2. Stir in the rest of the filling ingredients, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

4. For the suet pastry, sift the flour into a mixing bowl with the suet and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gradually mix in about four tablespoons of cold water, or until you have a moist but firm dough.

5. On a lightly floured work surface roll the dough out to a 2mm thickness.

6. Generously butter two individual pie dishes then line each with the suet pastry, so that it covers the base and sides completely. Divide the filling mixture between the two dishes.

7. For the pie crust, roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 2mm thickness and use it to cover the two pies, pushing down the edges to seal.

8. Brush generously with the egg yolk and make a hole in the middle of the lid to allow steam to escape.

9. Place the pie dishes into a deep-sided roasting tin and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pie dishes, taking care not to get any water on the pastry. Transfer to the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is steaming hot.

10. Meanwhile, for the mashed potatoes, steam (or boil) the potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender. Scald the milk then mash the potatoes with the hot milk, butter and plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper until smooth. Drizzle with a little chilli oil, if using, and keep warm.

11. For the parsley liquor, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and whisk in the cornflour to make a paste. Gradually stir in the stock, bring to a simmer, then stir in the parsley and garlic and stir until thickened and smooth.

12. Serve the hot pies with the mash, parsley liquor on the side.

Looking for other pie recipes?  Check out our Hearty Cottage Pie Recipe. 

Source: BBC Food

Editorial by Nicholas Chidley

14 August 2012