Pepperberry Beef Pot Pies

PREP TIME

20 minutes

COOK TIME

180 minutes

SERVES

4 people

Ingredients

1kg gravy beef, cut into 3cm cubes – can use any other cheaper steak cut ie: chuck
1 brown onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2tbsp plain flour
1tbsp The Spice People’s Pepper Berry Leaf
1tsp The Spice People’s Pepper Berries Whole, ground in a mortar and pestle
salt
2 carrots, very finely chopped
1tsp hot english mustard
1 1/2 cups beef stock – keep more on-hand in case your filling looks a bit dry after reducing
1/4 cup good-quality red wine – optional
2 square sheets good-quality store-bought puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
olive oil
4 ramekins or 1 large oven dish

The love this recipe

My Pepper Berry Beef Pot Pies are all the delicious, oozy, warming, deliciousness you get from a classic pie, without the fuss of making a pastry, blind-baking, the list goes on! Plus, each person gets an individual pie, so serving up is a breeze.

After bubbling away, this Pepperberry-scented mixture with tender, falling-apart beef is spooned into ramekins, topped with their puff pastry hats, and baked in the oven until they’re puffed up and golden. The ultimate comfort food!

These pies can also be easily frozen for a later date – just simply wrap them in glad wrap before the egg wash and baking process and pop in the freezer.

Directions

Season your beef pieces with a generous pinch of salt. Bring a heavy-based large pot to medium-high heat, add a good glug of olive oil, and brown your beef pieces in batches until they’re nice and brown and caramelised on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Return the pot to heat without removing any of the beef juices and oils that have been left behind – this is all great flavour! If a lot of the oil has dissipated, add another small glug in followed by your diced onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté to soften – about 3 mins. Follow your onion with the carrot pieces and sauté for a further 2 mins.
Add in your wine (if using) and deglaze the base of the pot to get all the sticky juices from the bottom. Add in your crushed garlic, pepper berry and leaf and ground pepper berries and stir to combine until nice and fragrant – about 1 min.
Return your beef to the pot, followed by the flour, and toss to coat and toast of the flour slightly – about 1 min. Add in your beef stock and mustard and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 2 hours, until the beef is nice and tender and soft. Remove the lid and cook on low for a further 30 minutes until the sauce is nice and reduced and thick.*Keep an eye on it during the 2.5 hours and stir frequently – if it needs a little more liquid add more stock or water. It should end up the consistency of thick gravy.
Preheat your oven to 220c degrees/200 fan-forced. Cut your pastry tops out by placing your ramekins on top of the pastry and cutting 1.5cm away from the edge – this will allow for the pastry to rise and will ensure no leakage. Divide your beef filling between the ramekins and brush the edge lightly with your beaten egg. Add your pastry circles on top pressing around the edge to ensure they don’t lift up. Cut a small vent into the centre of each pastry circle, brush with the remaining egg and place on a tray and into the oven for 20 minutes.
Once golden and puffed up, remove the pies carefully from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 mins before serving. Enjoy!