Return the pan to the stove, turn the heat down, then dump in the onions and garlic and season timidly. Allow these to soften ever so slightly for about a minute or two and then add your other ingredients, either mushrooms or oysters, followed swiftly by the beef and the mammoth faggot of herbs. Turn this all around in the pan so the beef is nestled lovingly in mounds of onions. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid or, better still, foil and a lid. Leave on the lowest possible heat for 3 to 4 hours. I normally use the smallest burner on the stove on the lowest setting, with a heat diffuser or tray under the pan. Don’t worry about adding any liquid. That’s the joy of this dish: the beef cooks in the juice from the onions and vice versa. If you add too much liquid, the onions have a tendency to boil and never fully descend to the great rich sludginess you want from them.
Now, when the beef is completely cooked through and just falling off the bone and the onions have melted through, leaving a beautiful golden swamp of juice, it is ready to take off the heat. Leave it to cool for an hour or so before attempting to break it up, otherwise you will just end up with white-hot onions dripping down your arm and a mess in the pot. Not fun, believe me! When the beef has cooled slightly, and therefore firmed up a little, break it away from the bone into forkful-sized chunks. Remove any of the skin and discard. Poke out the marrow from the middle of the bone into the onions. Now remove the bouquet garni from the onions and pop the beef back in. Taste it for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
The pie filling is now ready. Preheat the oven to 180°–200°C (350°–400°F/Gas 4–6). All you need to do is bang it in a suitable pie dish, either one big one or if you are feeling terribly posh have individual ones. Cover with good puff pastry, egg wash it with a bit of beaten yolk and milk and bang it in a goodly hot oven till puffed and golden.
Serve at once with mashed potatoes, or chips if the beery night seems somewhat more appropriate!
Tips – Getting the beef shin: You will need to acquire four slices of beef shin, about 2.5cm (1in) thick and cut right through the bone. In Italian they call this “osso bucco”, meaning literally “on the bone”. Your butcher should be able to do this, but may need a bit of notice. The rest of the ingredients should be far simpler to lay your hands on.
Using oysters: If you want to make an oyster pie, substitute about 12 rock oysters for the mushrooms. I like to buy the Pacific oysters from Falmouth Bay. Shuck them with an oyster knife, reserving any juice and removing any little bits of shell you find. Pass the juice through a sieve and pop the oysters back into it. Use both the oysters and their juice in the pie.
I have only recently started to make lasagne, having been put off by years of school lasagne. But now I like to think of it as a pie made with pasta layers rather than pastry. This is my version. I am sure it is totally wonky, but it tastes great and my kids love it.
LASAGNE
SERVES 4 HUNGRY ADULTS OR 8 TINY CHILDREN
3 tbsp olive oil
a knob of butter
1 red onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
½ tsp dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
150g (5oz) chestnut mushrooms, chopped
500g (1lb) beef mince
400g (14oz) tin plum tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato purée
400ml (14oz) beef stock
1 handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
8 lasagne sheets, approx., cooked as directed on the packet (see tip)
FOR THE BÉCHAMEL:
50g (2oz) butter
2 tbsp plain flour
800ml (1½ pints) milk, plus a little extra
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
75g (2¾oz) Parmesan, grated
Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and thyme and fry gently. Grind in plenty of black pepper. Allow everything to gently sizzle away for 10 minutes, giving it the occasional stir. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes.
Stir in the mince with a wooden spoon, breaking it up into largish chunks. Fry it until it has browned and any liquid in the pot has evaporated. Drop in the tomatoes, and add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and beef stock, stirring them through. Leave it to simmer gently for 1 hour, checking from time to time to make sure it hasn’t dried out or stuck to the pot, adding more liquid if necessary. Taste and season accordingly. Once the meat mixture has simmered for an hour, remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.
Meanwhile, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan, stir in the flour and allow it to bubble for a couple of minutes without burning. Pour in all of the milk, add the bay leaf and nutmeg and vigorously whisk the mixture until it is smooth. Let it gently bubble away for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Then set it aside until it is needed. Just before using, remove the bay leaf and add three-quarters of the Parmesan and a little extra milk if needed, heating it through gently.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). To assemble the lasagne, spoon a layer of the meat into a large ovenproof dish, cover with a layer of béchamel and then a layer of cooked lasagne sheets. Repeat this process, finishing with a layer of béchamel. Sprinkle the rest of the grated Parmesan on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
I like to serve lasagne with a fresh green salad with lots of herbs, and garlic bread.
Tip: The exact number of lasagne sheets you use will depend on the size of your dish and how big the sheets are.
My wonderful brother Jasper suggested adding horseradish to this pie and indeed it is excellent. It is named in his honour.
JASPER’S STEAK & KIDNEY PIE
SERVES 4
1 tbsp olive oil
a knob of butter
250g (9oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced
500g (1lb) chuck stewing or braising steak, cut into 4cm (1½in) cubes
300g (10oz) pork kidneys, trimmed and cut into 4cm (1½in) cubes
1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
300ml (10fl oz) beef stock
18 pearl (or ‘button’) onions, peeled and trimmed
1 small glass red wine (about 150ml / 5fl oz)
1 tbsp horseradish, either sauce or freshly grated
3