Ingredients
Method
1.Preheat oven to 160°C fan forced. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a heavy-based pan on high heat and brown the meat on all sides in batches.
2.Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. Add 1–2 tablespoons more oil to pan and sauté onions until soft. Pour wine over onions to deglaze pan and pour over meat. Add the stock, seal with a lid or two layers of tinfoil and cook meat in oven for around 3 hours or until beef easily falls apart when touched.
3.Remove meat, carefully pull apart into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
4.Pour the cooking liquid into a saucepan, heat and stir in cornflour to thicken. Check seasoning and pour over beef. Cool.
5.Increase oven temperature to 190°C fan forced. Roll out pastry block into 2 x 30cm discs approximately 2–3mm thick. Grease a 25cm round pie tin and line with a disc of pastry. Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork.
6.Three-quarters fill with beef filling. Break up bits of cheddar cheese and dot these evenly over the beef. Brush a little beaten egg around the rim. Lay second sheet of pastry over the top of the pie and squeeze edges together to seal.
7.Trim off excess pastry and press edges with a fork to make doubly sure there’s no chance of filling escaping.
8.Brush pie top with beaten egg and prick a couple of little holes near the centres to let out steam.
9.Bake for around 20–25 minutes or until pastry is cooked and golden brown. (If you’re cooking a pastry base in tin pie dishes, as I have, it pays to sneak a look at the bottom to see if the pastry is cooked and crisp underneath.)
