Vanessa Greenwood’s Irish porter lamb pie

Serves: 6
Course: <course>
Cooking Time: 0 hr 50 mins
Ingredients
  • Serves 6
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 700g diced leg lamb, tossed in seasoned flour
  • 2 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 200g turnip, roughly chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 200g pickled baby onions, drained
  • 500ml Irish craft porter or stout (I use Wicklow Wolf Black Perle Porter)
  • 500ml beef stock
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 30g-50g fresh mixed herbs (tarragon, chives, parsley), chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 320g puff pastry sheet
  • 1 egg, lightly whisked with 1 tbsp milk</li><li/></ul>

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole and quickly brown the lamb in batches. Deglaze the pot with a splash of porter, before returning the lamb to the pot with the carrot, turnip, celery and onions. Stir to cook for five minutes, then season.

Next, add the porter and stock and rosemary sprigs, bring to a boil, and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and vegetables to an ovenproof dish and scatter the fresh herbs on top. Discard the rosemary sprigs. Simmer the liquid until it has reduced by one third before pouring it over the pie filling.

Lay the pastry over the top of the pie, pressing the edges down around the rim of the dish. Score a few slits in the pastry. Brush the surface of the pastry with the egg and milk. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.