Beef, Mushroom & Red Wine Pie

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150c fan-forced (170C non-fan).
2. Heat a casserole dish over medium heat, add the speck and sauté until golden (about 5 minutes) remove from the pan and set to one side. Add the shallots and a splash of olive oil if need be, sauté until golden (about 10 minutes), remove and set to one side.
3. Season the meat with salt and pepper and working in batches (avoid over crowding the pan otherwise the meat will steam), sauté the meat over high heat in the same pan until browned. Once you have browned all the meat return it all to the pan and add the flour, stirring to coat the meat, cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Gradually add the stock, scraping any bits of meat off the bottom of the pan, followed by the red wine. Now add the thyme leaves, crush garlic cloves and mushrooms, bring to a simmer, taste for seasoning and adjust if need be.
5. Pop the lid on and braise in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and add the golden shallots, return back to the oven and continue braising for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add the speck, stir to combine.
6. At this point either store in the fridge overnight until ready to heat and serve or pop it on the stove top on a very gentle heat with the lid on to keep warm.
7. If you prepared the pie filling the day before reheat the filling on the stove top over low to medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, set this up before you prepare the pastry.
8. To prepare the pastry, preheat the oven to 200c fan-forced (220c non-fan), unroll the sheet, depending on the size of your pie dish you might need to roll the pastry a little further. Use the individual pie dishes as a template to cut out six pastry lids.
9. Place the pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper, brush the top of each disc of pastry with eggwash, place them in the fridge for 10 minutes, remove and apply a second coat of egg wash.
10. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180c fan-forced (200c non-fan) and continue to bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
11. To serve, warm the pie dishes in the oven for a few minutes before filling with the hot pie filling, once baked remove the pastry from the oven and top the pie dishes with the pastry lid.
12. Serve alongside creamy mashed potato and green beans tossed in butter.
13. Notes: The pie filling can be made the day before. Filling suitable for freezing