Keep it simple

These meals are big on flavour, but light on dishes!

- JOHANÉ NEILSON

Creamy steak-and-mushroom pie

Serves 6

Preparation time 1 hour

Cooking time 3 hours

You need

• 250 g bacon or pancetta slices, chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 800 g beef cubes (preferably chuck)

• 1/3 cup flour

• 1 teaspoon braai spices

• salt, to taste

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 400 g portabellini mushrooms, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1½ cups beef stock, hot

• 2 potatoes, in small cubes

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• ½ cup cream

• 400 g puff pastry, thawed

• 1 beaten egg

Here's how

1 Fry the bacon in olive oil until crispy. Remove the bacon but retain the oil. Dust the beef cubes with flour and season with the braai spices and salt (if the spices don't contain salt). Fry the meat in batches until browned. Set the fried meat and remaining flour aside.

2 Fry the onion and mushrooms until soft and glossy. Add the garlic and tomato paste and fry for another couple of minutes.

Add the beef and the remaining flour and stir through. Pour the hot stock over the mixture and add the potato and black pepper. Simmer for about 2 hours with the lid on or until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened. Add the cream and bacon.

3 Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down while you preheat the oven to 200 °C. Cover the filling with a circle of puff pastry cut slightly bigger than the pan. Press the edges of the pastry down around the filling. Use a knife to prick a few holes to allow steam to escape. Brush the pastry with the egg and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown, puffy and cooked.