1Toss beef cheeks in flour. Heat olive oil in a pan and brown the meat in batches. Remove and set aside.
2In the same pan, sauté onion, carrots, celery, and garlic for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, ale, beef stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Return the beef to the pot. Put the pan/pot into the oven at 150°c for 3-4 hours or until spoon tender.
3Cut potatoes into similar sizes, put them into cold water with a pinch of salt, bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes then remove and let them cool down. Bring your oil up to temp for the first cook which is at 115°c and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove and set aside, bring the oil temp up to around 180°c and put the chips back in until golden brown.
4Preheat oven to 200°C. Spoon the filling into the pie dish. Cover with puff pastry, trim the edges, and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
5Pour the peas into your pan, bring to a simmer and let it reduce, when it's reduced by half add in a knob of butter, a handful of mint, sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Ingredients
1 kg beef cheeks
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
500 ml ale
500 ml beef stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp roasting herbs (rosemary, thyme & sage)
0 salt
0 pepper
0 puff pastry
0 Maris Piper potatoes
0 veg oil
0 marrow fat peas
0 mint
0 butter
1 lemon
Equipment
large pantongswooden spoonbottle openerpie dishforkknifeoven