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Minty lamb pie
Serves 8 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- plain flour, to dust
- ½ portion suet pastry (see recipe, below)
- 1 egg, beaten
For the filling
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 4 lamb shanks
- knob of butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 200ml red wine
- 250ml good-quality beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- a few thyme sprigs, leaves picked
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stick, chopped
- 300g swede, peeled and cut into cubes
- 100g frozen peas
- 1½tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 1tbsp mint sauce
- 1–2tsp cornflour
- small handful chopped mint
Suet pastry MAKES APPROX. 750g
- to dust
- ½tsp salt
- 200g vegetable suet
- approx. 120-150ml milk or plant-based alternative
Method
For the filling, heat 3tbsp of the olive oil in a large pan, add the lamb shanks and season with salt and pepper. Brown the shanks on all sides, turning to ensure that they are evenly coloured. Remove from the pan.
Add the remaining oil and the butter to the pan. Add the onion and fry over a low heat for 5–8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and vinegar and cook for a few minutes, then return the lamb to the pan and
pour in the red wine and stock. Tuck the bay leaves in and sprinkle in the thyme leaves. Bring to a low simmer, cover with the lid and cook for around 2½ hours, turning over from time to time, until the shank meat is really tender and offers little resistance when poked with a knife.
Add the carrot, celery and swede to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes, then remove the shanks from the pan and set aside.
Add the frozen peas to the pan along with the redcurrant jelly and mint sauce. Cook for a few minutes, then strain around 150ml of the liquid into a measuring jug and set aside for making gravy. You may need to strain a bit more off, depending on how much the sauce has thickened after the long cook.
Mix 1tsp of the cornflour with a little of the cooking liquid in a small bowl, then stir this into the pan and cook until nicely thickened – you may need to add another 1tsp cornflour if the sauce doesn’t thicken enough. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the chopped mint and set the sauce aside to cool.
Spoon the lamb and veg into a large pie dish approx. 22cm in diameter, flaking a little of the meat into the veg and allowing the bones to stick up.
Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the suet pastry to fit the dish. Carefully top the pie with it, pushing down on to the bones so they poke through the lid. Transfer to the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C F/Gas 6. Brush the pie with beaten egg and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
Suet pastry
Put the flour and salt in a bowl and stir in the suet. Gradually add the milk, adding enough to make a fairly stiff dough. Be sure to add it very slowly or you might find the mixture becomes saturated – if this happens, add a little extra flour.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. You can treat this pastry a little more firmly than those made with butter.
Transfer the pastry to a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel or wrap in reusable wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
It will keep in an airtight container or wrap in the fridge for a few hours. Although it does freeze, since it’s easy it’s preferable to make it fresh each time.
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