Pop a covering of pastry onto almost anything savoury and the children dig in without any prompting. It is actually a clever way of encouraging cautious eaters to enjoy a variety of veggies – turn them into a pie!

I made a truly tasty, tender beef pie for dinner last night that had a subtle sweetness thanks to the addition of deep orange hued sweet potato and Spanish onion. I describe this dish as “succulent” because the meat melted in the mouth, each forkful dripping with resplendent, rich gravy. The kids made the most of the fresh sourdough baguette I had purchased at Bourke Street Bakery in Surry Hills earlier that day, and mopped up the rich meat sauce off their plates. 

Succulent, Saucy Beef Pie to serve 6 – 8 adults

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil
1 x finely chopped large Spanish onion
2 x cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 x large ( or 2 medium) sweet potato chopped into  3 cm – 4 cm pieces
2 x celery stalks finely chopped with the soft, light green internal leaves for added flavour
1.5 kilograms of chunky casserole beef, diced into 3 – 4cm cubes. Most good butchers have this diced and readily available.  
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste 
1 teaspoon salt
good grind of black pepper
200 ml red wine
200 ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried herbs (mixture of thyme, oregano, rosemary)

Preheat oven to 150 degrees, fan forced. 

Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large cast iron pot and when heated add all the veggies, salt, pepper and herbs and sauté over a medium heat until they are glossy (about 10 minutes). 

Remove to a separate bowl. Add more olive oil, increase the heat and brown off the beef in three batches adding the flour and paprika each time. Doing this in batches means the meat browns evenly and doesn’t stew. You may also need to add more oil to the pot in between batches. 

Add back the veggies and browned beef, along with the tomato paste and wine. Bring to the boil briefly for a minute, then reduce to a simmer and add the chicken stock. Put the covered pot into the oven for 2 hours. 

When ready, cool to room temperature before piling into your pie dish and covering with pastry. Bake at 200 degrees fan-forced for about 30 minutes or until the top of your pie is golden. 

Puff pastry or sour cream pastry work well. There is a recipe on Cabinet of Cookery for Silky Cream Cheese Pastry pastry published on the 8th August 2013. Otherwise reach for a good quality commercial brand. 


Here is another “done in the oven dinner” that my family enjoyed on Tuesday night. Aromatic Lamb Shanks feature flavours that are a twist on the traditional way of making this meal. Lick your lips in anticipation of tasting a combination of heady cinnamon and turmeric, a hint of chilli, sweetness of honey and high fibre goodness of red lentils. Just look up the recipe on my blog using the SEARCH gadget on the top right side of the page. It was originally published on the 4th July 2013. 

Plus, cooking the lamb in the oven means less time spent stove-side and more time to tackle that “to do” list. Or if you have miraculously reached the bottom of your list, then take the time to do the things you enjoy while dinner pretty much cooks itself.