Masterclass: Make Your Home Cooking Easier. James Martin

(1¼oz) butter

      1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

      1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

      1 tbsp tomato purée

      200ml (7fl oz) Guinness

      500ml (18fl oz) beef stock

      1 tsp chopped thyme leaves

      1 bay leaf 300g (11oz) small Chantenay carrots, trimmed and kept whole

      Salt and black pepper

      FOR THE PASTRY

      225g (8oz) self-raising flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

      1 tsp salt

      90g (3¼oz) shredded beef suet

      60g (2½oz) lard or butter, chilled and grated

      1 egg, beaten

      FOUR 500ML (18FL OZ) PIE DISHES

      1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas 6. Lightly dust the meat with flour, salt and pepper. Heat 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan or saucepan, add the meat in batches, using more of the oil if needed, and seal over a high heat for 1–2 minutes or until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

      2. Melt the butter in the pan, add the onion and garlic and fry for 2–3 minutes or until browned, then stir in the tomato purée. Slowly add the beer and stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumps forming in the cooking liquid. Add the thyme, bay leaf and browned beef, bring back up to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

      3. After 90 minutes add the carrots and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Place in the pie dishes and leave to cool.

      4. To make the pastry, mix the flour and salt with the suet and grated lard or butter in a large bowl. Mix in 150–175ml of water and knead for 1 minute or until you have a smooth dough.

      5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to about 7mm (¹/3 in) thick and cut out 4 discs about 2cm (¾ in) wider all the way round than the pie dishes. Brush the edges of the dishes with a little beaten egg and lay the pastry on top, crimping the edges using a fork or with your fingers and trimming away any excess pastry, then brush the top of the pies with the remaining beaten egg.

      6. Bake in the oven for 40–50 minutes or until golden, then serve with buttered mashed potato and French beans.

SALMON AND MUSSEL PIE

      I tend to use mash on this seafood pie, because puff pastry doesn’t always cook properly. If you do prefer pastry though, you can substitute it, but don’t cheat and do that rubbish dry dustbin lid plonked on the top, I hate that! A pie should have the filling and top cooked all together, as it tastes so much better when made as a whole. You can also leave out the capers and gherkins if you want.

      SERVES 4

      1–2 tbsp olive oil

      500g (1lb 2oz) salmon fillet, pin bones and skin removed

      1kg (2lb 3oz) mussels, cooked and removed from their shells

      50g (2oz) gherkins, drained and chopped

      25g (1oz) capers, drained

      4 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

      4 tsp chopped dill

      4 tsp chopped chervil

      3 banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced

      200ml (7fl oz) double cream

      Salt and black pepper

      FOR THE MASH TOPPING

      500g (1lb 2oz) large floury potatoes, such as King Edward, peeled and cut into quarters

      50g (2oz) butter

      100ml (3½fl oz) whole milk

      ONE 20 X 30CM (8 X 12IN) PIE DISH OR OVENPROOF DISH

      1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas 3.

      2. Cook and mash the potatoes for the topping following the instructions for Creamy Potato Mash on page 179.

      3. While the potatoes are cooking, place a non-stick ovenproof pan over a medium heat, add the olive oil and the salmon and seal on both sides, then bake in the oven for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

      4. In a large bowl, mix together the mussel meat, gherkins, capers and herbs, then add the sliced shallots. Once the salmon is cool enough to handle, lift it from the pan and flake the meat into the bowl. (Some parts of the flesh may not be completely cooked but this doesn’t matter as it will be fully cooked in the pie.) Mix all this together, then stir in the cream, season with salt and pepper and transfer to the pie dish.

      5. Put the mashed potato into a piping bag and pipe it over the salmon mixture or spoon the potato over the top of the fish mix and spread it out evenly with a fork. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the top of the pie is golden brown.

      6. Remove the pie from the oven and serve with Minted Peas.

SCALLOP AND FENNEL PIES

      Why use pie dishes when the scallop shells look just as good? The best scallops for this are of course hand-dived: they are better for the environment, as dredging destroys the seabed and also fills the scallops with grit. Some of the best scallops I’ve eaten were from Scotland’s west coast and from Ireland, but many are imported from America for some reason. Never freeze scallops, as they soak up water like a sponge and then when you cook them they dump all that water in the pan.

      MAKES 4 ‘PIES’

      4 large hand-dived scallops

      1 fennel bulb

      2 tbsp finely chopped chives

      25g (1oz) butter 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped

      50ml (2fl oz) white wine

      100ml (3½fl oz) double cream

      100g (3½oz) ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry

      1 egg, beaten

      Salt and black pepper

      Coarse sea salt, to serve

      1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas 6. Insert a sharp knife between the two halves of each scallop shell, then slice between the shells and pull them apart. Pull off the outer membrane and carefully remove the coral and white part of the scallop, dabbing them dry on kitchen paper.

      2. Place the corals in a saucepan, add the top sprigs from the fennel bulb and half cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4–5 minutes. While the corals are cooking, clean and wash the scallop shells and, using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the fennel very thinly and set aside in a bowl with the chopped chives.

      3. Melt the butter in a small frying pan and gently cook the shallot for 3–4 minutes or until softened but not browned. Add the white wine and drain the liquor from the cooked corals into the pan. Pour in the cream and bring to the boil. Boil until the liquid thickens, having reduced by about half, then season.

      4. Place a pile of fennel and chives in each of the lower (more rounded) scallop shells, slice each scallop in half and place on top. Spoon over the sauce and cover with the top (flat) shells.

      5. Lay out the pastry and cut into 4 strips each about 4 x 40cm (1½ x 16 in). Using a little beaten egg, brush the edges of each pair of shells where they join and wrap a strip of pastry around the edges to seal the two halves together. Brush well with the remaining egg, then carefully place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a pile of sea salt and serve.