There’s something wonderful about pies in winter, though today so many of us do not have the time to make them the way our mothers did, and many have guilt attacks at the thought of too much pastry. So cut the concerns on both accounts and present your pie filling in a beautiful bowl, topped with a delicate golden puff pastry crouton. It’s the modern mum’s pie!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• ½ small aubergine, cut into 1cm dice
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1cm dice
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ½ cup dry white wine
• about 8 sundried tomatoes halves, chopped
• ¼ cup pitted black olives, cut into halves
• 1 tblsp capers, chopped
• 1 tblsp freshly chopped oregano
• 500 grams blade or chuck steak, trimmed and diced into 1-2cm pieces
• 2 tblsp seasoned flour
• 1 cup beef stock
• 200 grams puff pastry, defrosted

Method

1. Pan fry the onions and garlic in a dash of oil until tender. Add the aubergines and red pepper, cook 2-3 minutes then increase the heat and add the tomato paste stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes cooking until it becomes darker in colour. Stir in the wine, tomatoes, olives, capers and oregano and transfer to a casserole.
2. Toss the diced beef in the seasoned flour. Heat a dash of oil in a large frying pan and brown the diced beef. This may be best done in 2 batches. Make sure the beef is well browned at this stage so that the casserole has good colour when cooked. Pour in the beef stock and stir to deglaze the crusty meat juices from the bottom of the pan. Add to the casserole.
3. Cover and cook at 160ºC for 60 minutes or until tender. Serve in bowl with puff pastry shapes and garnish with oregano leaves if wished.

Puff Pastry Shapes

1. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured board to 3mm thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a greased baking tray and brush the tops with milk or beaten egg to glaze. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake at 220ºC for 12-15 minutes until the shapes are well risen and golden and the pastry is well-cooked. Keep in an airtight container and serve warm.