Ox Cheek and Red Wine Pie with Sour Dough Pastry.

Ox cheek and red wine pie made with sough dough pastry

Filling

2 x 300g ox cheeks

1 tbsp of plain flour

1 tsp of sea salt

1/4 tsp of cracked black pepper

1 tbsp of rosemary freshly chopped

1 tsp of thyme freshly chopped

1 onion chopped

1 carrot finely diced

1 stick of celery finely diced

1 bulb of garlic

200ml red wine

1 pint of beef stock

Pastry

250g flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

125g cold butter or lard , cut into 1/2-inch dice

Approximately 230ml sour dough starter

Topping

300g of boiled potatoes cut into chunks

1 tsp of salt

2 tbsp of red wine vinegar

4 tbsp of olive oil

For the filling

Place the ox cheek into a bowl with the flour, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme.

pre heat a large casserole pan

remove the cheeks from the flour and drizzle with a little olive oil, then place in the hot pan.

cook the beef until very golden, more than you might think or do normally

Mean while chop the onion, carrot and celery, then add to the pan.

continue to cook everything for a further 5 minutes to get all the flavour rolling round the pan

add the red wine and beef stock before bringing up to the boil, then turn down to a simmer

cut the garlic bulb in half and place in the pan before putting the lid on and cooking in a pre heated oven for 3 hours at 160c

when the beef is beautifully tender and the sauce is rich and delicious remove for the oven and leave to cool a little

To make the pastry

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the fat using a pastry cutter or your fingertips. The dough will eventually look like it has “peas” in it.

Gradually pour the starter in, a little bit at a time, until it just comes together. Depending on the humidity and the water content of your fat this may be less or more than 1 cup.

Once dough comes together gather it up in the bowl and cover with cling film.

leave the dough at room temperature for 1 hour, then place in the fridge to allow the butter to firm up

divide the pastry into portions and roll out into 1/2cm thick disks

line the individual pie dishes, then add in the ox cheek pie filling

for the topping, pour the oil and vinegar into a mixing bowl, then whisk together and add the potatoes mixing together to ensure they are fully coated

place the dressed potatoes on top of the beff to create a topping, season with a little sea salt and place in the oven to bake at 180c for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the potatoes have crisped up.