KATE & WILLS WEDDING PIE

Ever since I found Jamie's Britain - the newest in Jamie Oliver shows, I have been obsessed with making this pie. I had three friends come for dinner last week, it was a bit chilly, I had just moved into my new place and I knew this would be the perfect meal to make. Cozy & easy to make in just one pot.

The ingredient list may seem a bit daunting, but I guarantee many of these ingredients you will have in your pantry! 

The pie is just delightful, warm, rich, meaty - you can't go wrong. Perfect for a winter day. This pastry was also one of the easiest pastries I have ever made. It came together perfectly, rolled out without a crack and baked out beautifully. I highly recommend using it for a pie!

ENJOY! The decorations are as follows thanks to Jamie, RAF wings for Wills, and a heart for Kate!

Before baking

After baking

Kate & Wills Wedding Pie by Jamie Oliver
Ingredients:

Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 knob of butter
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
3 fresh bay leaves
3 small red onions, peeled and chopped
1 kg (2-2.5 lbs) of beef shin (I just used stew meat, because I couldn't find the shin!) (also can use the bones when stewing to have the marrow thicken and flavour the sauce)
sea salt and ground pepper
2 tbsp tomato puree
400ml good local smooth stout (I used an Oatmeal Stout from England)
2 heaping tbsp plain flour
1.5 liters (I used only about 1L) of organic beef or chicken stoic
140g pearl barley
3 tsp English Mustard (in most grocery stores in the dry section in a tube)
2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
100g good white cheddar cheese

For the pastry:
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g shredded suet (or lard), easy to shred when frozen!
100g shredded butter
sea salt
1 large free range egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Put the olive oil, butter and herbs in a large casserole type pan on high heat. Add the onions and the diced meat and a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Add the tomato puree, then stout. Once it has cooked for 2 minutes, add in the flour and stir until everything comes together to a simmer. Turn down the heat very low, pop the lid on and let cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. When the hour is up, stir in the pearl barley. Put the lid back on and simmer for another hour, then remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the meat shreds easily and the gravy has thickened.
4. Spoon away any of the oil from the top, then stir in the mustard, Worcestershire and grated cheese. Season to taste.
5. While the stew is ticking away, put the flour, suet, butter into a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Either in a mixer or with your hands, mix together until the flour and butter mixture resembles small peas in size. Lightly stir in 125mL cold water, then for the dough into a ball. Do not overwork it. Wrap the dough and refrigerate until needed.
6. Preheat the oven to 350. Discard the shin bone and ladle the hot stew into the pie dish. Use some of the beaten egg to egg wash the edges of the pie dish, then dust a clean surface and a rolling in with flour and roll out the pastry until about 1 cm thick. Carefully place on top of the pie, then trim off the overhanging pastry. Pinch and squash the edges of the pastry to the dish. Eggwash the top and cook the pie for around 45-50 minutes.