Beef cheek pie

A pie using beautiful tender meat with the right amount of bite and all the right amounts of flavour. This is a versatile recipe that can be made with or without pastry, depending on preference.

Ingredients

500 g	Beef cheeks
1	Onion, chopped
2 Tbsp	Standard flour
2 Tbsp	Ground black pepper
100 g	Silverbeet, chopped
1 bunch	Chopped fresh coriander
1	Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2	Vegetable stock cubes
5 large	Potatoes
2 Tbsp	Margarine
100 g	Cheese
1 cup	Milk
5 sheets	Flaky puff pastry

Directions

1. Slow boil Beef Cheeks for 4 - 6 hours in just enough water to cover the meat, with onion and 1 oxo cube in the water plus salt to taste.
2. Once cooked, remove the beef cheeks from the water and, using a knife and fork, separate the meat so that you are left with stringy chunks of the meat (hint, pull the meat apart rather than cutting).
3. At this point, check how much water is in the pot - if there is too much, strain some water out until you are left with only around 2 cups of water. Add the chunks of beef cheeks back to the water.
4. Add chopped silverbeet and mix well. Return to heat for at least 5 minutes - be sure to keep stirring.
5. Combine flour, 1 oxo cube and ground pepper with half a cup of milk and mix. Pour into the pot of beef cheeks and boil until water thickens. Add up to one more tablespoon of flour (mixed with a little cold water first) if necessary.
6. Add chopped coriander to the beef cheek mixture.
7. Boil potatoes adding salt for flavour. Once boiled, mash potatoes with margarine and half a cup of milk until creamy. Add more milk if potatoes are too dry.
8. Line a baking tray with pastry.
9. Place beef cheek mixture into pastry inside the baking tray. Grate cheese over the top of the beef cheek mixture and form a reasonably thick layer.
10. Add a generous layer of mashed potato over the top - season with white pepper
11. Cover with pastry to form a lid
12. Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees or until the pastry browns.