Beef, Mushroom & Mozzarella Pies

Ingredients

900g beef shin, cut into 5-6 large pieces
salt & pepper
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
120ml tawny port
500ml beef stock
1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, sliced in half
1 tablespoon (15g) butter
1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
120g mozzarella, broken into chunks
sesame seeds
store-bought puff pastry sheets
1 egg, beaten

This pie is stellar when paired with your favourite chutney and a hearty chilled stout. Try making these in traditional pie dishes, or fill ovenproof dishes or ramekins and top with pastry. Makes 5-6 standard pies

Preheat oven to 160° fan bake. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-based pan and brown the meat on all sides in batches.
Transfer meat to an ovenproof baking dish or slow cooker. Add 1-2 more tablespoons olive oil to the pan and sauté onions until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
Pour the tawny port over the onions to lift the lovely meat juices from the pan, then pour the onions and port over the meat along with the stock. Seal the dish with a layer or two of tin foil and cook for around 3 hours (6-8 hours in a slow cooker), or until the beef falls apart when touched. Remove the meat, carefully pull apart into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
In a frying pan over a high heat, sauté the mushrooms in the butter until they are just beginning to brown.
Pour the cooking juices from the beef dish into a saucepan, reduce slightly over a gentle heat and add the cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce. Check your seasoning pour over the beef and allow to cool slightly.
Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan bake. Grease the pie tins and line with a disc of pastry. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Three-quarter fill the tins with beef filling, spoon over the mushrooms and dot the mozzarella evenly all over.
Brush a little of the beaten egg around the pastry rims. Lay another pastry disc over the top of each pie and squeeze the rims together. Trim the excess pastry and seal the joins with a fork.
Brush the pie tops with beaten egg and prick a couple of holes near the centre to let the steam out. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is cooked and golden brown. Any additional filling can be kept in the fridge for a week, or freezes well.