A weeknight meat and potato pie enhanced with rosemary

Rosemary is the flavour hero of this pie which is made with lean beef mince. It’s a variation of my mother Betty Jackman’s “meat and potato pie”, as she called it, for which she used chunks of beef cooked slowly until tender.

Instead, I chose to use beef mince, and to keep other other elements to a minimum — there’s no celery or carrot on it, but I did use onion, garlic and tomatoes. This is because I wanted the rosemary to be predominant.

There wouldn’t have been garlic in my mom’s pie, but there sure is in mine. I used black pepper, but mom only ever used white, as was the habit in those days.

Like my mom’s meat and potato pie, this one has a crust only on top, not underneath.

I made a sauce to go with it, consisting of a beef stock sachet simmered with white wine, onion and rosemary. I decided against red wine as that would have taken the focus away from the rosemary.

Tony’s meat and potato pie enhanced with rosemary

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

500 g minced lean beef

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

The picked needles of 4 young rosemary sprigs

2 Tbsp cooking oil

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes

2 medium potatoes, peeled diced and parboiled for 10 minutes

1 roll of frozen shop-bought puff pastry OR 1 quantity of my hot water pie crust

For the sauce:

1 beef stock sachet (I used Ina Paarman’s)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

100 ml dry white wine

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 small rosemary sprigs

1 heaped tsp cornflour mixed with a little cold water

Method

Make the pastry first if using the hot water pie crust. Refrigerate it while you work on the pie.

Put the potatoes in salted cold water and turn the heat up high. When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down slightly and cook them for 10 minutes, then tip them into a colander and leave them in that to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

In a heavy pan, heat the oil and add the chopped onion. Simmer, stirring, until it softens, then add the garlic and continue simmering and stirring for 2 minutes. Spoon the contents of the pan into a bowl.

In the same pan, add a little more oil and all the mince. Immediately start working the mince with a wooden spoon, on a moderate heat, to ensure it doesn’t form clumps.

Add the rosemary needles (pick them off their stems) and salt and black pepper, and the contents of the can of chopped tomatoes, and simmer for about half an hour for the meat to become tender.

Cut the potatoes into small dice and stir them into the mince.

Grease a large pie dish and spoon in the mince and potato mixture.

Place a round of the pastry on top and crimp the edges. Use a small sharp knife to cut a cross into the centre of the pastry.

Place it in the oven to bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry has turned golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Pour 100 ml water into a small bowl and stir in the beef stock. Chop an onion and simmer it in oil until softened. Add the garlic and simmer for 2 minutes.

Stir the stock and white wine into the saucepan and add the rosemary. Season with salt and black pepper.

Bring to a simmer and cook gently while the liquid has reduced by about half.

Dissolve the cornflour in a little cold water and stir it into the sauce with a wooden spoon until it has thickened.

Serve generous slices of the pie with mashed potato, peas and the sauce. Garnish with a rosemary sprig. DM

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.