Beef and Guinness Pie with Champ Mash Crust

Ingredients

• 800g diced beef
• 2 carrots
• 2 red onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 sticks celery (all diced)
• 100g chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 tin tomato
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 bay leaves
• Picked thyme
• 2 bottles of Guinness
• 200ml beef or chicken stock
• 1kg potatoes
• 50g butter
• 100ml buttermilk
• 1 bunch spring onions (chopped)

Method

1. Sear the diced beef in a hot, heavy-based pan until golden all around. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add butter, onions, carrot, garlic, and celery. Sauté until soft.
3. Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Return the beef to the pan along with the stout, tomatoes, mushrooms, stock, and herbs.
5. Place a lid on the pan and cook in a 160°C oven for 3 hours until the beef is soft and tender.
6. Transfer the cooked beef into a heatproof dish and allow it to cool while you prepare the champ.
7. To make the champ mash, boil the potatoes until cooked. Drain them and return them to the pot on the stove for 2 minutes to evaporate any remaining water.
8. Mash the potatoes until smooth with no lumps.
9. In a separate pot, sauté the chopped spring onions in a little butter for 2 minutes, then add the buttermilk.
10. Fold this mixture through the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
11. Place the champ into a piping bag and pipe it on top of the cooled beef and Guinness mixture (or spoon it on if you do not have a piping bag).
12. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes until the potato topping is golden.