Lamb and Mushroom Pies

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil, for frying
2kg leg of lamb, deboned, cleaned and diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely sliced
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
4 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp roughly chopped fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, crushed
750ml red wine
600ml beef stock
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
500g mixed mushrooms, quartered
60g butter, melted
8 tsp cake flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 200g readymade puff pastry sheet
2 egg yolks
1 tsp cream or milk
Sprigs of fresh rosemary to garnish

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220˚C.

Heat a large casserole over high heat until it begins to smoke, add a drizzle of olive oil and fry the diced leg of lamb in three batches until golden brown. Remove the meat and set aside. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and sauté until the onion is soft and the mix is slightly golden brown. Add the spring onion and coriander seeds, and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, rosemary and garlic, and fry for 10 minutes while continuously scraping the base of the pan. Deglaze the pot with the red wine and then simmer to reduce by two-thirds. Once reduced, add the beef stock, chopped tomatoes and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add the browned lamb. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours.

Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 15 minutes. Mix together the butter and flour to form a paste. Stir the paste through the stew and cook for 10 minutes until thickened and the floury taste has cooked out. Season well with salt and black pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into 10 individual pie dishes.

Using a small 5cm-diameter round cutter, cut out several disks and layer roughly on top of the pie filling. Combine the egg yolks and cream or milk, and brush over the top of each pastry disc. Place in the oven, turn the heat down to 160˚C and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs and serve warm.