TONGUE & CHEEK

My favourite pie! I love the name, and the looks of horror as new customers squeal with disbelief when we confirm that yes, it really is ‘tongue and cheek’. I like to think of this pie as a beggar’s version of beef bourguignon — the only problem is, it’s even better! It’s best to start this pie the day before, marinating the beef cheeks in the red wine overnight.

MAKES ONE 22 CM (8½ INCH) PIE, OR SIX 10 CM (4 INCH) PIES

4 beef cheeks

300 ml (10½ fl oz) red wine

olive oil, for pan-frying

1 onion, diced

1 garlic bulb, cloves diced

½ a carrot, diced

½ a celery stalk, diced

½ a smoked ox tongue (you may need to order this ahead from your favourite butcher)

1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) chicken stock

1 teaspoon anchovy sauce

2 thyme sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

6 black peppercorns

45 g (1½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

45 g (1½ oz) butter

1 quantity of savoury shortcrust pastry

1 quantity of puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

Remove any big, thick, silvery bits of sinew from the beef cheeks and feed them to the dog. Dice the beef cheeks into bite-sized chunks. Marinate in the red wine overnight in the fridge.

Drain the beef, reserving the wine. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the beef over medium–high heat until caramelised all over. Transfer to a saucepan.

Using the same frying pan, sauté the onion, garlic, carrot and celery for 10 minutes, or until tender. Transfer to the saucepan.

Pour the reserved wine into the frying pan and cook until reduced by two-thirds, skimming off the impurities with a strainer as you go.

Peel the leathery external skin off the tongue. Dice the meat and add to the saucepan, along with the reduced red wine, stock, anchovy sauce and aromatics. Cover with a round of baking paper and simmer over low heat for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Combine the flour and butter. Add to the saucepan and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until you cannot taste the flour. Check the seasoning, as the mixture may need a little more salt. Transfer the filling to a tray, cover and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour, until cold.

Go for the classic feel: line a 22 cm (8½ inch) flan (tart) tin, or six 10 cm (4 inch) pie tins, with the shortcrust pastry, leaving some to overhang the edge. Add the filling and top with puff pastry. Crimp the edges together and trim. Now rest the pie or pies for about an hour in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºC/Gas 4).

Brush the pastry with beaten egg, then bake the pie or pies for 25–30 minutes, or until golden and delicious.