How to Make a Steak and Onion Lattice Pie

Serves: 4, preparation time: 50 to 55 minutes with chilling; Cooking time: 2½ – 3 hours. Will freeze up to a month.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of 400g puff pastry. Keep a portion for making the lattice strips.
• 1 kg which is about 4 fillet/chuck steak trimmed of fat and cut roughly into 3cm (1 inch) cubes
• 30g (1¾oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 4 onions peeled, halved & thickly sliced
• 1tbsp chopped thyme
• 60g (2½oz) butter
• 4tsp Horseradish sauce
• 1 egg beaten for the glaze
• Fine sea salt and black pepper – about a 1/2 teaspoon for each.
• Poppy seeds for garnishing.

Preparation: 

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan assisted oven)/425ºF/Gas 7.
2. In a large bowl add the plain flour. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Add the steak pieces and toss to fully coat.
3. To a large, skillet or heavy-based frying pan, heat the butter and brown and seal the meat in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the meat will steam, not brown. 
4. Set the meat aside when it is done to cool down in a dish. Reduce the heat and add the butter to casserole dish, then sauté the onion and garlic until soft. 
5. Add the onions and thyme. Gently fry/sauté for up to 10 minutes until these brown slightly. Allow to cool down.
6. Cut the pastry into 4 equal pieces. Roll each one sufficiently large enough to be able to wrap under and over the steaks.
7. Place one eighth of the onions in the centre of each pastry piece, top with a generous teaspoonful of horseradish and then sit a steak on top. Top the meat with the evenly divided remaining onions.
8. Brush the edges of one pastry piece with beaten egg and bring the sides up to meet over the meat. Press together firmly so that the filling is totally sealed in like a parcel, turn over and place on a lined baking sheet. Take a portion of the puff pastry and cut into thin strips.
9. Do a lattice structure on the top side as in the picture.
10. Repeat with remaining pastry/steak stacks. Make 2-3 cuts in the tops of the parcels, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
11. Bake the whole piece for up to 15 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and golden. The steak pieces need not be rare so varying the cooking time will change the colour of the meat.
12. Serve hot with new potatoes and loads of greens such as sauteed greens or kale with broccoli for example.