25g beef dripping 800g feather blade of beef Flour for dusting 200g chopped onion 250ml ale 250ml beef stock Few splashes of Worcestershire sauce Salt and freshly ground black pepper Some large spinach leaves
Heat the dripping in a frying pan. Toss the beef in some flour and shake off excess. Add the beef and the chopped onion to the pan and cook over a medium to hot heat until the beef is brown. Add the ale, stock, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning and bring to the boil. Transfer to a casserole dish and cover with a lid. Cook in the oven at 160°C/325°F, gas mark 3 for two and a half to three hours. Allow the mixture to cool, and then tear it up slightly with your fingers. Line some miniature tartlet moulds with puff pastry and bake blind. Blanch the spinach leaves for 10–15 seconds and refresh. Drain and squeeze out any excess water. Place a small spoonful of the beef mix in a spinach leaf and wrap into balls. Place each one in the cooked pastry case and then cover with puff pastry. Allow to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes and then bake in the oven at 220°C/425°F, gas mark 7 for 10–12 minutes. To serve Serve on a bed of carrot mash with fresh seasonal vegetables. Recipe by Paul Merrett