Steak And Guinness Pie - Jamie Oliver - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs stewing beef, diced
sea salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour (heaping)
2 -3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 -3 carrots, peeled and chopped (depending on size)
2 -3 potatoes, peeled and chopped (depending on size)
fresh thyme (fresh herbs, pick leaves and add about a handful) or bay leaf (fresh herbs, pick leaves and add about a handful)
2 cups Guinness stout (Can substitute the Guinness for beef stock) or 2 cups other dark stout beer (Can substitute the Guinness for beef stock)
28 ounces diced tomatoes
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (1 sheet from a 1 lb. 2 oz. package)
1 egg, beaten

Preparation

Season your beef generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the flour and toss around until all pieces are well coated.
Heat olive oil, over med.-high heat, in a large casserole type pan and brown the meat. Make sure to not crowd your meat. You may do this in two batches, if necessary.
Add the onion and cook for 1 more minute. Then add the carrots, potatoes and fresh herbs. Cook for another 4 minutes. Add the Guinness and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir and turn down the heat to simmer. Simmer this mixture for about 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. The sauce should be thick and intensely flavored. Season if needed.
To make pies:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Put your meat filling into a large, round baking dish. You could also make individual pies. Any high-sided round ovenproof bowl is fine.
Roll out the pastry, dusting with flour as you go, until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out a large circle (or individual circles for smaller servings) - about 1/2 inch bigger than the top of your bowl. Brush the rim(s) of the bowl with the beaten egg, then place the pastry circle(s) on top, pushing the excess pastry down the outside of the bowl to secure. Lightly score the top of the pastry in a criss-cross manner and brush with more of the beaten egg.
Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until golden and bubbling.