Merthyr Pie

Another in our Welsh Recipes series. This was a real Winter Warmer of a dish. It’s not easy to scale this recipe down - So realistically I’d say this will feed 4 to 6 people.

Ingredients:-

500g of Beef Shin (It’s on on the least expensive cuts, but cooked low and slow it tastes really good)
2 Carrots, halved
1 Onion, quartered
2 Sticks of Celery, halved
1 Bulb of Garlic, halved (Remove the papery outer parts)
2 Bay Leaves
2 Sprigs of fresh Thyme
3 Tbsp of Beef Dripping / Lard
9 Generous Sliced of Bread (Gluten free for us from the Bread Machine)
3 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
150g of Cheddar Cheese, Grated (We used Lactose Free)
Salt & Pepper to season
Enough water to cover the Meat.

Method:-

(1) Heat the oven to 140c.
(2) Place the Shin in a covered casserole dish along with the Vegetables and add sufficient water to cover ¾ of the contents.
(3) Snugly fit a piece of baking paper over the Beef and replace the lid.
(4) Cook in the oven for 5 hours or until the Beef begins to fall apart.
(5) Remove the Beef and Vegetables and set aside.
(6) Remove the stock to a pan and simmer to reduce by 1/3.
(7) Heat the dripping in a frying pan and fry the Bread on both sides until golden brown.
(8) Spread Mustard on one side of the Fried Bread and chop the Vegetables.
(9) Squeeze the Garlic out of the skins.
(10) Increase the oven temperature to 180c.
(11) Place a layer for Fried Bread in the bottom of a dish, sprinkle with Cheese and then add half of the Beef, chopped Vegetables and Garlic.
(12) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(13) Repeat the process and then top with a layer of Bread sprinkled with Cheese.
(14) Pour over the reserved Stock.
(15) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the Cheese is bubbling.

You really don’t need anything else with this. It is a meal in it’s own right! It might not be too pretty but it was really tasty.