RPI: Hearty Lamb & Fava Bean Pot Pie

The Lowdown:

For Easter we had my favourite meat. Lamb. Enough said. The meal will be discussed in a later post; but for now, all we need to know is that I fled the scene with the leftovers of a beautifully cooked lamb roast. As RPI is due tomorrow I figured tonight would be the best time to do it. Fava beans - check, lamb - check, bottle of wine - check. Now that we have the basics covered we can get to the good stuff. 

I'm a huge fan of traditional British cooking (other than mushy peas). Perhaps it isn't traditional, so lets just say: I'm a big fan of home-style meals. With this in mind, I decided that a lamb and fava bean pot pie would be amazing!  I know traditionally, fava beans go well with liver and a nice chianti (thanks for that tip Mr. Hopkins), but tonight that isn't the case. Tonight is a simple, home-style meal. After all, summer is nearing and nobody will want this type of food until winter. Oh how much I'll miss soups, chilis, and hearty meals. Instead, it'll be boring salads and BBQ. One problem, my stupid strata council doesn't allow BBQs. Ack! Summer cooking is ruined! Ruined I tell you!

Little known fact - if you do not own a rolling pin, a bottle of wine will work wonderfully! I've been cooking for over 10 years now and I still don't own one. Part of me believes that it is solely because after using a bottle to roll, it is perfectly acceptable to drink. Or drink then roll. Whatever works for you I suppose.

Without further ado, here is my ode to home-style cooking!

The Playlist:

Puff Pastry

1 cup Flour, sifted

3/4 cup Butter, room temperature &cut into small cubes

1/2 cup water (more if needed)

Pinch of salt.

Filling

2 lbs Lamb, cubed

2 lbs Fava beans, casings removed.

2 Onions, diced

2 stalks Celery, chopped

2 Carrots, chopped

1 Yam, cubed

1 Potato, cubed

2 Turnips, cubed

1 Parsnip, cubed

1 can Tomato paste

4 cups Beef broth

1 cup dry Red wine

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Grainy mustard

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 cup Parsley, chopped

1 sprig Rosemary

Salt & Pepper

The Skinny:

1. Combined flour, salt and butter  into a large mixing bowl and mix. Ensure that each small cube of butter is coated in flour. Then form a well in the centre and add the water slowly, while mixing until it forms a dough ball. Wrap the ball in cling wrap and set it aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.
2. Flour a surface and kneed the dough ball into a rectangle shape. Using a rolling pin (or bottle of win) in only one direction, roll out the dough into a elongated rectangle. Fold the top 1/3 of the rectangle towards the centre and then fold the bottom 1/3 towards the centre. Rotate 90* and roll the dough into another elongated rectangle. Fold into thirds again, wrap in cling wrap, and set aside in the fridge for an hour (longer if you can). Video instructions are provided here.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add all of the vegetables except for the fava beans and celery with a bullion cube and boil for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and boil for another 5 minutes then strain.
4. Add oil to the same pot and saute the onions and garlic until they start to become translucent. Add the lamb and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes then add the parsley, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, mustard, wine, cayenne pepper,  and beef broth then cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes on medium-low.
5. Add tomato paste to thicken. If the lamb filling isn't thick enough add cornstarch into enough water to make a slurry and slowly add the slurry into the lamb until desired consistency, ensuring to mix frequently. I used 2 heaping tbsp of cornstarch in 1 cup of water (I can't remember how much, but it was around there).
6. Place vegetable mixture into individual oven safe dishes, or into a greased 8x12 dish. Put the lamb mixture on top of the vegetables. Finally, place the crust on the top and pinch the edges around the perimeter of the dish. Brush on olive oil or melted butter if desired. Add slits into the crust so that the inside can "breathe."
7. Place into a pre-heated oven at 350* for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let set for 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Stay rad - H.