Jamie Oliver's British Beef Pie

Lazy, lazy, me, me, me. I've been cooking and baking a bunch but I've been too damn lazy to keep track of the recipes. I'm going to need a system... something to think about.

Anyway, the recipe that jogged me out of this lazy, lazy funk is from Jamie Oliver's newest cookbook, Jamie's Food Revolution. The whole concept is simple, economical cooking that is both healthy and week-day friendly. It really delivers. Even if you don't like to cook, or you don't feel you can cook, the recipes in this book are insanely doable, and for those of us that like to cook, they're delicious (seriously) and full of variations to play around with. I took his basic recipe and techniques and adapted them to make my version of his "British Beef and Onion Pie". I did this on Tuesday night, between writing and a web-conference and seriously, it was delicious.

I can't say enough. Awesome book, awesome recipe, awesome all around - and I wasn't even a fan... until Tuesday. Now it's katie-bar-the-door, because I'm going to cook the hell out of this book.

Note: For the original recipe, check out Jamie's Food Revolution or his website, jamieoliver.com. My version isn't all that different, but it's different enough that the original is worth checking out.

Ingredients:

- 1 medium to large onion

- 2 carrots

- 2 celery stalks

- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

- 2 bay leaves

- olive oil

- 1 lb. good, lean ground beef

- 1 tbs. Worchestershire sauce (or soy sauce if you haven't got it on hand)

- 1 tsp. English mustard (or powdered in a pinch)

- 2 tsp. all-purpose flour

- 1 cup broth, chicken or beef

- 2 nine inch pie crusts

- 1 egg, beaten (or a splash of milk)

- pinch of salt

- pinch of black pepper

Process:

1. Cook the ground beef in a skillet or dutch oven, breaking it up into pieces, until it is about 3/4's done (it should be mostly brownd, with a bit of pink here and there). Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

2. Return the skillet to the stove. Roughly chop the onion, carrot, celery

and rosemary (woody stalks removed), and toss into the preheated skillet with the bay leaves and pinch of salt.

Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the veggies are softened and lightly colored.

3. Stir the ground beef back in. Add the flour, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Then add the cup of broth. Bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, bring it down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the broth has fully reduced, about 30 -40 minutes. Stir it every so often to keep the bottom from sticking.

5. Set the beef mixture aside to cool for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, fit one of the pie crusts into a 9 inch pie plate and put it back in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350.

6. When the mixture is cooled (a little warmer than room temp.) and the oven is preheated, pull the pie plate out and fill it with the beef mixture. Working quickly, place the second crust over the meat. Crimp the two crusts together (trimming the excess first), and put flour slits, clockwise, into the crust. Very gently use a brush to lightly film the crust with egg wash and put it into the oven on the bottom rack.

7. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes, until the pie crust is golden. Let it sit for about ten minutes to set, and tuck in . To quote Jamie Oliver, "As it's so scrummy and rich, it's best served with some simply steamed greens," and I've got to say, the man knows what he's talking about.