Jackson - Great Family Dinners

750 g prime beef mince

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped

3 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons flour

3 sheets butter puff pastry

100 g tasty cheddar cheese, chopped into 2 cm chunks

1 egg yolk, whisked

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and brown mince well in batches. Transfer to a large saucepan.

Heat olive oil in the same frying pan and gently cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic for 510 minutes until onions are tender.

Transfer vegetables to the saucepan and add stock and tomato paste. If using a good-quality stock you will need to add salt. If using commercial stock, taste before seasoning as it is often salty. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 hours, topping up with a little water if mixture gets too dry.

Rub butter into flour until you get a smooth ball (you may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky). Gradually add small balls of dough to mince and allow to dissolve and thicken the mince.

Simmer for a further 15 minutes to cook the flour, then remove from the heat. Once cool, refrigerate until cold.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Line a 24 cm flan pan with pastry. Spoon over the cold mince (you will have some left over), then scatter with cheese. Cover with pastry, sealing edges well. Brush with egg.

Cook for 30 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden.