This is a recipe I posted some years ago and

Gillian (where is she these days?) made it with great success. I'm repeating the recipe at the request of Suzanne - she was inspired by my shot of the Irish Martini posted in the Gallery.

3 tbs. tomato paste, 3 1/2 cups beef stock, 4 lbs. beef chuck cut into 1" cubes, 1 1/2lbs. white mushrooms cleaned and quartered, 1 large yellow onion sliced, 6 cloves garlic sliced, 2 tbs fresh thyme leaves chopped, 2 cups Guiness Stout,1 1/2 cps flour, salt & freshly ground pepper, 1 egg, 1 lb. frozen puff pastry, thawed.

Preheat oven to 325. Put tom. paste in large bowl, add stock and stir until paste dissolves. Add beef, mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme and Guiness and stir well. Sprinkle flour over all, add salt & pepper to taste and stir well. Put in a 10 1/2 x 12 1/2 baking dish set on a large baking sheet. cover with foil and bake, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender. 2 hrs approx.

Beat egg and l tsp water together in a small bowl and set aside. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4" thickness, 2" wider than the baking dish. Drape pastry over dish and brush with egg wash. Return dish to oven and bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Note: It says serves 6-8 - I found it to serve more - like 8 - 10. The dish size is an odd one, so you'll have to adjust this a bit, just make sure it's aboiut 2" deep. It doesn't call for a pie funnel but I've wondered if it might be a good idea to use one.

These days I halve the recipe and make two 8" pies (or more smaller ones). The smaller pies freeze well.

Enjoy!