After our fish and veggie couple of days Dean was like, ‘I am man, I need meat, can we have a meat pie?’. No need to ask that question twice so while shopping in town we nipped into Selfridges to pick up some really lovely beef shin. I always use beef shin in my stews. I kind of figure if you’re going to make a stew who cares if it takes 2 or 3 hours, it’s still bloody ages so get the best meat for the job, and the best meat is shin.

Coincidentally I had promised the lovely guys at Jus roll that I would try out their new all butter shortcrust pastry. I had some in the freezer waiting to be used so what better opportunity? I’m torn with ready made pastry. Pastry has been my nemesis for years. Its a proper pain in the arse, breaking all the time, shrinking, always making too much or too little. When I wrote my book it was the thing I really wanted to tackle and during that process I grew to love making it, especially now I know how easy it is to make. A few store cupboard ingredients and voila - pastry. So to spend a couple of quid on the ready made stuff that was not the real buttery deal seemed a bit of a waste. I’m all for shortcuts, but I am very sad we are losing the ability to cook in a skilled way and most of these products are no match for the proper stuff. It frustrates me that some people don’t even try. That said I don’t know anyone, even the big chefs who doesn’t use ready made pastry occasionally and now Jus roll have made an all butter version of their pastry I thought maybe it was time for me to push these views aside and give it a go.

So I slow cooked the beef with shallots, carrots, garlic, red wine, ale, stock, thyme, bay, star anise, cinnamon and cloves - which produced a wickedly rich stew. I let it cool overnight, then whacked it between my all butter pastry crust. In the oven for 45 minutes and out comes a really scrumptious looking pie. I knew instantly this pastry was good as the second the oven door opened the wafts of butter were as strong as the wafts of stew and the pie crust was crisp, flakey, then crumbly when cut into. Damn it. It was really good. As good as the home made stuff? Well I don’t know if I would be able to pull it out of a line up so maybe, yes. And it rolled out easily too.

So am I converted? Not completely, you can’t beat food made with passion and fresh is always best (plus I aspire to be able to make pastry without scales like my Mum), but I am certain that I will keep a pack or two in the freezer for those times when you just can’t be bothered. I’m a modern woman after all.