Ireland's favourite ale gives the meat for this pie a rich dark colour.

Ingredients

• 600 grams minced beef
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tblsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• ½ cup finely chopped prunes (optional)
• 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
• 300 ml can Guinness
• 400 gram packet puff pastry
• milk or beaten egg to glaze

Method

1. Brown the minced beef in the oil in a hot pan, breaking up the mince with the back of a spoon as it browns. Add the onion and garlic and cook 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook a further 2 minutes.
3. Add the mustard, prunes, mushrooms and Guinness and bring slowly to the boil. Cover then simmer for 20 minutes. Cool.
4. Turn the mixture into a 4-cup capacity pie dish or 4 x 1-cup capacity dishes.
5. Roll the pastry out large enough to cover the large pie dish or smaller dishes. Cut pastry to fit and press firmly onto the dish. Brush with milk to glaze.
6. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 15minutes (small) 20-25 minutes (large) or until the pie is golden.