Antony's Slow Cooking: 100 easy recipes for the slow cooker, the oven and the hob

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Brush the surface with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden-brown and puffed. Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes over a fairly high heat until golden brown, turning often.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan. Add the carrot, onion and celery and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, thyme, garlic and 2 bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan, and brown the beef all over. (You may need to do this in batches.) Set aside, then brown the kidneys on both sides in the same pan. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the beef in three batches over a medium–high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning every now and then and adding more oil if necessary. As soon as the beef is browned, transfer to a large flameproof casserole. Remove from the heat. Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cool completely. Place the cooked meat mixture into a pie dish. While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don’t fall apart and peel off the skin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Stir in 2-3 large spoonfuls of the reserved marinade mixture to deglaze or remove any sediment from the pan. Pour into the casserole dish.

Add a touch more oil to the frying pan and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring often until softened. Stir the garlic into the pan and cook for 1 minute more. My view is yes, flavour is sacrificed to convenience, if all you are prepared to do is bung the ingredients in an earthenware pot and hope for the best. I've been putting mine to the test over the past few months and one of the first things I realised is that a little preparation is needed for good results. Meat needs browning, pulses need soaking, vegetables need to be sautéed first (as apparently 10 hours of cooking won't always render them soft).When you are almost ready to serve, boil the carrots and turnips for eight to ten minutes; steam the cabbage for eight to ten minutes and the green leek tops (but don’t mix with the cabbage) for the last three minutes, until all the vegetables are just tender. Using a rolling pin, lift the pastry and place it over the top of the pie dish. Trim and crimp the edges with your fingers and thumb. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Pat dry the cubes of beef from the marinade mixture using absorbent kitchen paper. Add half of the beef to the pan and cook until brown on all sides. Remove the beef and transfer to the casserole dish with the bacon, shallots and vegetables. Repeat with the remaining beef and add to the casserole dish.