Beef stifado filo pie

Put the beef, allspice and pepper in a bowl and toss until evenly coated.

Heat the oven to 160C. Put the oven rack in the middle shelf of the oven.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Rub the spiced beef with olive oil, and brown on both sides in the hot pan, in batches, so not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer beef to an ovenproof casserole dish as each batch is seared..

Add a dash more oil, if needed, lower the heat and add the onions. Toss the onions around until they begin to brown then add the garlic. Cook for a minute or so, then pour in the red wine and allow the wine to reduce and become syrupy. Stir with a wooden spoon to release any sticky bits on the base of the pan as you don’t want to lose his extra flavour.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and stock. Bring to the boil then pour over beef, cover with the lid and put in the oven

Cook for 2 ½ hours until beef is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.

Start Timer

Remove from oven and make a slurry with stir through cornflour and 2 Tbsp water. Stir through the beef mixture. Taste and season with salt and a little more black pepper.

Increase the oven temperature to 180C. Brush an ovenproof pie dish (20cm x 15cm) with some of the melted butter.

Lay a sheet of filo pastry brushed with melted butter in half of the prepared dish, allowing it to overhang the sides. Lay a sheet of filo pastry brushed with butter in the other half of the dish, allowing overhang and overlapping in the centre by 2cm.

Repeat this process 3 more times to create the base of the pie. Spoon in the beef then lift up the overhanging pastry to enclose the beef into a pie. Brush the top with melted butter.

Lastly, brush a sheet of filo pastry with butter, scrunch up into a loose ball and put on top of the pie. Repeat this using 7 more sheets of pastry.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and put in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes until golden brown. Leave pie to stand for 10 minutes before eating.

Start Timer