Aberdeen Beef Pie

Labor Day weekend. The summer ends its public phase: the tourists leave, the seasonal businesses close, Vermont returns to itself. I've always found this satisfying — not the departure of people but the return of the particular quiet that is the farm's natural state. I walked the back road on Saturday just to walk it, the way I do every September, taking the measure of what the season has been.

Ted Marchand came for dinner on Sunday. Proper dinner, indoors, the first time since spring that we'd eaten inside together rather than at the fence line or on the porch. I made a chicken roasted over root vegetables — the carrots and potatoes and onions that go under the bird and come out golden and rich from the drippings. He ate two helpings of the vegetables and said he was going to try growing more carrots next year. I said: I'll save you some seed. He said: I'd like that.

Teddy starts high school this week. Freshman year, which I still think of as the year you discover the world is larger than the school you came from, which was itself larger than your house, which was larger than your bed. The expansions are sequential and they're right. He texted to say it was good — the school was bigger, the classes harder, the people interesting. I said: good. He said: I'm still doing Sunday lessons. I said: I know. He said: I just wanted to confirm. I said: confirmed.

The fall crops are in: kale, chard, spinach, the lettuce that will be good until October's frosts take it. The garden is entering its autumn phase.

The chicken that night was right for Ted and me — simple, golden, the kind of thing you make without thinking too hard. But the meal I keep coming back to when the air changes and dinner moves indoors for good is this beef pie. It’s the same impulse: something warm under a crust, vegetables gone soft and rich, the oven doing most of the work while you set the table properly for the first time since spring. If you’re feeding someone who eats two helpings of what’s underneath, this is the recipe.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 turnip, peeled and cubed
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

Season and brown the beef. Toss the beef cubes with flour, salt, and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
Cook the vegetables. In the same pan, add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and turnip, stirring to coat in the pan drippings.
Build the filling. Return the beef to the pan. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on the stovetop or in a 325°F oven for 1 hour, until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened. Remove the bay leaf. Let the filling cool slightly.
Assemble the pie. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the filling to a deep pie dish or leave in the skillet. Drape the puff pastry over the top, trimming and crimping the edges to seal. Cut a few small slits in the top for steam. Brush with beaten egg.
Bake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deep golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Aberdeen Beef Pie — A Proper Dinner for the Season’s Turn