Yorkshire Beef Pie (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Before you tell me that this recipe isn’t authentic…I’m not pretending it is. To be honest, I don’t know what authentic Yorkshire beef should taste like. All I know is that when we were kids, there was this recipe called “Yorkshire Beef” in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and we had it for dinner every once in awhile.  It was a casserole type dish, with saucy ground beef on the bottom, topped with a batter as a crust.  I found myself craving comfort food from childhood, and since I am gluten-free, dairy-free, and pretty much grain-free, I had to first locate a recipe that was similar, and also make it suitable for my current way of eating.

I was lucky enough to find two recipes that I could combine:

I found this recipe for Gram (chickpea) flour yorkshire pudding for the gluten-free crust.  I kept this exact batter mix, but used it in a pie plate.

And I was happy to find this recipe for Yorkshire pie for guidance on making it as a pie. We had it with sautéed broccoli and asparagus. This fed two adults and two children – unfortunately, no leftovers :p

Let me tell you, it really hit the spot.

Yorkshire Beef Pie

Crust

²⁄3 cup almond milk (unsweetened, unflavored)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt liberally
½ cup chickpea flour

• Mix everything in a 2 cup measuring cup with hand blender (I did it by hand but I’m a renegade like that). Batter will be runny. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour.

 Ground Beef

1 lb ground beef
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¾ cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon allspice
½-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter or dairy free substitute (I used beef tallow… see the renegade comment above)

• Put the butter in a 10 inch pie plate on a cookie sheet and put it the oven and set oven to 425F degrees. The butter will melt and the pie plate will get very hot (to  help the batter rise).
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic and 1/2 teaspoon.  Sauté for 2 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add ground beef garam masala and allspice.  Cook until brown. Add tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, black pepper and apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil, taste and adjust for salt, then simmer 5-10 minutes.
• Take the pie plate out the oven and pour the batter mixture into the hot dish.
• Spoon the meat mixture evenly over the batter, leaving about an inch of batter around the edge. Put the pie dish back in the oven and let it cook for 25 minutes.

Note: LEAVE THE OVEN DOOR CLOSED FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES so that the batter will rise.