What I love to cook at home

It’s not all scallops and monkfish in the Stein household, as these recipes from Rick ’s new book show. The well travelled chef loves to re-create dishes he’s discovered, from Shanghai pork belly to pasta bakes from the Med. And there’s still a place for a good old-fashioned plum tart

PHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES MURPHY. FOOD STYLING: AYA NISHIMURA. STYLING: PENNY MARKHAM

Beef and macaroni pie with kefalotiri cheese

"I have a great affection for the Mediterranean baked dishes of meat, pasta, tomato and kefalotiri —a dry, firm ewe’s milk cheese, full of irregular holes. It ranges in colour from white through to pale yellow, depending on the grazing of the sheep, and it’s fresh and slightly sharptasting, with a distinct f lavour of ewe’s milk."

Beef and macaroni pie with kefalotiri cheese

Serves 8-10

Hands-on time 1 hour 20 min

Oven time 30-40 min

You’ll also need 23cm x 33cm x 7cm deep baking dish

• 500g tubular pasta, such as macaroni, rigatoni or penne

• 2 medium free-range eggs, lightly beaten

• 50g Greek kefalotiri cheese or parmesan, finely grated

• 2 tbsp melted butter

• 10g fresh white breadcrumbs

Meat sauce

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped

• 1kg lean British beef mince

• 200ml red wine

• 400g tin chopped tomatoes

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 10cm cinnamon stick

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp chopped oregano (fresh)

• 3 fresh bay leaves

White sauce

• 115g butter

• 115g plain flour

• 1.2 litres whole milk, plus a splash

• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 For the meat sauce, heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and celery and fry until just beginning to brown. Add the mince and fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon as the meat browns. Add the red wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, dried and fresh oregano, bay leaves, 100ml water, salt and some black pepper. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened but is still nicely moist. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, then set the sauce aside.

2 Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (still firm to the bite). Take care not to overcook, as it will cook more in the oven. Drain well, transfer to a bowl and leave to cool slightly.