Yorkshire Pie — The One You Eat at 2 AM When You’re Making Twins

One week since the twins news and I have processed it approximately forty-seven times and am still processing it. Two. Two people. Two of everything. The logistics of this have been made more concrete this week by a series of online research sessions that Ryan has been conducting in a systematic way and presenting to me as briefings, which I have started to find very funny in a way I did not find funny in week one of the twins revelation. He is researching everything: double strollers (many options, many opinions), twin sleeping arrangements (apparently a whole field), twin feeding approaches. He has been at the firehouse for 24 hours a day three days this week, texting me links.

I have been eating everything. Second trimester twin pregnancy eating is a different category of eating from what I thought eating was before. I made a massive pot of pasta e fagioli this week — the same one I made in the lockdown, the one under four dollars for six servings — except I am eating it at a pace that suggests it is not going to make it six servings. I am making it every few days. Ryan found me eating it at 2 AM from the pot, on the couch, watching nothing in particular, and said: are you okay. I said: I am making twins. He said: that tracks. He went and got a spoon and sat with me and we ate pasta e fagioli at 2 AM and did not talk and that was exactly right.

We told the rest of the family the twins news. Kristin drove over in person, which she did not have to do. She said she needed to hug me and I said I understood. Jake and Lily were apparently very excited about the two-babies news and there was a video call where Lily said Amanda is making two babies at the same time which she stated with the awe of someone who had recently figured out that was not the default. She is five. She is right to be impressed.

The pasta e fagioli is the thing I keep making, but some nights you need something that fills the house with warmth before it fills you — something with a crust, something that holds together when everything else feels like it’s multiplying. This Yorkshire pie is that kind of food: cheap, enormous, the sort of meal Ryan and I can eat from for days, or in my current state, for about thirty-six hours. It is the second-trimester-of-twins meal I didn’t know I needed until I pulled it out of the oven at 11 PM and understood that this was dinner and also tomorrow’s lunch and also probably 2 AM again.

Yorkshire Pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Yorkshire pudding topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons beef drippings or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. Heat the vegetable oil in a large oven-safe skillet or deep baking dish over medium-high heat. Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Cook the vegetables. In the same pan, cook the onion, carrots, and celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Build the filling. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and browned beef. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low for 45 minutes until the beef is tender. Remove the bay leaf. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
4. Make the Yorkshire batter. While the filling cooks, whisk together the flour, eggs, milk, and salt until smooth. Let the batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
5. Assemble and bake. Transfer the hot filling to a deep baking dish if not already in one. Add the beef drippings to the top of the filling and place in the oven for 5 minutes until the fat is smoking hot. Pour the Yorkshire batter evenly over the filling. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the topping is puffed, golden, and set in the center. Do not open the oven door during baking.
6. Serve. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into portions. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 480mg