What’s better than a casserole recipe that can be made into a pie? For a real treat dinner try this great steak, kidney, ale and mushroom pie this week – you won’t regret it!
Ingredients
- 25g (1oz) unsalted butter
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- 900g (2lb) braising steak, cut into 2.5cm (1in) cubes
- 3 lamb's kidneys, cut into small dice
- 3tbsp plain flour, seasoned
- 2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 1 x 500ml (18fl oz) dark ale, such as Black Sheep Ale
- 11/2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 100g (4oz) chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 375g (13oz) puff pastry, such as Dorset Pastry Company
- 1 egg yolk, to glaze the pastry
- You will need
- a 1.7-litre (3pt) pie dish and a pie funnel
Method
Preheat the oven to 160 C, 140 C fan, 315 F, gas 2. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan. Toss the meat in the seasoned flour and brown a few pieces at a time, then transfer to a casserole. Continue until all the meat is browned. Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook for 10 minutes until soft and lightly coloured, then add to the casserole.
Add the ale and Worcestershire sauce, and season well. Place a lid on top and cook in the oven for 2 to 21/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Add the mushrooms, stir and pour into the pie dish. Put the funnel in the centre and cool. Increase the temperature to 200 C, 180 C fan, 400 F, gas 6. The cooked meat mixture can be frozen for up to a month. To assemble the pie, simply defrost and continue with point 3.
Grease the rim of the pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board. Cut a 2.5cm (1in) strip of pastry and press on to the rim of the pie dish. Brush the rim with water. Roll the remaining pastry to make a lid and place on top of the pie, pressing down the edges. Trim and knock up by using a flat-bladed knife and horizontally tapping the edge. Decorate the centre of the pie with pastry leaves. Mix the egg yolk with a little water and brush over the pastry. Place in the oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is risen and golden brown.
