Today is our official launch so thanks for stopping by! It's pretty cold where we are and it's nearly the weekend, so the recipe below is perfect for some slow cooking on a Saturday.
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Beef & Guinness Pies
Please note this recipe needs about 2 hours of stove time and about half an hour in the oven. You don't need to watch them cook, but you probably should hang at home while they do.
In theory, this recipe should make 6 pies in ramekins but I can only ever get 5 out of it, so alter as you will. You could use the filling to make one big pie if you are brave enough to blind bake a pastry base - uuurrrgh.
Ingredients
1kg chuck steak cut into 3cm cubes
1/4 cup plain flour, seasoned
20gm unsalted butter
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
400ml Guinness or other stout (if you live in Melbourne like me, Abbotsford Invalid would be the obvious choice)
1 fresh bay leaf
300gm potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
375ml beef stock
6 sheets of puff pasty
1 egg
Coat the beef in flour and shake off excess, keep the leftover flour.
Heat the oil and butter in a large pot and cook the beef in batches for 3-4 minutes until browned. Set aside.
Add garlic, onion and carrots to the pot (you can add a little more oil if need be) and cook/stir for 2-3 minutes. Pop the beef back in the pot, add the tomato paste, leftover flour, Worcester sauce, booze, bay leaf, potato, stock and stir well. Bring to the boil and then simmer, covered, for 1 & 1/2 hours or until beef is cooked and sauce has thickened.
You must cool completely before the next step. Don't worry if a skin develops on the top, you can skim it off or re-heat for a minute, stir it in and then cool again - it won't happen twice.
Don't forget to defrost your pastry while your filling is cooling.
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.
BEFORE you fill your ramekins, use one dish as a template to cut 6 lids for the pie tops, make them about 1cm too wide.
Spoon your filling into the ramekins, don't make them too full or they will bubble over in the oven.
Cut 6, 1cm strips (my ramekins need a little more than the standard pastry sheet length so don't turf the pastry until they are all done just in case) and push them onto the rim of each dish to make a little collar. Brush them with water and then pop the tops on and press together carefully. You can trim the edges with a knife, or fold them over all fancy-like and score the edges to make them pretty. You need to put a couple of slits in the top and then beat your egg and brush lightly over the tops.
Cook for 25-30 minutes. Remember all ovens are different, so as long as they are golden on top, they are done.
You can serve these with salad, steamed veg, chips or whatever else takes your fancy.
They don't freeze so well, so make them when you have a few people coming over, or drop a couple off to your mates/neighbours when you're done.
Enjoy!
Feel free to leave any feedback or tips in the comments section below.
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