Created for St Patrick’s day, this pie is filled with a rich, hearty steak and mushroom mixture with a savoury Guinness gravy. Slow cooking the filling for an hour before putting it in the pie helps make sure that the beef is soft, and the gravy is at its best. All of this delicious flavour is encased in all-butter shortcrust pastry, best when the dough barely holds together, so that the finished pie melts and crumbles over your tongue.
While winter may be over, this pie is definitely still in season, and it’s absolutely perfect with all the fresh new spring vegetables available at this time of year. My favourite vegetable is purple sprouting broccoli, in season in the UK for a few weeks each year, and it’s my top choice to serve with a hearty dinner like a pie. This year we’re growing our own, and I can’t wait to see my little seedlings turn into leafy broccoli producing plants for next spring!
For now through, I’m enjoying my pie with shop bought veg, and after making this recipe, you’ll be enjoying it too!
Steak and Guinness Shortcrust Pastry Pie Recipe
Serves 2-3, cooking time 2 hours
Ingredients:
Small red onion
200g button or chestnut mushrooms
1 tbsp. rapeseed oil
400g stewing steak
1 tbsp. plain flour
Beef stock pot or stock cube
1 tbsp. Worcester sauce
250ml Guinness
1 bay leaf
Small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
For the pastry: (this will line and cover a small pie dish)
90g salted butter (cold from the fridge)
180g plain flour
Method:
Finely chop the red onion and roughly slice the mushrooms. Cut the stewing steak into 3cm cubes.
Heat a non-stick casserole pan over a medium-high heat and fry the beef in the rapeseed oil to brown the edges.
Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.
Using the remaining oil in the pan, fry the onions and mushrooms until softened. Add a splash of water if they start to burn or stick.
Return the beef to the pan and add the plain flour. Mix well to coat and cook for 1 min until the white flour disappears.
Pour in the Guinness and add the bay leaf, stock pot or cube, Worcester sauce and dried porcini.
Mix well to dissolve the stock pot or cube and add enough water to just cover the meat.
Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Then turn down, and simmer on low for 1 hour.
Half an hour before the end of the cooking time, remove the lid to allow the gravy to evaporate and reduce.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
While the gravy thickens, make the pastry. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour between your fingers and thumbs until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add cold water and mix, 1 tbsp. at a time, until you can make a crumbly dough that just holds together.
Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to 1/2 cm thick. Carefully place it over the pie dish to line the bottom, and press gently to take the shape of the dish.
Trim off the edges and use this to make the lid later.
When the pie filling has finished cooking, remove the bay leaf and pour into the lined pie dish.
Roll out the remaining pastry to make the lid, and lay carefully over the top.
Crimp the edges of the pastry together to seal, and cut a slit or small cross in the centre to allow steam to escape.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and lightly golden.
Serve with plenty of fresh veg on the side – and enjoy!
If you love pie recipes, try this Shepherd’s Pie Recipe, or for a sweet treat, this Apple Pie Recipe is sure to hit the spot!
