Challenge 2014 - Week Two - Steak, Mushroom & Red Wine Pie

Mmmm mmmm mmmm! Pie! Everyone loves pie!

We made pie! From scratch, pastry and everything! Look, a little spoiler for you... It was delicious. I found this delicious recipe on a fellow Blogger blog Exclusively Food.



Firstly, you want to start with meat that is designed for slow cooking. For our pie, we used gravy steak, but you could use chuck steak too.

If you want to make your own pastry, I suggest making it now, because it will need some time (about 2 hrs) to 'rest' in the fridge. 

Prep Time: 30 mins
Initial Cooking: 2.5hrs
Additional Cooking: 15-20 mins

40ml (2 tablespoons) oil
850g trimmed beef chuck or blade (or similar cut of meat), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large (about 200g) onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves (about 17g total), peeled and crushed
24g (1 tablespoon) tomato paste
125ml (1/2 cup) red wine
375ml (1 1/2 cups) beef stock (we use a low salt stock)
335ml (1 1/3 cups) water
20ml (1 tablespoon) worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
Salt and pepper, to taste (we use about 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper)
300g mushrooms (cup or flat mushrooms)
24g (2 tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
20ml (1 tablespoon) water
2 sheets puff pastry (each about 25cm by 25cm)
2-3 sheets shortcrust pastry (each about 25cm by 25cm)

Preheat oven to to 180 deg C.

Method:

We need to first brown the meat. We did it in two batches, to avoid stewing. Once it's all browned, set it aside.

Now throw in your onions, and brown them off. Add your garlic and tomato paste, stirring till combined. 

Pour in the red wine and bring to the boil. Add stock, water,  Worcestershire  sauce, meat, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cover, on a low heat, simmering for 2hrs, or until the meat is tender.

Add your chopped mushrooms to the pot, return to the simmer, and cook until mushrooms are cooked, or meat is protruding over the liquid. 

Stir through the cornflour (mixed with a little water), and return to simmer. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Spoon into your prepared pie dish (We used a family sized glass Pyrex dish, but the original recipe calls for individual metal pie tins, just use whichever is easier for you). Place in the oven, and bake until the pastry is golden. 

Enjoy!

A quick note: Try to let the pie cool for a few minutes before taking it out of the dish, or cutting it. It will help the contents to settle, and will be easier to eat (because no one enjoys scolding hot meat, all up in their mouth...).

For more information on the original recipe:

http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2011/01/beef-and-mushroom-pie-recipe.html

Love

Jayde xx