Steak Ale Mushroom Pie Recipe 455

Steps:

• If you're using the porcini mushrooms, cover 10g of mushrooms in boiling water for 20 mins, then squeeze out but keep the soaking water.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large casserole dish, brown 1kg large chunks of braising steak really well in batches, then set aside.
• Add 2 large onions, roughly chopped, and 4 large carrots, chopped into large chunks, to the pan. Add a drizzle more vegetable oil, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins until coloured.
• Add the soaked porcini mushrooms, sizzle for 1 min more, then scatter over 2 tsp golden caster sugar and 4 tbsp plain flour, stirring until the flour turns brown.
• Tip the braising steak and any juices back into the pan and give it all a good stir.
• Pour over 300ml dark ale, 2 beef stock cubes mixed with 400ml boiling water and the porcini mushroom soaking liquid, discarding the last few drops.
• Season the stew, tuck in a small tied-together bunch of thyme, bay leaf and parsley, and bring everything to a simmer.
• Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about 2 hrs, until the braising steak is really tender.
• While the stew is cooking, heat a drop more vegetable oil in a frying pan and sizzle 200g smoked bacon lardons for 3 mins until crisp.
• Turn up the heat, add 200g halved chestnut mushrooms and cook for 4 mins until golden. Remove from the heat and, when the stew is cooked, stir them through.
• Leave everything to cool completely - better still, make this up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge as the pie will be better if the filling is fridge-cold when added. Can also be frozen for up to 3 months and defrosted when needed.
• Make the pastry up to 2 days before you want to assemble the pie. Crumble 650g plain flour and 250g cold diced lard or butter, together with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined, then add up to 200ml ice-cold water to make a soft dough. This can be done in a food processor if you want.
• Knead the pastry, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr. The pastry can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.
• When you want to make the pie, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and place a flat baking tray in the oven. Heavily grease a 24-28cm pie dish and dust well with flour.
• Cut a third off the pastry and set aside. Roll out the pastry to a thickish round that will easily line the pie dish with an overhang, then line the tin.
• Add the braising steak to the dish using a slotted spoon so some gravy is left in the container, as you don't want too much sauce in the pie. You want the filling to be slightly higher than the rim of the dish. If you have a bit too much, set it aside.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to a thick round big enough to cover the dish. Brush the edges of the pastry in the dish with 1 beaten egg yolk, then cover with the pastry lid.
• Trim the edges, crimp the pastry, then re-roll your trimmings to make a decoration, for example, pastry leaves. Brush the top heavily with egg. Make a few little slits in the centre of the pie, place on the hot baking tray.
• Bake for 40 mins until golden. Leave the pie to rest for 10 mins while you heat up the gravy left in the container. Serve the pie at the table with a jug of gravy and a big pile of greens.

Steps:

• Place the beef stew meat, onion, and ale in a large saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Season the beef with garlic, thyme, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and mushrooms. Cover and simmer over medium heat until potatoes are just tender enough to pierce with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk a small amount of the sauce together with the flour in a small bowl, and stir into the beef. Simmer until slightly thickened.
• Fit one pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Spoon the hot beef mixture into the crust and top with the remaining pie crust. Cut slits in the top crust to vent steam and crimp the edges to seal them together.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and gravy is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large skillet with a well fitting lid or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. When shimmering hot, add steak and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook only long enough to brown all sides of the meat. Remove steak from pan and set aside. Add diced onions to the pan and cook until translucent stirring to prevent scorching (add more oil if necessary). Add garlic and stir. Cook for several minutes to bloom the garlic. Remove onions and garlic from pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Add butter. When melted add mushrooms and stir to coat with butter. Cook mushrooms until tender and the liquor is released. Sprinkle flour over the top of the mushrooms and stir to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes to eliminate the "flour" taste. Add back the steak, onions, and garlic. Pour entire beer into pan and add stock. Stir to mix. Add pepper and bundle of thyme, working it down into the liquid. Increase heat to medium high. Bring to a boil, stirring as mixture heats. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered for about 1½ hours. Stir occasionally. If mixture is becoming too dry add a little more stock. We want the mixture to be the consistency of a thick gravy. While mixture is simmering, boil water and blanch asparagus tips to bring out the color. Plunge in cool water to stop the cooking. If pearl onions are frozen, thaw while gravy is cooking. Uncover the pan and remove what is left of the thyme bundle with tongs. Add the pearl onions and the lemon juice. Position rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 350° F. Allow mixture to simmer uncovered while oven is heating. Keep an eye on the gravy. It should be rather thick but by no means dry. Add more stock if needed. If too thin, kick up the heat slightly to reduce. Taste gravy and add salt if needed. Roll out a pie crust and transfer into a deep pie tin or cast iron skillet. Add asparagus to mushroom mixture, stir to combine. Pour mushroom gravy into the prepared pie shell. Cover pie with top crust and crimp edges. Brush the top with an egg beaten with 2 teaspoons of water. Using a sharp knife make slits in the top for steam to escape. Place pie on top of a parchment or foil lined baking sheet (just in case) and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until top crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before digging in, if you can hold the crowd back that long. For the perfect side dish, serve pie with a fresh spinach salad tossed in a light vinaigrette.