As its Chris's last night I thought I would make something for dinner that would be both warm and comforting and would leave a good enough taste in Chris's mouth that he has to come back and visit some time to get some more. Now those who know Chris know he is a pie man. His leaving present from work consisted of a pie dish and a pie cookbook, and his last meal out with his coworkers was to a pie shop. I think you can probably see where I'm going with this; the boy really likes pie.
Naturally then the choice was steak and ale pie. We used Black Sheep Ale which is Chris's favorite, but really any good quality ale will do the trick. I decided to try out one of the recipes from his new cookbook, The Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies, and with just a few adjustments and served along side some honey roasted parsnips and some mustard mashed potatoes - we achieved absolute pie nirvana. Next time you need a hug in the form of food I highly recommend it!
*Note about puff pastry - Now I tend to be one of those self righteous home cooks who likes to do everything herself but puff pastry is a pain in the ass to make. For the time and effort it takes, you can get just as good ready made pastry in the store, which is what I used today. For those of you who like to make things difficult for yourselves I promise in the next few days I will put my puff pastry recipe up here but for now you'll just have to settle with being lazy.
Steak and Ale Pie (adapted from THe Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies)
4 rashers of streaky bacon cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
750g casserole steak, diced into cubes
enough flour to coat the steak
500ml good quality ale
500ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (if you can find fresh just use a healthy pinch of dry thyme)
3 medium carrots, sliced to 1/4 inch thickness
500g puff pastry
1 egg beaten to glaze
1. Heat about a tbsp of olive oil in a large soup pot. Cook the onions and the bacon for several minutes until the onions become translucent and start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two. Remove the onion, garlic and bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon.
2. Season the flour with salt and pepper and toss the diced steak in the flour until evenly coated. Add a little more olive oil to the pot you cooked the onions in, and then in small batches cook the meat until brown on all sides. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon.
3. Carefully pour half of the ale into the pot to deglaze it. Bring the ale to a boil scrapping the bottom of the pot vigorously. Add the tomato paste and cook for a further minute. Return the meat, and the bacon and onions to the pot and add the carrots. Add the stock and the remaining ale and the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil.
4. When the filling starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender; about 1:30-2 hours.
5. When the filling is done, roll out your pastry to about 5mm thick and to a size about 5cm bigger than your pie dish.
6. Pour your filling into your pie dish and using a pastry brush, brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg. Cut some strips of the pastry about 1 cm thick and use them to rim the edge of the pan. The top pastry will seal much better if it is attaching to these strips of pastry rather than straight to the pan.
7. Brush the pastry strips with egg wash and carefully plop on your top sheet of pastry. Trim any excess pastry and using your fingers gently crimp the edges of the pie to seal it. Make a few small slits in the crust to allow the air to vent and brush the entire surface with the egg wash
8. Bake in an oven preheated to 375°F (190°C) for 30 minutes or until golden and delicious looking. Don't be surprised if there are no leftovers....
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