Flushed with the success of my recent rough puff pastry I decided to use it again in a warming pie. Of course, I turned to my pal Mad Dog for recipe inspiration and came across his gorgeous recipe for Steak and Kidney Pie. Using this as the start point, I gathered together my ingredients and got going.
Ingredients (serves 4):
- About 1kg of braising steak
- 2 medium onions (finely chopped)
- 1 stick of celery (finely chopped)
- 1 carrot (finely chopped)
- About 20 button and chestnut mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 5 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- a pinch of crushed chilli or chili powder
- ground sea salt, black peppercorns, and a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary, 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
- Half a bottle of red wine plus enough beef or chicken stock to cover the meat and vegetables
- Flour for coating the meat and extra (if needed) to thicken the sauce
- olive oil as needed for frying
- 1 beaten egg
- extra salt and pepper to taste
- 1 batch of rough puff pastry
Make your pastry and leave to rest in the fridge while you get on with the pie filling.
Cut the meat into small cubes and toss them in seasoned flour.
Fry in a little olive oil until browned on the outside (you may need to do this in batches) and set aside but don’t clean out the pan. Add more oil if necessary and gently fry the onions, carrots and celery until the onion is soft and transparent.
Return the meat to the pan and add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms start to soften then add the seasoning, herbs, tomato purée and liquid. Bring to a gentle boil and transfer to a casserole dish with a lid and continue to cook either on the stove top for about 2 hours on a very low flame or in a low oven until the meat is very tender for 2-3 hours.
Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. If the casserole is too liquid, thicken with about a heaped teaspoon of flour mixed with a teaspoon of butter and dropped into the pot and stirred gently until the sauce starts to thicken.
Allow the filling to cool (overnight is best as the flavours will develop) and then you can assemble your pie. Pour the filling into a pie dish and cover with your pastry, cutting a few holes to allow the steam to escape and brushing with a beaten egg.
I tried to get artistic like Mad Dog but my attempts were more reminiscent of the devil we saw last year on our trip to Jersey. Eek! Luckily I made a double batch of filling and I left the second pie plain…much more appetising.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 220 degrees C until golden brown. Sigh!
Chica Andaluza 
I love a nice beef and mushroom pie – haven’t had one for years 🙂
Happy New Year, Tanya.
I don’t eat food like this in Spain – the weather and the oven aren’t right! But we did enjoy this 🙂
The weather here in the UK is perfect for pie!
It is indeed!
Thanks Tanya – I wish I was eating that for supper 😉
We did enjoy it – thanks to your inspiration!
Vale, primero tenía que leer la receta para el puff pastry…fabulosa, como siempre! Este pie tiene una pinta impresionante, gracias por la receta 🙂
De nada 🙂
That looks delicious!
It was worth the effort for sure!
A lovely recipe, looks and sounds delish!
Thanks BBC!
Perfect for the beef I have sitting in my fridge waiting to be used. Also perfect for the cold, windy day we are experiencing today. Who would think it was the middle of summer here. (ps, Tanya – Greg and Juliet expected home in 36 hours 🙂 )
Yes, it’s not really a summer dish but you could make the filling and have it with pasta?! Give the travellers a big welcome home hug from us and the pups 🙂
Looks absolutely delicious! And better than Mad Dog’s original in one respect: I just can’t take kidneys. 🙂
I think you either love or hate kidneys – I love them, Big Man not so this was a good compromise!
Unctuous is too mild a word for this creation. Scrumptious? Headily delectable? Heaven on a rough-puff stick? WAY too hot for even thinking about pies cooking in ovens today here in Sidmouth. 30C and in our city, 38C (just over 100F) tomorrow and that’s mild compared to most places in Australia. I want winter back! I wonder how few clothes I can wear before I blind Frank next door. I know it is his own fault for perving with binoculars but I must have had a catholic somewhere in my past because I feel guilty 😉
Ah bless you as this is so unvegan I don’t know where to begin. Now go and put some clothes on you scantily clad hussy or poor old pervy Frank will be having a seizure 😉 And enough of that catholic guilt – I have plenty of that for all of us 🙂
LOL! Steve told me I had no arse the other day and I almost swooned with delight. The simplest things make me happy these days :). Worth more to me than winning lotto ;). I am SO going to make a “debil pasty” as soon as this bloody weather cools down a bit and we stop sweating ourselves into next week with some of that amazing looking pastry. Steve is really looking forward to me turning out pastry like yours 🙂 I might need to quiz you closer to the day. Stay close to the P.C. it might be an emergency situation 😉
I’ll be here on pastry alert!
Definitely looks so hearty and filling! I’ve never played with making puff pastry, and now need to check out this “rough” recipe!! I’m hoping its easy, because I’ve seen some pretty labor intensive puff pastry recipes!!
It was surprisingly easy (and quick-ish) too….it’s going to be a regular in this house now!
Wow. That seems like a real undertaking. I’ve been contemplating trying puff pastry recently, but I’m afraid all I’ll have is fattening sweet and savory pies all the time! This really does look delicious. I’m so impressed. Nice to see this post! 🙂
Well, there are a few stages but it was worth it and the taste of the pastry is so good and the filling was also good on pasta!
One word sums this up – delicious 🙂
Thanks Tandy – we enjoyed it!
Beef and Mushroom is my absolute favourite type of pie! Yours looks really wonderful!
It’s a good combination – although I do love chicken pie too!
I. Am. Drooling…. Had to go back a few days – I was sure I had seen you post something yummy, and I was not wrong! Might have to see what I can get for decent beef…everyone wants it too lean these days…
Yes, you need some fat in it for slow cooking – it really does make it taste wonderful!
I haven’t had proper pie for AGES, yes I’m shouting as it’s 7.45am and I now want PIE instead of granola – yes MEAT Pie too!
If you want pie for breakfast – go for it! A woman after my own heart 😉
What a lot of work goes into your pies! I don’t use half as many ingredients. I usually line the piedish too, but inevitably end up with soggy pastry on the bottom. I’ll never make a chef 🙂
I confess to liking a crispy top and a soggy bottom!
🙂
What a great looking pie…wish I had some of it on this cold snowy day.
Perfect winter warming food!
Ooh, that does look good Chica – I love a good steak pie. Haven’t had one in years now I think about it. Your friend can keep his kidneys though (lol, that sounds funny now I write it). Mushrooms all the way for me! I’m partial to cooking it with an ale or bitter, but red wine works wonderfully too!
Oh yes, meat cooked slowly in ale….perfect!
Funny devil; I”ll bet the original intent was that he should look like a faun in the copse but instead he really does look pretty dodgy! The pie, though, that looks stupendously tasty and just as beautiful as can be!
He’s a bit spooky isn’t he?! Luckily the pie was nowhere near as scary 😉
I don’t think I had one until I moved to London. It’s a good winter meal, but I have to share since they are filling. Glad the second batch worked out. Love the devil–can I say that? I’m talking about the statue people.
They are filling but I can usually manage one 😉
that looks deliciousssss:3
the statue! makes me scary! ugghh!