Steak and mushroom pie

Who doesn’t like a pie!  Hubby loves my pies and this is one of his favourites.  It's very economical as it uses the cheapest cuts of beef, and the mushrooms will stretch the meat to make a delicious and filling pie. 

I like to make something like this the day before we want it as I always find that the flavours develop on keeping. 

For two of us I used: 

1 big onion

1lb stewing beef (clod, shin, skirt etc)

½ lb mushrooms

1tb flour

1 pint beef stock

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

1tsp mushroom ketchup (optional, if you don’t have it leave it out)

1tsp tomato puree

2 small sprigs of thyme

1 small sprig of rosemary, finely chopped

1 bayleaf

2 tb olive oil

1 pack of flaky (puff) pastry (you can make your own but frankly it isn’t worth the faff!  You won’t use it all and the leftovers can be frozen for another time.)  If you can't get flaky/puff pastry then shortcrust pastry will be fine.

1 egg, beaten to glaze the pie.  You could replace the egg with milk, or even water if you don’t want to waste a good egg as a pastry glaze! 

Firstly, dice the beef and brown in 1tb of olive oil.  Remove to a plate when browned. 

While the beef is browning peel and dice the onion, then brown in the second tablespoon of olive oil. 

While the onion is cooking, clean a third of the mushrooms and chop fairly finely.  Add to the pan with the onions and sautee for a few minutes.  Return the beef to the onions and mushrooms and toss around to mix everything together. 

Add the flour to the beef, onions and mushrooms and mix thoroughly.  Gradually add the beef stock, stirring to eliminate any risk of lumps.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, mushroom ketchup (if using), tomato puree and herbs and mix in.  Bring to a gentle simmer and then cover. 

Cook in the oven at 150^oC (300^oF/gas mark 2) for 2½ to 3 hours. 

After the first hour, clean and slice the remainder of the mushrooms and add to the casserole, stirring to give it all a good mixing. 

The pie I am making is a lidded pie, which is to say it just has pastry on the top, not on the bottom.   

If you are making the pie filling ahead of time, allow it to cool completely before you add the pastry lid.  If you are making the filling to cook straight away you can add the pastry lid now.

To make it up, roll out a piece of flaky pastry about 2” or 3” larger than your pie dish.  Cut the extra pastry and use to line the edges of your pie tin.  Brush with beaten egg then add the pie filling to the tin.  Lay the lid over the dish and trim to fit.  Brush with beaten egg and cook at 180^oC for 20 - 25 minutes (30 – 35 from cold), until the pastry is golden.