Beef, Mushroom & Red Wine Pie

I don’t care what anyone says, it’s always the right weather for a good pie. You can really choose your own adventure with this one, add in extra veg, sub in different herbs, make party pies or make a pot pie (no pastry on the bottom). As per usual, no rules apply here. I did make the pastry from scratch, but I admittedly spend way too much time cooking. Send me a message if you want the recipes I use for these, otherwise, be sensible and buy some good-qual pastry from the shops (Careme is excellent) and save yourself a few hours.

TIP! You’ll be sure to get a crispy bottom if you bake it on an inverted heavy-based baking tray or a pizza stone — this will keep the heat direct on the base meaning no soggy bottoms in sight. This is also an excellent recipe to freeze, especially if you’re making the small pies — just let them cool and place in a snaplock bag (in their tins) and into the freezer for a treat the day after your next big night

YOU’LL NEED

500g beef skirt (cut into 2cm cubes)
200g button mushrooms
1 carrot (finely diced)
1 onion (finely diced)
2 garlic cloves (sliced)
½ fennel bulb (finely diced)
Pinch salt crack pepper
5 dried shiitake rehydrated in 1 litre of boiling water
500ml beef stock
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cup worth of chopped herbs (I used rosemary, parsley and sage)
2 tbsp corn flour
1 sheet of savoury shortcrust pastry (3 sheets if you’re making smaller pies)
1 sheet of butter puff pastry (2 sheets if you’re making smaller pies)
1 x 26cm pie tin (or cast-iron pan) or 6 x 12cm pie tins

MAKE IT

In a large saucepan on medium heat add a good glug of olive oil with the carrot, onion, fennel, garlic and a big pinch of salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes till the onion is translucent and the veggies have softened. While this is happening you can rehydrate your shiitake in 800ml of boiled water.

Remove them from the pot and add another glug of oil. Tear the button mushrooms into 3-4 pieces and throw them straight into the oil to brown. Once they’ve pretty much browned all over, add the beef to brown as well.

Deglaze with the red wine then add the stock, shiitake water and diced shiitake. Season with the soy sauce, add the chopped herbs and leave to simmer half-covered on low for 1.5 hours till the beef is tender, adding more stock/water if you need (making sure it’s always simmering comfortably in a little liquid).

To prepare the pie tin, place the shortcrust pastry into the base, pushing into the sides so there are no air bubbles. Put it in the fridge till you’re ready to fill it.

To thicken the gravy, whisk together ½ a cup of water with 2 tbsp of cornflour. Stir it in and simmer for a few minutes till it’s thickened the whole mix.

When you’re ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 220˚C placing an inverted baking sheet or pizza stone on the rack you’re going to use. Pour the filling into the prepared pie tin, top with puff pastry, sealing at the edges and brush the lid with some milk for an extra golden finish.

For the large pie, bake for 20 minutes, before turning the temp down to 180˚C for 40 minutes for and the small pies bake for 10 minutes, before turning the temp down to 180˚C for 20 minutes. Use these temps as a guide as I’m certain your oven will be different to mine, essentially you’re cooking it till the top is as golden as it’ll get before burning and the bases are brown and crisp. If you overdid it at the beginning and you think your base needs some more time, cover the tops with foil to protect them and keep on cooking. Once done, allow the pie to rest for at least 20 minutes to avoid third-degree burns on the top of your mouth.

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