Old Course chef Martin Hollis conjures up the essence of autumn with a steak and mushroom pie.
In my opinion, steak and mushroom pie may just be the ultimate comfort food: warming, tender and juicy – perfection itself when made with Scotch beef. This dish is simple, full of goodness and with what the Japanese call umami – the velvety mouth-feel that makes you go “yum”. Just perfect on an autumn evening.
Here’s my failproof recipe, which makes 10 portions. You’ll need 100mls vegetable oil, 1.4kg hand diced chuck steak in 3cm dice, salt and pepper, 700g roughly diced onion, 600gs diced carrots 1.5cm, 450g button mushrooms – if large cut into ½ or ¼, 60g butter, 60g plain flour, 15g tomato puree, 2 sprigs thyme, 2 bay leaves, 250ml red wine, 1.2l beef stock, 30ml Worcestershire sauce, 30g finely chopped parsley, 1.2kg puff pastry, plain flour for dusting, egg wash (2 egg yolks mixed with 15ml single cream), 30ml melted butter.
Heat a large heavy based pan and add the oil, season the meat with salt/pepper then, when the oil is smoking, add the meat and allow to sear before stirring the meat – by doing this you allow the meat to seal on one side, but if you stir the meat right away, the meat will not seal but just boil so if you don’t have a large enough pan then seal in two lots.
Remove the meat from the pan and, if needed, add a little extra oil, add the mushrooms and quickly cook until they release their natural juices and it is absorbed back into the mushrooms. Remove from the pan and place with the beef.
Add the butter to the pan and, when melted, add the diced vegetables, mix well with any sediments then turn down the heat and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place them with the meat. Add the flour to the pan and mix well with any juices, then stir in the tomato puree and mix well with the flour to create a roux which will thicken the sauce.
After 3-4 minutes, add the red wine and mix well, bring the stock to the boil in a separate pan and add to the wine mixture; bring to the boil, then add the thyme and bay leaves. Add the meat, vegetables and mushrooms along with any juices which have gathered, bring to the boil, then skim of any impurities, turn down the heat and simmer – if the meat is not covered add a little more stock.
Cover with a lid and set to cook in a pre-heated oven 160c for 1½-2 hours, checking the pan every 20 minutes to make sure that it is not cooking too quickly. If it is, top up with a little more stock and turn down the heat a little.
When the meat is tender remove the pan from the oven and add the Worcestershire sauce, parsley and seasoning. Pour the contents of the pan into a large oven proof dish and allow to cool, then cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill – this can be done the day before the pie is required.
With the help of a little dusting flour on the rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry and place on a tray and put back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut 1½ cm strip of pastry long enough to sit on the rim of the pie dish, mix the eggs yolks with the single cream and, with the aid of a small pastry brush, lightly brush the rim of the pie dish with the egg wash – do not allow it to run down the side of the dish or it will burn when cooking in the oven.
Place the strip of pastry on the top edge and press down lightly, then top this with the remainder of the puff pastry. With a sharp knife trim away any excess pastry and crimp the edges of the pastry together, brush with the egg wash then place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes, remove and egg wash again before baking in a pre-heated oven 180C-200C for 35-40 minutes. After 30 minutes, brush with melted butter. When finished cooking, remove from the oven and just before serving, brush with a little melted butter.
The Scotch beef will absorb the flavour of the herbs and vegetables as it slowly bubbles away, becoming wonderfully tender and juicy. For contrast, serve with steamed veg that has some crunch to it, such as baby carrots or sprouting broccoli.
Chef’s tip: Substitute the red wine for dark ale for a different flavour take on this. You can also bulk out the pie filling with potatoes if you don’t want to use as much beef.
