Sitting around the family dinner table with a magnificent pie as the centrepiece would certainly be fit for a king or queen. Cutting the hole and breaking through the crust, is guaranteed to get the appetite going. This pie has an old-fashioned shortcrust pie pastry — crisp and tasty and the perfect balance for the rich juicy beef casserole filling.
To achieve the best possible flavour I always recommend making the filling the day before. As the cooked meat cools in the casserole, all those delicious flavours develop and become richer overnight.
Pie filling
| 1 kg | Beef chuck steak, diced (Main) |
| 2 tsp | Salt |
| ½ cup | Flour |
| 3 Tbsp | Rice bran oil |
| 150 g | Streaky bacon, sliced |
| 1 | Onion, diced |
| 4 tsp | Garlic, grated |
| 2 cups | Red wine |
| 1 cup | Beef stock |
| 1 cup | Water |
| 400 g | Canned tomatoes, chopped (Main) |
| 2 tsp | Chopped thyme |
| 1 tsp | Chopped rosemary |
| 3 Tbsp | Worcestershire sauce |
| 2 Tbsp | Dijon mustard |
| 1 ½ cups | Button mushrooms, diced |
| 1 ½ cups | Field mushrooms, diced |
| 3 Tbsp | Olive oil |
| 1 | Egg yolk |
Short crust pastry
| 375 g | Flour |
| 150 g | Cold butter, diced |
| 1 pinch | Salt |
| 5 Tbsp | Water, ice cold |
Directions
- Heat oven to 150C. Season beef with salt then toss through the flour. Pan fry in batches in hot oil until browned all over, remove and place in a casserole dish.
- Fry the bacon then add the onion and garlic, stir over medium heat for five minutes, then add red wine. Boil until reduced by half then pour into the casserole along with beef stock, water, tomatoes, herbs, worcestershire sauce and mustard.
- Cover with a disc of baking paper and a disc of foil, press down on to the meat and liquids (this will help trap and develop the flavours as it cooks). Cover dish with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 2 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Make shortcrust pastry by placing butter, flour and salt into a food processor. Pulse until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs, add water and pulse again, briefly. Tip the mix out and bring together to form a dough. Press flat then roll out into a rectangle large enough that two thirds can be used for the pie base and the remaining third for the lid. Rest pastry for 30 minutes.
- In a large fry pan caramelise the mushrooms on a very high heat with the olive oil, then add to the cooked beef.
- Lightly grease a deep pie dish. Cut two thirds of the pastry to shape and gently press into the dish, and fill with beef casserole mix.
- Cut the remaining pastry to form the lid, place on top of the filling, then seal by carefully pressing the edges into the base. Trim off excess pastry then pinch the edge to form a neat pattern all the way around. Allow to rest for half an hour before baking.
- Heat oven to 190C. Whisk egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water and a pinch of salt to make an egg wash. Sparingly brush a thin coat all over the top and edges of the pie. Cut small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve the pie with kumara mash, and steamed buttered beans sprinkled with toasted nuts.