Main: Dexter Beef and Mushroom pie (Caroline Taylor)

Published: Thursday, 18 October 2007, 10:57AM

INGREDIENTS

FILLING
• 400 g mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 900g 100% grass-fed Dexter beef
• 10 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp english mustard
• 120 ml Hobsons Old Henry or Town Crier Ale
• 230 g puff pastry, recipe above.
• 1 egg
• Salt
• Black pepper

¾ PUFF PASTRY
• 225 g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 75g butter
• 75g lard
• 8 tbsp of cold water (put it in the fridge for an hour)
• 1 lemon
• 1 beaten egg to glaze
• 1 Spanish onion
• 3 Courgettes, sliced
• 6 large potatoes for mashing
• 6 Carrots, sliced


METHOD

1. For the filling, fry the mushrooms in half the oil until crispy and drain on kitchen paper.
2. Chop the onion and gently sweat in a large saucepan until they are cooked but not coloured.
3. Add the beef to the pan and brown.
4. Add the mushrooms then pour in the Worcester sauce, thyme, mustard and ale. Simmer for 1 ½ hours.
5. For the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the lard and butter and “cut” the flour into the sieved flour and salt with a knife. Add enough lemon juice and water to form a dough.
6. Roll out the dough into a square on a floured surface. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down. Give pastry half a turn so the folds are at the sides. Seal the edges with a rolling pin. Repeat 4 times.
7. Wrap in grease-proof paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Remove the filling from the heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
9. On a floured surface, roll the pastry out to ½ cm thick.
10. Pour the filling into a pie dish. Brush the beaten egg around the rim of dish. Top with the pastry and crimp the edges down. Put a hole in the pie lid and decorate with the excess pastry then brush with egg.
11. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius or until brown then allow to cool for a few minutes.
12. Slice the carrots, courgette and onions.
13. Fry the onions in oil then add the courgettes cook slowly for 20 minutes.
14. Boil the carrots and potatoes for 20 minutes.
15. Mash the potato with butter and black pepper and butter the carrots.
16. Serve a portion of the beef and mushroom pie with carrots, the braised onions and courgettes and mashed potato.