Pies are a wonderful thing. They look and taste fantastic, and are really straightforward to make, especially if you leave out the bottom layer of pastry. This recipe from Comfort: A Winter Cookbook (Ryland Peters & Small, 2022) is about as comforting as a savoury pie can get. If you’re feeding a crowd, serve with plenty of creamy mashed potatoes and peas (and more Worcestershire, of course.)
Steak, Leek and Mushroom Pie With Guinness
This traditional Irish recipe uses ready-made sheets of puff pastry, making assembly quick and easy. Guinness Stout Beer adds flavour depth to the silky gravy.
Equipment
- 1 large flameproof casserole
- 1 12 x 8-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 9 oz stewing beef cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 leeks trimmed and sliced
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2½ cups mushrooms coarsely chopped
- 2½ oz bacon about 3 slices, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- all-purpose flour
- 11 oz can Guinness
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- a large handful of fresh parsley leaves chopped
- 13 oz ready-rolled puff pastry defrosted if frozen
- 1 tbsp melted butter or milk to brush on pastry
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Heat the oil in a heatproof casserole dish. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until browned. Remove the meat from the casserole dish, season and set aside.
- Add the leeks, onion and carrots to the pan, adding a little more oil if necessary. Cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, until softened.
- Add the mushrooms, bacon and thyme and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Season well.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Return the beef to the casserole dish, add the flour, stir to coat the meat in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce. Add the bay leaf and parsley and pour in sufficient cold water to just cover. Stir to mix, cover with a lid and bake in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
- Transfer the beef mixture to the baking dish. Unroll the pastry and use to cover the pie filling. It should look rustic, so fold over the edges and crimp roughly with your fingers. Using a sharp knife, and starting at the top edge, make lengthwise slits on the diagonal, in stripes about ½ cm apart, all the way across. Brush with melted butter or milk and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, until golden. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and peas on the side.
