Pepper steak pie
Come on now. Don’t tell me that you are not drooling just a little at the thought of that buttery, flaky golden pastry. What if I told you that the pastry is simply a vessel for a savoury filling of melt-in-the-mouth steak with a rich, peppery gravy? Drooling now? Yep, me too!
The thing with savoury pies is that once you start, you simply can’t stop. This is quite evident if you look at the amount of savoury pies I’ve posted on this blog. There are more chicken pie recipes that you could ever ask for, something for vegetarians, a few lamb options and this delectable steak & mushroom version. It’s safe to say that I am a bit obsessed. But can you blame me? Who could say no to all of that? I think one of my favourite things about winter is that I get to experiment with savoury pies, where I feel that summer is the time that fruit (and other sweet) pies have their moment.
I have found that I never feel more like a domestic goddess than when I serve a glorious savoury pie to my guests. There’s something so homey, so warming and so fabulous about it all. The fact that it is one of the simplest dishes to pull off only has a little bit to do with how much I love pies. If you can make a good stew, you’re half-way there. A problem I often find with pies is that the baker hasn’t allowed the pastry to cook properly. This results in a beautiful golden, flaky exterior and a soft, mushy almost gummy interior, which is not pleasant at all. Make sure that your pie is in the oven long enough for the pastry to puff up properly and cook thoroughly and you will have a kick-ass pie, guaranteed. Now throw in an awesome filling, a couple of glasses of red wine and good company and you have a pretty good night ahead.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg chuck steak de-boned and cubed
- 1 cup flour seasoned with salt & pepper
- olive oil for frying
- 2 onions sliced
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1-2 tablespoons cracked black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 roll ready-made puff pastry thawed
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat a generous splash of olive oil.
- Coat the chuck steak in the seasoned flour then shake of excess.
- Fry the beef in the hot oil until golden brown all over. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- In the same pot, fry the onions until soft and translucent then add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and fry for another 30 seconds.
- Pour in the tomatoes, stock and pepper and add the beef back to the pot.
- Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 90 mins – 2 hours until the beef is soft and tender. Keep an eye on the beef while it’s cooking and top up with stock if necessary.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°c.
- When the beef is cooked, season to taste then place in an oven-proof pie dish to make a large pie, or smaller pie dishes for individual pies. Alternatively you can add a layer of pastry to the bottom of the dish as well to make an encased pie.
- Brush the edges of the dish with beaten egg and roll over the puff pastry. Trim the edges then brush with the remaining egg.
- Make a small incision in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
