Simply Scrumptious Steak and Mushroom Pie

With my mum down in Oz visiting her sisters my dad is doing the bachelor thing. That means the house was 'man clean' and he was eating sausage on a bun, store bought meat pies and potatoes. I had to stage an intervention this weekend. I went home and 'mom cleaned', did laundry, bought groceries, made him eat broccoli and made a bunch of stuff for him to eat that was healthy as well as good.

Here's one of the things I made:

Simply Scrumptious Steak and Mushroom Pie

Ingredients

2lb stewing beef or chopped steak, cut into cubes
plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, for dusting
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp parsley (fresh if you can get it but dry works in a pinch)

1tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
 2 cups (1 tetra box) of low sodium beef broth

1 pkg sliced mushrooms of choice (I tend to use cremini or a mixed specialty pack – white buttons will work but lack flavor)
1 sheet of puff pastry (defrosted)
1 egg, beaten

1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (optional and seasonal)

(have some Veloutine, Bistor or sauce thickener on hand just in case)

Directions

1.      Dust the cubed beef with the seasoned flour;

2.      Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan and brown the meat on all sides, stirring frequently to prevent burning;

3.      Add the sliced onions, mushrooms, herbs, salt and freshly ground black pepper, chestnuts(if adding them) and the stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently for an hour and a half (if the gravy isn’t thick enough add some gravy thickener to help – I use Veloutine or Bisto);

4.      Preheat the oven to 375F;  and transfer the filling mixture to an ovenproof dish.

5.      Line the rim of the dish with a thin strip of puff pastry. Dampen the pastry rim by brushing with beaten egg. Cut a piece of pastry to fit across the top of the dish and place on top of the dish, pressing the edges together to seal. Decorate with pastry trimmings, make a steam hole in the centre of the pie by slashing with a sharp knife, then brush with more beaten egg.

6.      Transfer to the oven and cook for 1-1½ hours. If the pastry gets too brown, cover it with foil.

Serve hot.

Eat.

Enjoy!