Читать книгу Sophie Conran’s Pies - David Loftus - Страница 11

My wonderful brother Jasper suggested adding horseradish to this pie and indeed it is excellent. It is named in his honour.

SERVES 4

1 tbsp olive oil

a knob of butter

250g (9oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced

500g (1lb) chuck stewing or braising steak, cut into 4cm (1½in) cubes

300g (10oz) pork kidney, trimmed and cut into 4cm (1½in) cubes

1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

300ml (10fl oz) beef stock

18 pearl (or ‘button’) onions, peeled and trimmed

1 small glass red wine (about 150ml / 5fl oz)

1 tbsp horseradish, either sauce or freshly grated

3 splashes Worcestershire sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

300g (10oz) good-quality butter puff pastry

Heat half the oil and the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Drop in the mushrooms and sauté for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove them from the pot and set them aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the casserole and increase the heat to high. Coat the steak and kidneys with the seasoned flour. Fry the steak and kidneys in batches until they have all browned slightly, then remove from the pan and set aside with the mushrooms.

Turn the heat back down to medium, pour the beef stock into a small pan, plop in the onions and boil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the wine, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, scraping up any flour that has stuck to the bottom. Let it bubble until you have a thickish sauce.

Add the browned meat, mushrooms, onions and beef stock to the sauce and simmer gently for 1½ hours. Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally, adding some water if it looks like it is drying out. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. The mixture should be quite sloppy, so add more water if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7). Pour the steak and kidney mixture into a pie dish, making sure that it is pretty full: you don’t want the pastry to sink into the pie, otherwise it will boil and fail to turn crisp. Brush some of the beaten egg around the rim of the pie dish.

Roll out the pastry, cover the pie, trim around the edge and press it down around the rim with your thumb to seal. Decorate the top with shapes cut from the pastry trimmings. Cut a small hole in the top to let the steam escape and brush the top with the beaten egg.

Cover with foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Serve with roasted vegetables (such as carrots, parsnips and potatoes) and mustard.