Steak and Ale Pie

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 lbbeef chuck, cut into large cubes
• 3 tbspall-purpose flour, for dusting the beef
• 2 tbspbeef tallow, or olive oil
• 2onions, sliced
• 2carrots, cut into chunks
• 8 3/4 ozchestnut mushrooms, halved
• 1 2/3 cupsdark ale, a stout or brown ale
• 1 2/3 cupsbeef stock
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 2bay leaves
• 1/4 ozfresh thyme, a few sprigs
• 2 tspsea salt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 13 1/4 ozpuff pastry, all-butter, chilled
• 1egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 325°F. Toss the beef cubes with the flour, the salt and the pepper until lightly coated. Heat the beef tallow in a heavy ovenproof casserole and brown the beef hard in batches, lifting each batch out as it colors.

2. 2

   Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms to the pot and cook until softened and colored at the edges, scraping the base as they release their moisture.

3. 3

   Return the beef, pour in the ale and let it bubble for a minute, then add the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and thyme. Cover and braise in the oven for about 2½ hours, until the beef pulls apart under a fork.

4. 4

   Fish out the bay leaves and thyme stalks, check the seasoning, and let the filling cool right down, about 45 minutes, before it goes anywhere near pastry, then tip it into a pie dish. Turn the oven up to 400°F while it cools.

5. 5

   Roll the puff pastry a little larger than the dish, lay it over the cold filling, press the edge down firmly onto the rim, trim it, and cut a slit in the middle. Brush all over with the beaten egg.

6. 6

   Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is fully puffed, deeply browned and crisp underneath at the edges. Let the pie settle for a few minutes before cutting into it.