Warming Up Our Winter Tums

My Other Half has decided he quite likes cooking. He whips up a mean chicken curry from scratch, although I have to make the naan bread. He’s not allowed to bake cakes, that’s my department and I don’t want him stepping on my culinary toes! However, he did make a gorgeous lemon meringue pie recently. Then, along the line of pies and after watching Paul Hollywood make up some suet pastry on TV, he decided he wanted to make a steak pie. I had a better idea, (Still feel a little pushed out when he takes over MY kitchen) why don’t we make a pie together?

When it’s cold outside there is nothing nicer than cooking up truly comforting and warming food, and this pie really fits the bill.

So, while he worked away on the pastry, I stewed the steak filling. We didn’t have a funnel for the pie so he made one out of a carrot and it worked a treat. (He ate it afterwards too!) Along with the pie I cooked up some mashed potatoes, roasted  potatoes and some veg. Then a yummy gravy topped it off a treat, a real winter warmer treat.

Here is the pie straight from the oven, with it’s proud carrot funnel.

This following picture is a recipe card. If you right click the picture and choose open in a new tab/window, then you can print it off and enjoy.

• 900 grams of steak, diced
• 300grams of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tbs cornflour
• 1 pint of beef stock

• 200 grams of self-raising flour
• 50 grams of fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100 grams of vegetable suet
• 200 ml of cold water
• beaten egg to glaze

• Fry off the steak in a large pan
• Add cornflour to a little of the beef stock and mix until smooth, add the rest of the stock stirring all the time
• Add the stock to the steak in the pan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally
• Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours on a low heat with the lid on
• Add the mushrooms shortly before the end of simmering time

• While steak is cooking make the pastry
• Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
• Add the water a little at a time until you have a firm but elastic dough
• Turn out on to a lightly floured surface
• Need lightly to make a ball of smooth dough
• cover with an upturned bowl and leave for at least 10 mins

• When steak is cooked and gravy has thickened put it into a large pie dish and place funnel in the middle
• Roll out the pastry and put on top of the filling (cutting and shaping it around the funnel)
• Brush with beaten egg
• Cook for 30 minutes in a preheated oven 180C/350F gas mark 4