Beef, Beer, PIE.

One of my favourite dishes we cooked in Switzerland was a tender, moist, and wonderfully filling steak and ale pie. I loved this recipe so much that I’ve already cooked it here in Malaysia for my family – my Chinese grandmother is always very perplexed when I cook a Western dish because to her, this style of cooking is unfamiliar and foreign. But…she ate it all up and absolutely loved it! As the woman who taught my mother to cook and was always the masterchef of our kitchen, I have a huge amount of respect for her opinion. This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s and may take a lot of time, but most of that is just a pot sitting on the stove or in the oven- believe me, it is all worth it.

Tender and flavourful beef with a wonderfully crispy crust!

Steak and Guiness Pie

3 hours 50 minutes cooking time, serves 6

• Olive oil
• 3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
• 1 packet of white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 kg quality brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into cubes
• Rosemary, salt, and 1 tsp pepper (to season)
• 440ml Guiness (1 can)
• 2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
• 80 g freshly grated cheddar cheese
• 200g ready-made puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius. Heat the olive oil in a large, oven proof pan and gently fry the onions on low heat until they are slightly browned.
2. Turn the heat up and add the garlic, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Give this a quick stir before stirring in the beef. Season with rosemary, a pinch of salt, and a level teaspoon of pepper. Fry and stir regularly for 3-4 minutes to make sure the beef is browned on the outside.
3. Pour in the guinness, mix in the flour, and add just enough water to cover. Alternatively you can add beef stock, but be careful to taste the stew before adding the cheese later as the beef stock will make the dish saltier, and you may wish to add less cheese or none at all.
4. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with the lid and place in the preheated oven to cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, give the stew a stir and return to the oven to cook for another 45 minutes, or until the beef is tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. If the stew is still quite liquidy, return to the hob and reduce.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season slightly if desired and leave to cool.
6. Using a clean, floured work surface and a floured rolling pin, roll out the pastry to an even thickness of approximately three mm, paying attention to match the pastry to roughly the same shape as the pie dish you will be baking in.
7. Pour the stew into the pie dish and using a pastry brush, lightly coat the edges of the dish with the egg wash. Cover with the puff pastry, pinching the sides in to adhere to the dish. Score the pastry lightly with a knife to create a criss-cross pattern – coat the puff pastry lid in the egg wash.
8. Bake the pie in the preheated oven (190 degrees celsius) for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp. Best served warm!