I thought I’d share one one my most regularly cooked recipes with my forgotten blog readers.  What’s that?  Food on a food blog?

I know, I know, it’s been a long time coming.  But I can promise that a big plate of this on a chilly night will put smiles on everyone’s face.  I’m just sad it’s becoming summer here…

Beef & Guinness Pie

1 kg casserole steak (we’ve used organic/hormone free from our fab butcher Craig Cook’s – not the cheapest, but it really makes a difference.  You can use cheaper cuts because it’s cooking for a long time, though.  I recommend taking the bulk of the fat off – there’s nothing worse than a big slimy piece of yuk when you eat a mouthful of pie.)
1 tbsp flour
salt & pepper to season flour
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
5 x onions (I often use less than this, but I do add some chopped garlic as well)
300ml Guinness (or if you get a can it’s 400ml – you can add 300 and keep 100 in case it looks dry – I tend to dump it all in, or it tends to find its way into someone’s mouth.  No hardship.)
8 slices of bacon, chopped small
oil (or lard if you want to go to town)
chopped parsley
enough sheets of puff pastry for the size of the pie! If you’re feeling brave, you can make your own, or use a combo of puff & shortcrust (for the base), put pastry on the top, or just ‘deconstruct’ it with a slice of pastry on the top at a jaunty angle.
I also chop some carrot and mushroom quite roughly to add for colour & flavour.

The filling should be enough for 4 people, though I always make much more.

Cut steak into bite-sized chunks, roll in seasoned flour & brown with bacon in lard/oil.  Best to use a non-stick pan for this, and it get’s really gluggy at the bottom – although once you add liquid, it unsticks it partially, but get in there with a wooden spoon & encourage it every now and again.
Peel and chop onions (and garlic if using – I use about 2/3 cloves), fry until golden brown & add to meat.
Add carrots and mushrooms if using.

Add raisins and sugar, pour in Guinness.  Cover tightly & simmer over a low heat or in a moderate oven (180C/325-350F) for 2 1/2 hours.  Longer if you can.  Stir occasionally and add a little more Guinness or water if the rich brown gravy gets too thick.  Again, if you can make this the day before I think it’s better.  You can eat this filling as a stew if you want instead.

If using pastry, follow the packet instructions to bake base of pie blind.  Add filling, add chopped parsley to taste, add top crust, glaze with and egg & bake.  I usually heat filling on stove again if I’ve made it the day before so you only have to wait for the pastry to bake.

VARIATION: you can exchange 3 tbsp honey for brown sugar.

The filling can be quite sweet, so feel free to adjust seasoning etc if you like it less so – it’s the Guinness that gives it that distinct sweetness, and carrot can increase this sweetness as well.

The accompanying Champ Potatoes are a lot more ‘guessy’ – it’s basically a regular mashed potato, but instead of dumping in the butter & milk and mashing that way, you chop some scallions, place in a pot with the milk, and warm through very gently so the milk gets infused with the scallion flavour (just until scallion’s white bits are a bit softer) – you then make the mash as normal with the milk, scallions, and as much butter as your arteries can handle!  Season with s&p.

Enjoy!!

Deconstructed Beef & Guinness Pie with Champ Potatoes.

** Thanks to David for the photo, the write up, and being the best potato masher EVER (make up your own double entendre).