Beef and Mushroom Pie

This is essentially a lovely beef and mushroom stew topped with a pastry lid. There is so much room for adding your own touches to make this perfect for your family. The meat can be cooked in broth or beer, you can thicken the gravy with flour or some leftover mashed potatoes and you can even buy store bought puff pastry if you don't want to make your own. You can make this in a slow cooker all day, spoon in individual bowls and place a piece of pastry on top. Bake until golden. I served it with a nice salad and Big Pete was very happy.

You will need:

• 2 lbs sirloin roast -cut into chunks (mine were approx 2 inch pieces)
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning mix
• 2 tbsp dry mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp granulated garlic powder
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 3 tbsp of flour  or you can use 3/4 cup mashed potatoes 
• 2 small onions - chopped fine
• 1 leek- sliced fine
• 1 celery stalk
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (your choice)
• 2 potatoes -chopped into small dice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 slices bacon or pancetta - chopped fine
• 4-5 cloves garlic - chopped fine
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt/pepper 
• 1/2 cup red or white wine
• approx 1/2 litre beef broth, chicken broth or beer
• 1/2 cup -1 cup old cheddar cheese- grated
• store bought puff pastry 

OR

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter- cold and chopped into cubes
• 1/4 cup solid coconut oil
• 1/4 cup ice water

Step 1: cut up roast into chunks. I remove any large amounts of fat but, you can keep it on if you prefer. Pat meat dry and let come to room temperature before cooking. Add all spices and flour if you are using it to thicken your broth rather than mashed potatoes. Mix with your hands to coat all meat pieces. If you use mashed potatoes then you do not need to add them at this stage (I will show you later on) At the very last minute before sauteing meat I add a generous sprinkling of salt as well.

Step 2: saute meat in some olive oil on high heat to brown. Do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Remove meat and set aside once browned.

Step 3: add a bit more olive oil and leeks, onions, celery, bacon and garlic. Cook on medium heat scraping all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. There is water in the vegetables which will help to steam most of it off. Cook vegetables until just starting to brown.

Step 4: add red wine and let cook for 2-3 minutes. The wine will reduce down to almost nothing.

Step 5: peel and chop potatoes. Slice mushrooms.

Step 6: return meat and any juices back to pan. Add Worcestershire sauce.

Cover pan with a lid and place in 325 degree F oven for 2 1/2 hours. 

Step 7: make your pastry in a food processor by adding all dry ingredients, then butter and coconut oil pulse 10 times. Add water and pulse 7 times. Turn out pastry on a counter and add a bit more flour to gather and form a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge at least 1 hour before rolling out. If you have frozen puff pastry thaw according to directions on the box.

Step 7: add potatoes and mushrooms. Stir and return to oven to cook uncovered for additional 30-45 minutes. The meat should be tender and falling apart when you press on it. 

Step 8: remove from oven and stir in mashed potatoes and grated cheddar cheese.

Step 9: spoon into individual containers or a larger container. I had enough for a large and 3 individual containers. You can buy the aluminium containers with a lid at most grocery stores and it is perfect for freezing. Let cool completely before adding pastry tops or freezing.

Step 10: bake at 375 degrees F 30-40 minutes or until top is bubbling and golden.

serve with a salad and a glass of red wine.