Steak and mushroom pot pies

By garciamoss

Ingredients

• 900 g braising steak, diced into bite-sized pieces
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 12 slices smoked bacon, chopped
• 480 ml | 2 cups hot beef stock
• 240 ml | 1 cup red wine
• 4 tbsp dried wild mushrooms, soaked in 240ml | 1 cup boiling water
• (reserving the mushroom 'stock')
• 6 banana shallots, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250 g | 9 oz chestnut mushrooms, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Olive oil, as needed, to fry
• Salt and pepper to season
• ___________
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk to glaze
• 400 About 400g | 14 oz all-butter puff pastry

Details

Adapted from supergoldenbakes.blogspot.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

1. Trim the beef of any large fat pieces. Season liberally with with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss the meat to coat.
2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Fry the meat for a couple of minutes until browned. Do this in batches - if you overcrowd the pan the meat will 'sweat' instead of browning. Set the meat aside.
3. Add the chopped bacon in the hot pan and fry until slightly crisp. Set aside.
4. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan with a little olive oil. Turn the heat down and fry for a few minutes until softened.
5. Strain the wild mushrooms, reserving their liquid. Pat dry and chop finely.
6. Add all the mushrooms to the frying pan (adding more oil if necessary) and cook for a few minutes. Add the thyme leaves, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste.
7. Transfer all of the ingredients to a large pot and add the stock, wine and mushroom liquid. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
8. Cool, check the seasoning add the chopped parsley. Divide the filling among 6 small ovenproof dishes (or 4 larger ones) filling about 2/3 of the way.
9. Pre-heat oven to 200°C | 400F. Roll out your pastry to at least 5mm thick and cut out rounds large enough to cover dishes with a generous overhang. Brush the edges of the dishes with the egg wash, then place pastry lids on top pressing slightly to seal edges. Brush the top of the pastry lids with the egg wash and pierce a couple of holes using a chopstick for the steam to escape.
10. Bake on top of a baking tray to catch any spillage for about 40-45 minutes. Cool for ten minutes before serving.