Steak and Guinness Pies

I saw this recipe on Vicious Ange's blog and thought it sounded fantastic. Today was the perfect day to make this dish also, because it was totally miserable outside...cold, wet, rainy....blah. It is a lot more time consuming than I would usually do, but I had lots of time today and it was not really involved, just long periods of simmering and baking. I decided to do individual pies, instead of one big one, simply because its easier to serve that way. I also served this with a side salad. I could have done some roast veggies, but the pie already had quite a few veggies in it and Rich loves his salad :) I just threw together whatever I had in the fridge to make a basic side salad.

Jamie Oliver's Good Old Steak and Guinness Pie
(Serves 6)

1.5lbs Stewing beef, diced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tbs flour
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 sticks celery, washed and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 handful of mixed fresh herbs (ie rosemary, thyme, bay)
1 pint Guinness
2 x 15oz tins of chopped tomatoes
1 pack of puff pastry
1 egg beaten

1. Season beef generously with salt and pepper, sprinkle in flour and toss until coated. Heat 2-3 glugs of olive oil in a large pan and fry meat until golden brown.

2. Add the onion and fry another minute, then add carrot, parsnips, celery and herbs. Fry for a further 4 minutes and then add Guinness and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Season to taste.

3. At this point, you can move the stew to the fridge until ready to serve. This will also intensify the flavor.

4. To make pies, preheat the oven to 375F. Put meat filling into individual dishes (or one large dish, if making one pie). Cut pastry to circles about 1 inch bigger than the top of the dishes. Brush the rims with beaten egg, place the pastry on top and squash the excess down the sides to secure. Lightly score the top in a criss cross pattern and brush with remaining beaten egg. Bake for 45min until golden brown and bubbling.

Salad

handful or arugula and baby spinach
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
half a red onion, sliced
1/4 cup gorgonzola
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
edible mixed flowers

dressing
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
5tbs olive oil
2tbs chopped basil
salt and pepper
chopped sunflower seeds

1. Place everything in a bowl and toss.