Steak, Guinness and cheese pie with a puff pastry lid

Steak, Guinness and cheese pie with a 

puff pastry lid:

Ingredients:

• 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
• 4 field mushrooms , peeled and sliced
• 1 kg quality brisket of beef or stewing beef , cut into 2cm cubes
• a few sprigs fresh rosemary , leaves picked and chopped
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 440 ml Guinness
• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
• 150 g Cheddar cheese , freshly grated
• 170 g ready-made all-butter puff pastry
• 1 large free-range egg , beaten

Get paid to share your links!

Method:

This pie is a real winner! As it uses bought puff pastry, it’s quick to prepare, and you can make the filling the day before if you want. For a bit of a treat you could use 500g of pastry and line the bottom of the pie dish - just make sure you cook it at the bottom of the oven so the pastry has a chance to crisp up.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a lug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.

Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll the pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Tip the stew into your dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. 

Place the pastry over the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.

Steak and salsa verde:

Ingredients

• For the steak
• 1 lb quality flank steak
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic , halved

For the Mexican salsa verde

1 small bunch fresh coriander

1 small bunch fresh mint , leaves picked

1 clove garlic , peeled

1-2 fresh jalapeno or serrano chillies , seeded

4 large scallions , trimmed

2 tomatoes , roughly chopped

freshly ground black pepper , to taste

1-2 limes , juice of

1 tablespoon olive oil

⅛ teaspoon salt

Method:

Take your steak out of the refrigerator and let it get up to room temperature while you make your salsa. 

Get yourself a good knife and a big cutting board. Set aside a few of the cilantro leaves, then chop the top of the bunch, stalks and all, with the mint leaves, garlic, chiles, scallions, and tomatoes until it’s all very fine – watch your fingers here! Sprinkle over a pinch of the salt and pepper, then add most of the lime juice and a good lug of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together on the board, taste it, season with the remaining salt, pepper, lime juice, or chile, and put it into a bowl ready to go.

Get a frying pan, grill pan, or outdoor grill screaming hot and season both sides of your steaks with the salt, pepper, and a good lug of olive oil. 

Add the steaks to the pan or grill. Your steaks should take about 6 to 7 minutes per side to cook depending on how you like them. As it cooks, rub the steak with the cut side of the garlic clove for some extra flavor.

When the steaks are perfectly cooked to your liking, move them to a plate to rest for a few minutes.

Cut the flank against the grain and with the knife at an angle to the board into ¼-inch-thick slices, and arrange them on a large serving platter or divide between your plates. 

Finish with a few dollops of salsa, and scatter over your remaining cilantro leaves. Drizzle over any resting juices and let everyone tuck in. 

Get paid to share your links!

All-in-one rice & chicken:

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 free-range chicken legs
• 2 free-range chicken thighs
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
• 50 g long-grain rice
• 150 g Medjool dates
• 1 tablespoon runny honey

Method:

Heat some oil in a pan and brown the chicken legs and thighs, then remove and set aside. 

Peel and dice the onion then in the same pan, sweat the onion until softened, before crushing in the garlic and adding the spices. 

Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, then stir in the rice, dates, honey and browned chicken.

Cover with water and bring to the boil before allowing to simmer, covered, over a medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the rice and chicken are cooked through.

Aubergine daal:

Ingredients:

• 1 large aubergine
• 2 red onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger
• 4 tablespoons rogan josh curry paste
• groundnut oil
• 500 g yellow split peas
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 250 g wholemeal flour , plus extra for dusting
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 320 g basmati rice
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 handful of fresh curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Method:

If you cook this daal well and season it with love, it’ll be delicious, incredibly economical, and sociable, fun eating. Our tasty friend Mr Daal does have the tendency to be quite ugly, but I think, rolled up in these handmade chapatis with fluffy rice, roasted aubergine, crispy curry leaves and chilli, then presented to one’s gob – it’s a beautiful experience. So I say, no more ugly daal, dress it up, baby, because it’s all about the confidence!

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Cut the aubergine into 2cm chunks, peel and slice the onions and garlic, peel and finely grate the ginger. Put all this into a large high-sided roasting tray with the curry paste and a lug of groundnut oil. Toss together until well coated, then roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until sticky and caramelized. Remove half the roasted veg to a large pan to start your daal and return the tray to the oven to keep warm – turn the oven off so that the veg don’t dry out. Place the pan on a low heat on the hob. Stir in the split peas, crumble in the stock cube and add 2 litres of boiling water. Simmer for around 1 hour 20 minutes with the lid on, or until the split peas are tender and the daal has thickened, stirring occasionally, and adding splashes of water to loosen, if needed.

Meanwhile, place the flour in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and make a well in the middle. Add the olive oil and 150ml of water to the well and mix together with a fork. When it comes together as dough, tip it on to a flour- dusted surface, knead until smooth, then divide into 12 balls. Roll each one into a circle, nice and thin, turning as you go and dusting with a little extra flour, if needed. Put a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the chapatis for 1 minute on each side, or until cooked but not coloured. Stack them in tin foil as you go and keep them warm until needed.

Put 1 mug of rice and 2 mugs of boiling water into a pan with a pinch of salt. Cook on a medium heat with the lid on for 12 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Meanwhile, to make the flavoured oil (called a temper), finely slice the chilli and place it in a small frying pan on a medium heat with the curry leaves, mustard seeds and a good lug of groundnut oil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until crispy. Load up your warm chapatis with rice, daal and a scattering of roasted veggies, drizzle over the temper, roll up and tuck in.