Beef, Mushroom and Red Wine Pie

As the summer turns to winter and cooler nights set in, gather friends and family for this comforting, crowd-pleasing treat.

Ingredients

1.7 kg chuck steak, cut into 2cm cubes
Seasoned flour, for dusting
30 ml olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
600 ml beef stock (2½ cups)
375 ml red wine (1½ cups) 
10 sprigs of thyme
3 fresh bay leaves
40 g plain flour
200 g button mushrooms
30 mL red wine vinegar
375 g butter puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk
To serve: steamed greens

Method

1. Dust beef in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat, add beef in batches and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown (4-5 minutes). Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft (4-5 minutes). Add stock, wine and herbs, season to taste with salt and pepper, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 hours. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 30 minutes until meat is falling apart.
2. Place flour in a small bowl and add enough braising liquid (about 1/3 cup) to make a thin, smooth paste. Add to pot, stirring until smooth and thick (4-5 minutes). Season to taste, add vinegar, cool, then spoon into an 8-cup capacity pie dish (or 6 individual ramekins), removing bay leaves.
3. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Roll pastry to 3mm thick on a floured surface. Place over filling, with edges overhanging. Seal edges with a fork and trim excess with a knife. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes until pastry is golden. Serve with steamed greens and a glass of our great value Brown Hill Chaffers Shiraz.