The Mini Book of Pies. Sophie Conran
sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
300g (10oz) good-quality butter puff pastry
Heat half the oil and the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Drop in the mushrooms and sauté for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove them from the pot and set them aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the pan and increase the heat to high. Coat the steak and kidneys with the seasoned flour. Fry the steak and kidneys in batches until they have all browned slightly, then remove from the pan and set aside with the mushrooms.
Pour the beef stock into a small pan, plop in the onions and boil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, turn the heat under the large pan back down to medium and add the wine, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any flour that has stuck to the bottom. Let it bubble until you have a thickish sauce.
Add the browned meat, mushrooms, onions and beef stock to the sauce and simmer gently for 1½ hours. Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally, adding some water if it looks like it is drying out; the mixture should be quite sloppy. Season.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7). Pour the steak and kidney mixture into a pie dish, making sure that it is pretty full, otherwise it will boil and fail to turn crisp. Brush some of the beaten egg around the rim of the pie dish.
Roll out the pastry, cover the pie, trim around the edge and press it down around the rim with your thumb to seal. Decorate the top with shapes cut from the pastry trimmings. Cut a small hole in the top to let the steam escape and brush the top with the beaten egg.
Cover with foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Serve with roasted vegetables and mustard.
My mum’s steak and kidney pudding is like her. It’s the best. This is her delicious recipe.
MY MUM’S STEAK & KIDNEY PUDDING by Caroline Conran
SERVES 6
You will need a 1-litre (1¾-pint) pudding basin
FOR THE SUET PASTRY:
100g (3½oz) prepared suet, such as Atora
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
a large pinch of salt
iced water
FOR THE FILLING:
900g (2lb) chuck stewing or braising steak, cut into 3cm (1in) cubes
225g (8oz) beef kidneys, trimmed well and cut into 3cm (1in) cubes
3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
50g (2oz) button mushrooms
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
a dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp Chinese oyster sauce
a little beef stock (cube is okay) or water
freshly ground black pepper
First prepare the pastry. Mix the suet, flour and salt in a bowl and, using a tablespoon at a time, slowly add enough iced water to bind. This can be done in a food processor, but don’t over-process the mixture. Cover the pastry with cling film and chill for 20 minutes. Keep about a quarter of the pastry back to make the lid, then roll out the other three-quarters to a thickness of about 3mm / ⅛in.
Butter the pudding basin. Line it with the rolled-out pastry, leaving about 3cm (1in) of pastry hanging over the top. Set aside.
Now make the filling by rolling the beef and kidney in the seasoned flour. Mix the meat with the mushrooms and pile it all into the pastry-lined basin. Sprinkle with the Worcestershire, Tabasco and oyster sauces. Pour in enough beef stock or water to fill two-thirds (or slightly more) of the dish. Season the filling with plenty of pepper.
Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid. Cover the filling and fold the edges together to form a seal, pressing the edges of the pastry together lightly.
Cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the top of the pudding loosely: the pudding must have room to expand. Hold the foil in place by tying some string around it, just under the rim of the pudding basin. Make a handle by passing the string across the top loosely, two or three times and threading it under the rim-string (see pictured here). Fasten it tightly at one side. Set the sealed pudding aside.
Fill a large pan with a tightly fitting lid with enough water to come two-thirds of the way up the pudding basin. Bring the water to the boil and lower the pudding into the pan. Cover the large pan with a lid. (The first time I made the pudding I did not remember the lid or even dream that it was essential, silly idiot. After 4 hours the pudding was still more or less raw.) Add more boiling water as it evaporates and boils away and don’t worry if the pudding leaks a bit. Continue topping up the boiling water as necessary for 4 to 5 hours.
Lift the pudding out of the pan and remove the foil. Wrap the basin in a white cloth or napkin with the top crust showing, browned and slightly fluffy, over the top of its white linen collar. If the crust has come in contact with the water it will be pale and glistening but still excellent to eat. Serve the fragrant pudding with a big spoon.
Accompany with small plainly boiled potatoes and carrots or any vegetable mash, and, if you like it, English mustard. I also like this with cabbage or purple sprouting broccoli.
This is a pie for hungry folk. It is very meaty with a great tang from the plums. Decorate the top with pastry flowers and leaves for a spectacular feast.
VENISON WITH PORT & PLUMS
SERVES 8
1kg (2lb 4oz) venison shoulder, leg or neck, cut into 4cm (2½in) cubes
FOR THE MARINADE:
½ bottle port
8 juniper berries, crushed
2 bay leaves, crumbled
4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ red onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE FILLING:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
150g (5oz) bacon lardons
1½ red onions, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
5 large unripe (so they are sour) red plums, halved and stoned
FOR THE PASTRY:
100g (3½oz) prepared suet, such as Atora
200g (7oz) self-raising flour
4 tbsp white wine
a large pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
Mix the meat with all the marinade ingredients in an airtight container. Leave to infuse for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. Strain off the marinade and reserve, but throw out the onion and bay leaves.
Now make the filling by heating the oil in a large casserole over a medium to high heat. Coat the meat in the flour and fry it in batches until it has just browned on the outside. Once browned,