STEAK, MUSHROOM & PEPPERCORN COUNTRY PIES
Serves 8-10
½ cup plain flour
3kg chuck steak, trimmed,
cut into 5cm pieces
⅔ cup olive oil
750g button mushrooms, halved 2 large onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
½ cup tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 beef stock cube, finely chopped 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp chopped rosemary, extra
sprigs for the top
2 tbsp green peppercorns
in brine, drained
⅓ cup water
2 tbsp cornflour
1 egg, beaten
4 sheets frozen puff pastry,
just thawed
1. Place flour in a large plastic bag or bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef and toss until evenly coated.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil at a time in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Shake excess flour from beef. Brown in 5 batches, adding more oil between batches as required, for about 5 minutes. Place beef in the bowl of a 7 litre slow-cooker.
3. Heat another 2 tablespoons of the oil in the same hot frying pan. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until soft and add to slow-cooker bowl.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in same hot pan over a medium heat. Add onion, garlic and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes or until soft. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add red wine and stir until combined. Add to slow-cooker bowl with stock, stock cube, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary and peppercorns and stir.
5. Cook, covered on high for 3½-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours, stirring twice during cooking until beef is tender and melt in the mouth. Filling can be cooled and refrigerated the day before at this stage.
6. Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced. Reheat filling gently in a large pot until hot. Combine water and cornflour in a small jug until smooth. Add to mixture and stir until thickened. Season.
7. Place hot filling into two 6-cup capacity pie dishes or oven-proof skillets. Brush edges of dishes with egg. Cover dishes with pastry, cutting and joining sheets together where required. Press edges on rim to seal. Trim and crimp edges to decorate. Lightly score the pastry in a criss-cross pattern with the tip of a sharp knife without cutting all the way through. Cut a slit in the centre of each pie. Brush the tops with egg.
8. Place rosemary sprigs on top of each pie. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Serve.