Steak, kidney & mushroom pie

serves 4
ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
100g/4oz bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz chuck steak, diced
2 tablespoons plain flour
100g/4oz lamb’s kidneys
1 bouquet garni
400ml/14fl oz beef stock
100g/4oz button mushrooms
225g/8oz ready-made puff pastry
beaten egg, to glaze
salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3.
• Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the bacon and onion, and sauté,
stirring, until lightly browned. Toss the steak in the flour, add to the pan
in batches and sauté, stirring, until browned.
• Toss the kidneys in the flour, and add to the pan with the bouquet garni.
Sauté until browned.
• Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, then pour in the stock, cover
and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
• Remove from the oven, stir in the mushrooms and season with salt and
pepper. Leave to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7. Roll out the pastry to
2cm/1in larger than the top of a 1.2 litre/2pt pie dish. Cut off a strip
and fit around the dampened rim of the dish to make a collar. Brush the
pastry with water.
• Tip the meat mixture into the dish. Lay the pastry round over the dish and
press the edges together to seal. Knock up the edges with the back of a
knife. Make a small slit in the pastry, brush with the beaten egg and
bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4, and bake for a
further 20 minutes. Serve hot.