Slow Cooked Beef & Mushroom Pies with Mushy Peas
There is nothing better than a good pie, and making them at home makes them even nicer!
These pies are filled with slow cooked beef that falls apart and mushrooms and each bite is a flavour explosion. They are the perfect winter’s day meal and the mushy peas on top just finishes it off perfectly!
These can be done in your pie maker as well (which you know I am a HUGE fan of), however it was nice to bake these in pie ramekins. The pastry puffs up so much more, and you get a beautiful golden colour on them. However if you’re short on time, the pie maker is the way to go!
If you’d like to cook the mixture in your slow cooker to save time, then I would brown your meat separately in a pan, cook off the vegetables and then transfer to the slow cooker and add your liquids. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Prep Time: 30min
Cooking Time: 3.5 hours (Incl. pie baking)
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
600g gravy beef
2 TBS flour
Salt & pepper
Oil
1 onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 carrot, grated
2 sticks of celery, chopped fine
Few sprigs of thyme
125g sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 x can 400ml crushed tomatoes
2 TBS tomato paste
2 TBS Worcestershire
3 sheets short crust pastry
3 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, beaten lightly
Mushy peas:
2 potatoes
2 cups frozen peas
20g butter
Salt & pepper to taste
Utensils required: Pie ramekins/tins, blind baking beads or rice OR a pie maker!
Method:
Pie mixture:
Preheat oven to 160c fan-forced
Cut the beef into cubes and coat in flour, salt and pepper
Heat oil in a casserole dish on a high heat, fry the beef in batches until browned on each side. Remove and set aside
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and crushed garlic and cook for a few minutes
Add the celery, carrot, mushrooms and thyme and cook for 5 minutes until softened
Add the red wine, beef stock, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and stir until combined.
Add the beef back in
Bring to a boil and then put a lid on and transfer to the oven for 2 hours
Check halfway and add more stock if needed. Once cooked, set aside to cool slightly
Preparing the pies:
Increase oven temp to 200c
Turn a pie tin upside down onto the short cut pastry and cut around it x 6. Repeat with the puff pastry x 6
Place the pastry in the tin, add baking paper and then rice or baking beads and bake for 10 mins.
Carefully remove rice/beads and then bake for 5 mins
Add the meat mixture into each pie, brush the edges with egg and then add puff pastry on top.
Make a slit with a knife in the top of each lid and brush with egg wash
Bake for 25 mins or until golden and puffy
Mushy Peas:
Peel and roughly chop 2 potatoes
Boil until they are tender (about 20 mins). Mash the potatoes with 20g of butter
Heat 2 cups of frozen peas in a microwave for 5 until or until cooked
Blitz the peas in a food processor and mix through the mash potatoes.
Serve with mushy peas and enjoy!
