This stew is a favorite for Sunday dinner as well as taking to a friend’s for a pot luck. The Stilton pastry adds the perfect touch to this cold-weather staple.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb white button mushrooms, quartered
- 2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 3 ½ lb beef chuck roast, cut into 1” cubes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 ½ cups Irish stout
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 lb each – carrots and red potatoes, in chunks
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- one 16” round Stilton pastry (see below)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
In a 5 ½-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp oil. Cook mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper for 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
Season beef with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. In same pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 tbsp. oil. Sear one-third of beef 7 minutes; transfer to a separate bowl. Add ½ cup of water to pot, scrape up browned bits. Pour into a separate bowl. Repeat twice with the rest of the meat.
Return pot to medium-high heat. Add garlic and tomato paste, stir 30 seconds. Add beef, stout, broth and reserved liquid, scrape up browned bits. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes and thyme, bring to boil. Cover, simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush rim of pot with water. Lay pastry on top; let it drop into filling. Trim dough to 1 inch, crimp and seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut 4 slits. Bake 30 minutes.
Stilton Pastry
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks/250g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
- 4 oz. Stilton cheese, crumbled
In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse until blended, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, place on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and roll out into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the cheese over half of the dough, then fold the other half over the cheese. Roll out the dough into a 16 1/2-inch square. Using a paring knife, trim the dough into a 16-inch round.
Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 10 minutes, then lay the dough on top of the beef and stout pie and bake as directed in that recipe. Makes enough dough for a 16-inch round.
Prepare pastry dough in food processor, then refrigerate while the stew simmers.
Serves: 8-10
Source: Williams-Sonoma.com
