Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie

Hubs has been working a lot of overtime lately, so he decided to take a few days off last week. We had 6 glorious days in which I didn't have to worry about him or do the mostly-single parent thing; it was amazing. We spent lots of family time together, which was great. We went hiking, garage sale-ing, and checked out a few of the local street fairs. Our area also boasts the largest Scottish Highland Games this side of the Mississippi, which just happened to be on the weekend Hubs took off.

If you've never gone to a Highland Games event, you should. It was so much fun! There were bagpipers, dancers, dogs, clan booths, and yummy food. I mean REALLY yummy food. Hubs tried haggis (here's an explanation of what haggis is). Em tried it too, and really liked it. Because all 21-month-old toddlers like haggis. She's an odd little duck! I tried it too, but I was much more excited about my steak and mushroom pot pie. Fall-apart meat and mushrooms in a rich, hearty gravy topped with a puff pastry crust. Yep, doesn't get much better than that! I promised Hubs that I would try to replicate it as soon as possible. It was that good. Well, today I found a recipe that seemed very promising and with just a couple of very small tweaks, I made something that we absolutely loved. This one goes in the permanent recipe file, for sure. And, all in all, it was pretty darn easy too!

Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie

*Very slightly adapted from Simply Delicious

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 pounds stew beef (or cut chuck steak into chunks, bone removed)

2 shallots, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

2 cups beef stock

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup milk

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Melt butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot; season each batch with salt and pepper. This takes between 3-5 minutes total, per batch.

In the same pot, sauté the carrots, celery, and onion until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes, making sure to scrape up all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. 

Add in the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 8 minutes. Then add the paprika, thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well.

Add the beef back into the pot, juice and all. Pour in the stock and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and allow it to simmer gently for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 355º. 

When the meat is very tender (it falls apart easily with a fork), add worcestershire sauce and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Whisk together the cornstarch and milk, and pour this mixture into the pot. Simmer rapidly to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Butter the bottom and sides of a large baking dish. Press one sheet of puff pastry into the bottom of the dish and up the sides. Pour in the beef mixture. Top with the second sheet of puff pastry and pinch the edges together with the bottom sheet. Brush with beaten egg and cut two slits in the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is browned. Enjoy!