Beef & Beer Pie with Caramel Apples

Main: Beef & Beer Pie
Women’s Weekly Cooking for Friends

Dessert: Caramel Apples with Crumbs & Cream
Women’s Weekly Cooking for Friends

Hi Everyone!

Hope you’re all well. I’m back on board now after a bit of a break and ready to roll full steam ahead into Winter. Now, I’m certainly not a lover of the cold weather, however, what I do like is all the comforting wintery meals we tend to lean towards during these months of “hibernation”. So I’ve had all the recipe books out looking for some yummy things to cook in the coming weeks. Quite a few of them have the benefit of being able to do them ahead because they are in the form of pie filling or casserole.

This scrumptious Beef & Beer Pie is no exception. Firstly the cheaper cut of meat is always a bonus – feed the family for less but then prepping the meat and even the pastry ahead of time during those busy working weeks has got to be a massive winner. The filling is super easy to throw together and cooks away for 2 hours with very little interference needed from you. So, tick that box and now the pastry – this is without a doubt the best shortcrust pastry I have every worked with.

This pastry is super easy to handle

It rolls out beautifully and lifts into the pastry case with ease. I don’t know about you but I am always having bits of pastry fall away as I’m trying to shape out the pastry case and then I have to do a repair job on it. Well, not so with this pastry. It keeps it’s shape after rolling and it is incredibly easy to make yourself look super professional. I actually don’t think I have every done a pie that looks this good. Wahooo, kudos to me. I served the pie with mash and peas and the small amount of leftover pie will certainly be scoffed up by the MAV for lunch. 10/10 unanimously!

Serve simply with mash and peas

The dessert was a little disappointing from a visual point of view. Yes, I know that food photography can fool us a little bit but I really did expect the apples to become far more caramelised looking. I certainly couldn’t have cooked them any longer because they were starting to fall apart as it was. That being said and forgetting the way they looked, I must say that the overall taste was really yummy and kind of comforting.

Not the caramel colour I was expecting but still delicious

The apples are topped with moreish crumbs made from almond meal, oats, chia seeds and allspice and then baked in the oven. I had some cooked crumb mixture left over and I am keeping it in the fridge in an airtight container for future use. Even just on top of ice-cream. Serve this with cream and/or ice cream. Conclusion – I would probably just do apple crumble and use the topping from this recipe. 8/10

Until next week,

From my table to yours with love x

Beef and Beer Pie

Pie Filling

¼ c olive oil
1.2 kg trimmed beef chuck steak or gravy beef (cut into 1cm cubes (after cooking I shredded it also))
¼ c plain flour
2 lge brown onions (chopped finely)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste ((taste test to see if it needs more))
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 c beer
2 c beef stock
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 egg yolk (beaten lightly)
2 tsp milk

Shortcrust Pastry

3 c plain flour
½ c finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt flakes
200 g butter (chopped)
2 eggs
1 tbsp chilled water (approx)

Pie Filling

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Meanwhile, toss the beef in flour until evenly coated. Cook beef, in batches, until browned, using another 1 tbsp of the oil as needed. Transfer beef to a medium bowl.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in same pan; cook onion, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, thyme, tomato paste and sauce; cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in beer; bring to boil. Boil, uncovered, until reduced by half. Return beef to the pan. Gradually stir in stock and peppers; stir until the mixture boils and thickens slightly. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour 30 minutes. Uncover; simmer for about 30 minutes or until beef is tender and sauce is thickened. Season to taste with sea salt. Cool slightly, then refrigerate for several hours until cold.

Shortcrust Pastry

Process flour, cheese, pepper, salt and butter until crumbly. Add eggs and water; process until ingredients just come together. Knead pastry on a floured surface until smooth. Divide pastry in half; shape each piece into a flat round. Enclose rounds in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight if you wish. If leaving overnight then sit at room temp for 30 mins before rolling out.

Pulling it altogether

Preheat oven to 220°c (200°c fan-forced). Roll one pastry round between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line a deep 24cm pie dish or removable base flan tin. Lift the pastry into dish; ease into the base and side, trim edge. Place the dish on an oven tray.
Spoon cold beef mixture into pastry case. Roll remaining pastry round between sheets of baking paper until large enough to cover pie dish. Place pastry over filling; trim off excess pastry with a knife. Cut six x 3cm heart shapes from the pastry trimmings to decorate to top of the pie.
Brush top with a little combined egg yolk and milk. Press edges to seal. Brush the hearts lightly with egg mixture. Bake pie on lowest shelf for about 1 hour or until the pastry is browned. Stand the pie for 30 minutes before cutting.

Main Course

Modern Australian

Caramel Apples with Crumbs and Cream

80 g butter (chilled, chopped)
¾ c apple juice (approx)
¼ c brown sugar
1 vanilla bean (halved lengthways, seeds scraped)
4 small granny smith apples (peeled, quartered)
1 c almond meal
½ c instant oats
2 tbsp white chia seeds
½ tsp ground all spice
cream/ice cream to serve

Preheat oven to 180°c. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Combine 30g of the butter with the apple juice, brown sugar and vanilla bean in a medium frying pan and stir to combine. Add the apples and cover with a round of baking paper; cook, over medium heat, turning occasionally, until caramelised (1-15 minutes), adding more apple juice if necessary. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, combine the almond meal, oats, chia seeds and allspice in a bowl. Add the remaining butter to the mix, working it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the caramel from the pan and stir to combine. Spread the almond meal mixture over the prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the crumbs bake evenly.
Serve the apples with crumbs and cream.

Dessert

Modern Australian