These pies are just the perfect size for dinner and elegant enough for a party. Because you are using puff pastry you don’t even need to make your own crust. We placed the puff pastry just on the top of the dish instead of lining the dish with pastry for a much lighter dinner.
Individual Beef Pies
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 pound chuck steak or stew meat diced
- 1 ½ cup beef stock not broth
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 ¼ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ½ Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 sheet puffed pastry thawed
- 1 egg slightly beaten
Instructions
Filling
- Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in large saucepan over high heat.
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or until soft.
- Add steak to pan and cook for 4 minutes or until meat is seared (browned).
- Add stock, wine, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 50 minutes or until meat is tender.
- Combine flour and water into a paste and stir into meat mixture. Bring mixture to boil and stir for 1 minute (it will have the consistency of melted chocolate).
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, cool.
Pastry
- Rollout pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8" thick.
- Cut pastry so that it will have a slight overhang on the small pie tins (at least 8 oz. in capacity) or mini cocottes.
Assembly
- Place filling in bases and top with formed pastry circles and crimp.
- Want to get fancy? From pastry scraps, use pie cutters or cut out letters or numbers and place on top of pie.
- Brush pie tops with egg and place pies in the oven.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
Notes
To make these pies more interesting add sliced mushrooms when you add the flour and water. They will cook while the mixture is cooling.
Cinnamon and cloves in a beef stew recipe? Absolutely! Prepare this updated version of beef stew and your home will be filled with a wonderful aroma and your family and friends will be filled with a delicious, hearty meal. This isn’t your grandmother’s beef stew …
Contemporary Beef Stew
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless beef chuck cut into 2 inch cubes
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 whole cloves
- 3 whole allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
- 20 ounces skinned pearl onions use frozen if you are crunched for time
- 3 stalks celery chopped in slices
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 can can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes 14 ½ ounces
- 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
Instructions
Marinade
- Place all ingredients up to pearl onions in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate over night.
Stew
- Drain the beef, but reserve the marinade.
- Melt butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a dutch oven.
- Sauté onions and celery on medium heat for about 5 minutes and place in a bowl using a slotted spoon.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
- Sear beef, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- Add marinade, onion, celery, tomatoes, tomato paste and enough water to cover the beef.
- Bring to boil and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is fork tender.
Notes
Serve over egg noodles, or herbed noodles, such as the basil noodles, pictured above.This stew can be made several days in advance. Freeze any leftovers.