Tag Archives: British

Steak & Ale Pie

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by .

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A good old fashioned Steak & Ale Pie, made using the oldest form of tradition water based pastry. The homemade steak and ale pie is one of those British dishes that inspires and though vegetarians may turn their noses up at it, they will still try to emulate it.

steak ale pie

This steak and ale pie recipe is traditional English fare. The steak and ale combine to make a wonderful wintry dish that will stick to the skinniest ribs. Simple and quick to make, but you must remember to make the filling first!

Ingredients

FILLING
700g Stewing steak (cut into small cubes)
450ml Traditional ale
120g Carrots (peeled and diced)
2tbs Plain flour
1 Medium Onion (skinned and diced)
Salt & Pepper

PASTRY
66Og Plain flour
285ml Water
215g Lard
2 Egg yolks
4g Salt
Oil
Beaten egg for glazing

Method

FILLING
Coat the stewing steak with the flour and place in saucepan.
Add Onion, carrots and ale.
Bring to the boil.
Simmer until meat is tender.
Season to taste.

PASTRY
Mix lard, water and sale and bring to boil in a saucepan.
Beat in flour.
While still warm, knead into a smooth paste.
Knead in egg yolks (add more flour as required).

Brush muffin cups (6 hole x 9cm) with oil.
Using 3/4 of the pastry, line each cup with a 1cm collar.
Pack each pie with filling.
Rollout remaining pastry and cut six pie lids.
Moisten edges with beaten egg and crimp the lid and collar together.
Cut a small hole in the top of each pie.
Glaze each lid.
Bake for 45 mins at 190c/375/G5 until golden.

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Spiced Apple & Blackberry Crumble

Posted on 25. Nov, 2009 by .

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Ask people to think of Blackberries, and for most of us, it conjures up images of wild harvests in Britain. The Blackberry season runs from August until late November meaning this desert is great as a winter warmer.

Crumble, as a dish, originated in the UK during World War II due to the restrictions imposed on people during food rationing. The main ingredients required to make a pies contained too much flour, fat and sugar, so a simple mixture of flour, butter and sugar was used to make the top of the crumble.

Spiced Apple & Blackberry Crumble

Crumbles are often served with custard or cream as a hearty, warm dessert after a meal and continues to be popular due to its simplicity.

Ingredients

CRUMBLE
340g Plain flour
230g Unsalted butter – Don’t substitute with margerine
110g Porridge aats
110g Caster sugar
2tbs Demerara sugar
1/2tsp Ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt

FILLING
1.3kg Cooking apples
280g Blackberries
230g Caster sugar
1tsp Cornflour
1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon

Method

CRUMBLE

  1. Sift the flour, nutmeg and salt into a large bowl.
  2. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour using your fingers, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  3. Stir in the oats and sugar.
  4. Rub mixture until it begins to clump together
  5. Chill whilst making filling

FILLING

  1. Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks.
  2. Add the Blackberries.
  3. Combine sugar, cinnamon and cornflour and sprinkle over the fruit, and toss to coat.
  4. Place in shallow ovenproof dish.
  5. Now scatter the crumble mixture over the top.
  6. Sprinkle Demerara sugar over the top.
  7. Place on top 1/3 of pre-heated oven (190x/375f/G5) for 40 minutes.

Enjoy with custard, whipped or clotted cream!

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