Steak and Stilton Pie

This hearty and comforting steak and stilton pie is wonderfully rich in flavor. Made with stew beef, red wine, blue cheese and fresh thyme, then topped with a homemade shortcrust pastry. It's sure to fill you up!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, british

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2 20

Total Time 2 35

Servings servings

Calories 691kcal

Author Slow The Cook Down

Ingredients

For the pie filling

3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
26 ounces (750g) stew beef
1 tablespoon oil
2 red onions finely sliced
10 ounces (300g) mushrooms sliced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 cup (240ml) red wine
3½ cups (875ml) beef stock
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
5 ounces (150g) stilton crumbled
2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the pastry

2 cups (275g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (110g) salted butter
2 eggs (one for the pastry mix and one to glaze the pie)

Instructions

Mix together the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add in the beef cubes and toss until well coated.
Heat the oil in a large pot on a high heat, and brown the steak well on all sides. Remove and set to one side.
Turn the heat to medium, add in the onions, mushrooms and garlic, and cook until softened. Remove from the pot and set to one side.
Turn the heat back up to high and pour in the wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pot (deglaze) and reduce the wine to half.
Add the steak and vegetables back to the pot, pour over the stock and stir everything together.
Bring the pot to a boil, the let it simmer on a medium heat, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
While the filling is simmering, make the pastry.
Place the flour and pepper into a large bowl and rub in the butter until you get breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg to make a dough. If the dough is too dry, you can add in a little water. Make a ball with the dough, cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.
After two hours, stir in the stilton and fresh thyme leaves.
Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry and stir that into the stew. Take the pot off of the heat.
Preheat the oven to 400f / 200c.
Roll out the pastry dough into an even thickness, large enough to cover your pie dish.
Transfer the filling into your pie dish and place the pastry over the top. Trim the edges.
Beat the egg together and brush over the top and make some incisions in the top of the pastry with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
Bake for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Use stew meat for this recipe for the best flavor and texture, chuck can also be used. If you use tender meat, it will break down too much during the cooking.
The pastry will shrink during cooking, so leave an overhang around the side of the pie dish when you place it on.
Use a sharp knife to pierce the top of the pasty before baking the pie in the oven. This will allow the steam to escape.
Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving to let the filling solidify a little.
If the pastry is browning too much in the oven, place some foil loosely over the top.

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