Steak & Mushroom Pies

Cook Time 2.5 hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

500g lean chuck steak, fat trimmed, cut into 2cm pieces
1 large brown onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
300g button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbs plain flour
? cup (80g) garlic and herb tomato paste
1 cup (250ml) beef stock
1 sheet frozen reduced-fat puff pastry, just thawed 

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan-forced. Lightly spray four 1-cup (250ml) capacity ovenproof dishes with oil.

Spray a large saucepan with oil and heat over medium heat. Cook steak, in batches, for 2–3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate.

Spray same pan with oil. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of water.Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Return steak to pan with tomato paste and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1½ hours or until meat is tender. Cool for 10 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cut pastry into 4 squares. Spoon steak mixture into prepared dishes. Top each with a square of pastry. Press edges to seal and cut 2 slits in the top of each pie. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve. 

Note: For steak and kidney pies, omit mushrooms and reduce chuck steak to 350g. Add 2 small (150g) lamb kidneys (fat and sinew trimmed, thinly sliced) when browning steak.