To be sure, to be sure it's the day that Irish people, worldwide, love to celebrate with a dark, thick pint of brew, music, dancing and lots of fun. Whilst all that sounds like good craic, (that's Irish for a real blast!), I couldn't resist the urge to whip up something Irish. Whilst the jokes always mention potatoes, (and let's be honest a good bit of mash would work so well on the side here!), I'm going with the Beef & Guinness Pie.

To me it's the best way to have your pie and drink it too! In my brand of choice, Professional Baking is your "go to" manual function for cooking all your bread, yeast dough products and, of course, pastry based dishes, featuring either puff pastry or filo. It gives you a gorgeous professional finish because it uses a Steam Phase at the beginning to seal, coat and glaze your creations first. Then it will automatically kick into the "baking" or Hot Air phase at whatever temperature you set, or whatever your bread or pastry recipe recommends. There is never any need to glaze your pastries or breads with egg, milk or anything else. Just let the Steam do it's work and then watch as the oven automatically kicks you into your Hot Air phase and begins the puff and crisp process. It's honestly amazing!

In other brands however, your Combination Steam setting will also give you a wonderful result with your breads and pastries - pies included

I’m not phaffing about here making my own pastry. Why would I bother? You can use all butter puff which will give you a richer result or just the standard frozen supermarket sheets. You can also go next level and try a brand called Careme (Australian only but look for an alternative in a deli or posh food shop where you live) which is delicious and a little more special if you were cooking for others or just want to take it up a notch!

This recipe is a little time consuming compared to the ones I normally post, as you first have to cook your filling and allow it to cool. You could absolutely do that part a day or two before and then continue on, on the day you want to serve.

And don’t keep this one just for St Paddy’s day - it’s a lovely winter warmer anytime!

So raise a glass to this good old Irish dish and get cooking!

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1 small knob butter
1 brown onion (diced)
2 sticks celery (diced)
1 medium carrot (diced)
12 swiss brown mushrooms (sliced)
6 sprigs of thyme (leaves picked, stalks discarded)
500g chuck steak, beef (diced around 2cm pieces)
3 tbs plain flour
150ml beef stock
150ml Guinness stout beer
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs dijon mustard
2-3 sheets of puff pastry* (thaw it until "just" soft enough to work with right before you need it)

Method:

1. Place the olive oil, butter, onion, celery, mushrooms and thyme into a large oven proof dish or pot and season well with S&P. (I use my cast iron Dutch oven). Place into the cold CombiSteam on the rack/shelf. Select Combination Steam (Hot Air+Steaming). Set the temperature to 200°C. Cook for 15 minutes.*

2. Remove and stir through the flour and the beef, coating well and combining. Season well with S&P. Add the mustard and pour over the liquid and stir again until combined.

3. Return to the oven. Select Hot Air+Steaming. Set the temperature to 150°C. For variable Steam select 20%. Leave to cook for approx 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender.* Remove and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate once cool.

4. Spray a large pie dish or tin well with cooking spray. Line the base with puff pastry (you may need to cut and paste and do some patchwork to get it all covered including up the sides) leaving some overhang around the edges.

5. Add the completely cooled filling to the dish filling almost too the top but leaving some space to add your pastry top and seal. Cover the filling with a full sheet of pastry and then trim as needed to size. Use the slight overhang from the edges to fold and pinch together with the top so that they edges are sealed and form a sort of crust or edge around the top. Decorate with extra pastry in shapes if you like. Poke the tip of your knife into the top a few times to make slits for the steam to escape while it cooks.

6. To cook, place the pie into Combi Steam on the rack/shelf in the bottom position. Select Professional Baking. Set the temp to 210°C and cook for 40 minutes or until golden browned and puffed. If you don’t have Professional Baking (see introduction) use Combination Steam (don’t pre-heat) and set temperature to 210°C and bake for 40 minutes. For variable Steam set to 20%..

7. Remove when the pastry is completely puffed and very golden brown. Allow to cool for around 10 minutes in the tin before slicing and serving.

Notes:

*pastry that is too soft is harder to work with - a little on the firm side is easier to control and to get to "stick" together when you seal the top to the bottom

*In a V-ZUG/Wolf CombiSteam you can do this step automatically by placing the pot into the CombiSteam and selecting RegeneratOMatic - Crispy. Remove when the automatic function ends and the oven beeps. If you have an older model that doesn't have RegeneartOMatic just use your manual Regenerate function, set the temp to 150 and set the Clock timer for 12 minutes. It will do almost exactly the same thing!

*sometimes the beef can take a little longer than 2 hours - test a piece and if it's not super tender just keep cooking until it is. you can't overcook it - it's just a case of more cooking, more tenderness.

*always cook uncovered in your Combi Steam - no lids on pots please - let those moisture interact with the food - that’s what a CombiSteam is for!

I love this served with some mash and maybe steamed peas but hey, it's also great just on its own!

May the luck of the Irish be with you.

Happy CombiSteaming and enjoy your St Paddy's Day or whatever day it is for you!

Yours in the kitchen,

The CSQ. x