Beef and Guinness Pie with Mushrooms and Chestnuts

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Source: Beef for All Seasons

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Active Time:  35 Minutes
Total Time:  3 Hours 10 Minutes
Yield:  Serves 4

Slow-cooking beef in a braising liquid of beer is a classic combination that works wonderfully well, as this recipe proves. The dark, toasty quality of the black Irish Guinness stout beer is complemented by the roasted chestnuts, smoked bacon, and earthy mushrooms; these ingredients would not match as well with an amber or even a dark red beer, for example.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

For the Filling:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 pounds beef top round, choice grade, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 large onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup beef stock

1 cup Guinness beer

1 cup peeled and roasted chestnuts

For the Pastry Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh white bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled shortening

1/2 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE FILLING:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until hot. Add the beef and bacon, and sear over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, and cook for about 7 minutes, until the ingredients are soft, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute before stirring in the stock, Guinness, and chestnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 1-quart baking dish.

FOR THE PASTRY CRUST:
Place the flour, bread crumbs, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the shortening and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add the water and mix until the dough just comes together in clumps. Cut into 2 pieces; the first should be two-thirds of the total, with the second the remaining one-third. Chill for 30 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface and line the prepared baking dish with it. Add the filling and roll out the remaining dough to form the top of the pie. Moisten the edges of the top and bottom pieces of pastry with the beaten egg, and press and pinch together to seal. Brush the top of the pie with the remaining beaten egg. Using a sharp knife, cut a few slits in the pastry to make air vents. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top of the crust is golden brown. Transfer to warm serving plates.

WINE RECOMMENDATION:
If you choose not to drink Guinness stout with this dish, try a wine with some complexity and power, such as Cabernet Sauvignon from California or a French Bordeaux.

HELPFUL TIPS:
If you have ever been within sniffing distance of a Guinness brewery (in West London), you'll recognize the unmistakable aroma captured in the complex and intense flavors of this very different pie.

Recipe reprinted by permission of Harper Collins. All rights reserved.
Date Added: 01/01/2008

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