Recipe: this steak and ale pie is the ultimate winter warmer – and couldn’t be easier

Nothing beats a hearty meal, prepared with love - and what better than a classic pie?

As temperatures drop and the nights are long, we’re all about comfort food.

Nothing beats a hearty meal, prepared with love, to warm the heart and truly satisfy.

And what better than a classic pie, filled with meltingly tender slow-cooked steak, meaty gravy and seasonal veg and topped with a buttery puff pastry lid?

All it needs is a mound of creamy mash or some fat golden chips on the side, and you’re onto a winner, whether you’re feeding the family, entertaining guests, or just indulging in a cosy night in.

This recipe couldn’t be easier.

The beef is simmered slowly in real ale – a local beer from one of our top Manchester breweries would make it even more special, we think – and it uses ready-made puff pastry, a winning culinary cheat.

And shopping for the ingredients couldn’t be easier, either, thanks to the recent news that Prime members in Manchester can now experience a new Click & Collect service when shopping ‘Morrisons on Amazon’.

Available at selected Morrisons stores across Greater Manchester, it means you can order all the ingredients you need in a few clicks, and then get your groceries in minutes without even leaving your car – as soon as an hour from ordering.

Steak and ale pie recipe

Serves 4

Total time required: 3 hrs 10 mins

(Preparation time: 10 mins; cooking time: 3 hrs)

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil
500g braising steak, cubed
300g shallots, peeled
250g mushrooms, wiped
200ml real ale
300ml beef stock, made from a cube
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp instant beef-flavour gravy granules
350g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the beef over a high heat to seal on all sides. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour the ale and stock into the pan and stir in the tomato purée, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Season. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours. The beef should be very tender. Raise the heat and whisk in the gravy granules, stirring until the juices thicken. Spoon into an ovenproof pie dish.

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut a long thin strip to go around the edge of the pie dish. Dampen the rim of the dish and press the strip onto it. Use the remaining pastry to form a lid, lift onto the pie, pressing down well. Trim the edges.

Pinch with your finger and thumb all the way around the edge of the pie and make 2 small slits in the top. Decorate with any pastry trimmings by re-rolling and cutting out shapes.

Brush evenly with beaten egg and bake for 40 minutes until the pastry is cooked through, well risen and a deep golden colour.

Recipe from Morrisons.

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