- 7 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 pound White button mushrooms, quartered
- 1 to taste Salt & freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups Frozen pearl onions, thawed
- 3 1/2 pounds Beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 1/2 cups All purpose-flour
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
- 2 1/2 cups Irish stout
- 1 cup Beef broth
- 1 pound Carrots, in chunks
- 1 pound Red potatoes, in chunks
- 1 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 16 inch round Stilton pastry, see instructions below
- 1 egg Beaten with 1 tsp. of water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cups Ice water
- 4 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled
1. In a 5 1/2 qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tablespoon of oil. Cook mushroom, onions, salt and pepper 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Season beef with salt and pepper. Dredge in flower, in same pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of oil. Sear one-third of beef 7 minutes; transfer to separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to pot; scrape up browned bits. Pour into separate bowl. Repeat twice with rest of beef.
2. Return oil to medium-high heat. Add garlic and tomato paste; stir 30 seconds. Add beef, stout, broth and reserved liquid; scrape up browned bits. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 3 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Brush rim of pot with water. Lay pastry on top; let it drop into filling. Trim dough to 1", crimp to seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut 4 slits. Bake 30 minutes. Serves 8 to 10 people.
4. In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse until blended, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, place on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and roll out into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the cheese over half of the dough, then fold the other half over the cheese. Roll out the dough into a 16 1/2-inch square. Using a paring knife, trim the dough into a 16-inch round.
6. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 10 minutes, then lay the dough on top of the beef and stout pie and bake as directed in that recipe. Makes enough dough for a 16-inch round.
