Beef Pot Pie

Crunchy and juicy on the inside, this British pie surprises us with sweet and salty proposals

The cuisine of the United Kingdom is known around the world. From the famous English breakfast to the porridge, passing through the kedgeree – smoked fish and served with rice and a fried egg -, the baked beans or the dishes to share with the family, like the Sunday roast, a piece of roasted meat . Salty preparations but also other sweet ones such as custard, muffins or apple tarts, among other recipes.

The cakes have a great relevance in the British gastronomic dictionary. At the end of the 18th century, the rural population of Great Britain who lived in cottages – small houses -, began to use the potatoes in various elaborations giving birth to the pie cottage, made with beef and a delicious sauce. This cake is topped with a creamy mashed potatoes gratin, with a look similar to that of the roof tiles of these rural houses.

There is another version, the shepherd’s pie, which differs from the previous one in that the filling is mainly of lamb meat.

We crown this recipe with a sheet of puff pastry finished in the oven to give it a crunchy touch in harmony with a refreshing S.Pellegrino and a glass of red wine. Cheers!

Ingredients

For the stew

• 400 g of veal calf
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 400 g of crushed tomato
• 6 mushrooms
• 50 g of peas
• Brandy
• Laurel and thyme
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• Salt and pepper

For the mashed potatoes

• 3 mashed potatoes
• 50 g of butter
• 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt, white pepper and bay leaf

Also

• 1 sheet of butter puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk

Step by step elaboration

1. Heat a large pot with a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the meat over high heat until it is golden brown on all sides. Remove from the pot and save for later.
2. In the same pot, sauté the garlic, lower the heat and add the onion and red pepper, chopped into small pieces. Add the laurel, thyme and a touch of salt.
3. Once the vegetables are well poached, transparent, raise the heat and add the meat, paprika and cumin. Add a splash of brandy and let it reduce.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes and the peas. Season and let cook approximately two hours until the meat is tender.
5. Boil the potatoes you previously peeled and cut into pieces in water with a pinch of salt and a bay leaf. Once cooked and drained very well, crush them with the rest of the ingredients.
6. In small cocottes, place the basic mashed potatoes and, on top of this, the beef stew. Cover with the sheets of puff pastry sticking well on the edges and paint with egg yolk.
7. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.

‘Harmonies in Flavors and Fragrances’. By Juan Muñoz Ramos.

Red meats and their juices, mashed potatoes and puff pastry … Finished in the oven with very mild and fresh flavorings that enhance the flavors and mark the fragrances, intense, yes, but also warm in a rough and snowy winter that invites reflection and the consumption of a little more energetic food without sacrificing taste.

That’s why our water is S.Pellegrino, because we want to keep all the fragrances that this dish gives us with fresh flavors. Besides it, a wine that is also warm and dry, fruity and with character, such as Longus de Cariñena, with both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties. A union of winter or timeless, that now more than ever invites us to a healthy and full of pleasure table.

Tips

• Let the mashed potatoes cool down in the cocottes before putting the stew so it will be easier for you.
• You can prepare the purée and the stew the night before and the next day place the puff pastry and bake them.