Hello friends!

It’s summer in San Francisco, so time for a rich, comforting dinner to warm our fog-chilled bones.  We’re going British today – yes, the fine cuisine of the British Isles, home of such delicacies as fried bread, brown sauce and bubble and squeak.

Many jokes and anecdotes abound on the subject of British cuisine.  Visiting England as a child, I don’t have particularly bad memories of it, but that’s because my parents knew where it was safe to eat in the U.K. – fish and chip places near the coast, good local pubs and Indian restaurants.  I did once try Steak and Kidney Pie – I ate around the kidneys.  But this is also the country that eats ice cream without any dairy and believes a single leaf of wilted lettuce added to a sandwich makes it a “salad sandwich.”  To be fair, Britain lived through unimaginable food shortages and rationing during and after WWII, so food’s main function, as my mum would say, was for many years simply to “fill a hole.”

I’ve returned to London several times in recent years, and the food scene is unrecognizable now. Trendy gastropubs, stylish Korean noodle houses, Spanish tapas and wine bars, and even upscale English restaurants offering stylized reinterpretations of British classics like potted trout and sticky toffee pudding.  (One has to admit that the English have a way of naming their dishes in ways that are descriptive to a fault.)  London is a great food city today, thanks in many ways to the immigrants from all over the world who have made it home (a fact that may cause some consternation given the political situation there now).  But traditional British food has also seen a resurgence, thanks in no small part to a quaint baking competition that has received Super Bowl-like ratings in the U.K.

Steak and ale pie can be found, in one variety or another, in pubs all over England.  It’s not subtle cuisine, but can be wonderfully comforting and filling.  It is usually served with a vegetable or two of some kind to reach the quintessential British goal of having “a meat and two veg” at every meal.  One would think that there’s not much to this dish.  But au contraire – debate rages on-line over the details: what type of crust to use and how much, what type of ale is best, what vegetables to add and when.  After trial and error, I believe the answers are, as follows: puff or rough puff pastry (but only on top), stout, and carrots but only towards the end.  But do I cheat and use store bought pie crust?  Yes, yes, I do.

This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver’s, but why he adds the vegetables at the beginning, I haven’t the foggiest.

Steak and Ale Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds chuck steak (or similar well-marbled cut)
• ¼ cup white flour
• Canola oil
• 1 large red onion
• 4 ounces bacon (about 3 slices)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bottle of dark ale or stout
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 cup beef broth (reduced sodium)
• 3-4 medium carrots, chopped coarsely
• 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional)
• 1 egg
• 8 ounces sharp white cheddar, coarsely shredded
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry or pie crust

Instructions:

1. Cut the steak into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a Dutch oven over high heat.
3. Toss the steak with the flour and add 1/3 of the meat to the hot pan.
4. Cook on both sides about two minutes each side until browned. Remove to a bowl, then add 1 tablespoon oil and repeat with the next 1/3 of the steak
5. Repeat step 4 with the final 1/3 of the steak.
6. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
7. Add the onion and the bacon. Reduce to medium heat and cook until onions and bacon are browned, about 8-10 minutes.
8. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
9. Add ½ cup of the beef and stir and scrape to loosen the browned bits on the bottom (that’s the flavor!). Let simmer until reduced – usually 2-3 minutes.
10. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and thyme.
11. Add the remainder of the beer and the beef broth. Stir in the browned beef and bring to a simmer.  Add pepper to taste and taste for salt.
12. Cover and put the Dutch oven in the 300 degree oven and cook for 1 ½ hours, stirring after each half hour.
13. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and put over a medium heat flame.
14. Add the carrots, stir, and cook for 5 minutes.
15. If the sauce isn’t thickened, add the cornstarch and stir in. What you want is a nice thick gravy.
16. Increase oven to 375 degrees.
17. Add one half of the beef to a deep oven safe loaf pan or casserole. You want something that the pie crust that you bought can easily cover.
18. Add ½ of the shredded cheese. Repeat with the remainder of the beef and the remainder of the cheese on top.
19. Cover the pie with your pie crust, and pinch the edges to seal it in. Use a knife to make a pattern in the top, making sure there is a way for steam to escape.
20. Whisk your egg then get a pastry brush and brush the egg wash over the crust.
21. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
22. Take out of the oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with a green vegetable and a strong beer.

Some tips:

• As always, be sure the beef is well browned, and don’t crowd the pan. I promise it is worth the extra effort.
• Watch the salt on this one. With bacon, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, a lot of salt finds its way in there. Reduced sodium beef broth is a good choice.