Long dark night bring with them the joy of real comfort food - Steak and kidney pie with mash and gr

Now that the clocks have gone back and the days are getting shorter and the nights longer its time to start cooking real comfort food and it does not get any more comforting than cracking open a good bottle of red wine and settling down to a hearty plate of pie, mash and gravy.

This steak and kidney pie is, by far, the most flavourful, satisfying pie in my repertoire, packed full of chunks of the finest beef, tender mouthfuls of rich lambs kidney all bound together in a rich red wine gravy, all encased in a buttery crumbly short crust pasty. It really is everything you need from comfort food now the winter months have come by.

This recipe will easily feed a hungry family of four, especially if you serve it with buttery mashed potato.

500g diced beef

300g lambs kidney

1 large white onion finely sliced

150g button mushroom quartered

200ml red wine

1lt beef stock

1 tbls tomato paste

500g short crust pastry

1 egg

120ml milk

Place the beef in heavy bottomed pan with a little oil and place it on a high heat and colour the meat for 3-4 minutes.

Whilst the meat is colouring, take the kidneys and cut them into 4 and remove the white connective tissue and discard. Place the kidneys in 100ml of milk for 5 minutes (this will remove the bitter taste from the kidney). Whilst the kidneys are soaking add in the onion and mushroom to the pan and cook them through, drain the kidneys and add them to the pan. Add in the red wine and reduce by half. Then add in the beef stock and tomato paste, bring to simmer and cover.

Place it in a pre-heated oven at 150c for 90 minutes or until the meat starts to fall apart. Set the stew aside and allow to cool completely.

Take two thirds of the short crust pastry and roll it out to fill the bottom of your pie dish, fill the pie with the stew then roll out the remaining shortcrust pastry to make a lid.

Make a simple egg wash by whisking the egg and milk together and brush around the rim of the edges of the bottom of your pie pastry. Place the lid on top of your pie and press the edges together where you have brushed with egg wash. Brush the lid of you pie with the egg wash and make three 2cm long holes in the centre of you pie to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170c for 45 minutes until golden brown and enjoy.

#pie #maincourse #stew