Steak, Brown Ale and Blue Stilton Pie

Much to my family’s disappointment, I’m just not a fan of Shepherd’s or Cottage Pie. Nothing to do with the taste or flavour, I just can’t handle the texture of mince with mashed potato for some reason! Keen to make a nice, wintery and warming meal this weekend, I decided to put a bit of a twist on the regular Cottage pie by replacing the traditional beef mince with some chunky beef stewing steak and turning the whole thing into more of a Steak and Ale pie vibe. The addition of the stilton to the mash is wonderful, it adds a lovely tang to what is a smooth and comforting pie topper. If you aren’t keen on blue cheese, simply leave this out.

This recipe makes four big portions of cottage pie so is perfect for Sunday lunch or, for tea for 2 with leftovers for 2 the next day.

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 7 points or 520 cals, 18.7g fat, 46.6g carbs, 34.7g protein

Ingredients

For the filling

400g extra lean beef stewing steak, raw, cubed

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 beef stock cube (made up with 500ml boiling water)

300ml Brown Ale (I’ve used the good old Newcastle Brown Ale and Aldi’s own – both were good!)

Pinch of sugar

½ sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)

Handful of fresh thyme, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

For the mash top

600g potatoes (suitable for mashing, I used Maris Piper), peeled and roughly cubed

80g Blue Stilton cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp light crème fraiche

100ml skimmed milk, warmed

To serve

200g frozen peas

Method

  1. Fill the kettle and pop on to boil. Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan).
  2. Put the beef in a large bowl, add the flour and season well with salt and pepper. Coat the beef completely in the seasoned flour. Add the oil to a large saucepan, heat, and then add the beef. Fry for 4–5 minutes until the beef is sealed but not cooked through. Remove the beef from the pan and pop into a bowl to one side.
  3. To the same pan add the onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms. Fry for4–5 minutes until the onion starts to soften, adding a little water if the pan starts getting a bit dry. Add the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, fry for another minute, and then add the beef stock and brown ale with a pinch of sugar. Add the beef back to the pan with the rosemary and thyme, stir, and then bring to the boil.
  4. Reduce the heat and simmer the pie mixture for 1 hour until the beef and carrots are soft and the sauce has reduced nicely. Remove from the heat and let the pie filling cool (for around half an hour if you have time) – this will stop the mash sinking into the beef.
  5. While the filling is cooling, make the mash. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft, then mash (or preferably rice) in a large bowl until nice and smooth.
  6. Add the Stilton and crème fraîche and mix, pouring in the warmed milk until the mash is nice and smooth. Don’t overmix as the mash will become gluey. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  7. Take a large pie dish and pour the filling into the base, then spread (or pipe) the mash over the top. Pop in the oven for half an hour so the top of the mash goes nice and crispy.
  8. After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to rest while you make the peas. Pop the peas on to boil for 3–4 minutes and then drain and season.
  9. To serve, add the pie to a nice deep bowl and eat with the peas.


4 thoughts on “Steak, Brown Ale and Blue Stilton Pie”

  • Made this yesterday & it was delicious. A perfect winter warmer

    • Ah so glad you enjoyed it Suzanne!! X

  • Oooh! This could be a good one for new years day! Thanks

  • Another triumph Laura! Made this for tonight’s dinner and it was just divine!

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