See Also: Beef Dishes · Cooking Club · Main Dishes
Beef Pot Pie
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Use leftover cooked meat and vegetables, or simply cook up some in a saute pan and then assemble and bake. This features a top crust only. Some pot pie recipes also have both a bottom and a top crust but I find the bottom crust remains too soft. I prefer this method, baked in a 2 quart baking dish and serves 6-7. Go ahead and listen to the Beatles 1966 recording of "Got to Get You Into My Life". As Paul McCartney stated, "It's actually an ode to pot". He's talking about the song, not my recipe...
For the crust:
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon semi-coarse sea salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon water
1 egg yolk
For the filling:
1-2 tablespoons oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 - 1 bell pepper, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 cup any other chopped vegetables, as desired
1- 1/2 pounds chuck steak (or about 2 cups diced cooked beef)
2 tablespoons flour for sprinkling
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried herbs, such as Herbs d'Provence
1/4 cup butter or oil
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups water or beef broth
In food processor with steel chopping blade in place, whirl the flour, sugar and salt. Then add the cold butter and pulse to cut it into small pieces. In measuring cup, combine juice, water and egg yolk and add to flour mixture, pulsing only enough to make a soft dough. Remove to a floured pastry cloth, cover, and let rest while you prepare the filling.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In heavy bottomed saute pan or fry pan, heat the butter or oil. Add the chopped vegetables and cook and stir several minutes to soften them. Cut the steak into small chunks and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons flour, salt, pepper and your choice of dried herbs or a ready made meat rub. Toss well and add to the vegetables. Cook and stir several minutes to brown the meat evenly. Remove vegetables and meat to a deep 9 or 10 inch pie dish or a 2 quart casserole dish. In hot pan (hopefully with some nice browned bits clinging to the pan), add the remaining butter or oil. Whisk in the flour, and then add the water. Whisk and stir, bringing up the browned bits from the pan, making a nice flavorful gravy. Cook several minutes and then pour over the vegetable and meat mixture. Taste and correct the seasonings, as desired. Roll the pastry out on a floured pastry cloth into a circle to fit over the dish. Lift pastry over meat mixture, turning in the edges to make an attractive finish. With knife, make several slits for the steam to escape. Place in hot oven and bake 25-35 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned.
Recipe created 2010-04-13.
