St George's Day Special

Happy St George's Day!

In honour of our patron saint, here are 2 yummy dishes to get your Sunday dinner off to a patriotic start this weekend.

Steak and Ale Pie
Steak and Ale Pie is certainly a British classic. Filled with chunks of slowly cooked beef, and partnered with your favourite ale, this is not one to miss.

Ingredients
For the rough-puff pastry

225g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

½ tsp fine salt

250g unsalted butter, cold but not rock hard

150ml ice-cold water

1 free-range egg, to glaze

For the filling

1 kg braising steak, chunked

3tbsp plain flour

3tbsp olive oil

300ml brown ale

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 onions, roughly chopped

250g carrots, roughly chopped

2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

Handful fresh thyme sprigs

300ml beef stock

1tbsp tomato purée

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

500g chestnut mushrooms, halved

Knob of butter

Salt and black pepper, to season

Method

For the pastry, sift the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl, then put into the fridge for a few minutes to chill.

Meanwhile, cut the butter into small cubes. Using a round-bladed knife, stir it into the bowl until each piece is well coated with flour.

Pour in the water, then, working quickly, use the knife to bring everything together to a rough dough.

Gather the dough in the bowl using one hand, then turn it onto a work surface.

Squash the dough into a fat, flat sausage, without kneading.

Wrap in cling film then chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Lightly flour the work surface and the pastry.

Roll out the pastry in one direction until it’s about 1cm thick and three times as long as it is wide. Straighten up the sides using your hands now and again, and try to keep the top and bottom edges as square as possible.

Fold the bottom third of the pastry up, then the top third down, to make a block.

Turn the dough so that its open edge is facing to the right, like a book. Press the edges of the pastry together using the rolling pin.

Roll out and fold the pastry again, repeating this four times in all to make a smooth dough, with buttery streaks here and there.

If the pastry feels greasy at any point, or starts to spring back when as you roll, then cover and chill it for 10 minutes before continuing.

Chill the finished pastry for an hour, or ideally overnight, before using.

For the filling, mix the beef with the flour and some salt and pepper. An easy way to do this without making too much mess is to put everything into a large food bag, seal, then shake well.

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large heatproof casserole up to a medium heat, then add half the beef, shaking off the excess flour and keeping the chunks well spaced so they fry rather than sweat. Brown for about 10 minutes, until golden-brown all over.

Transfer the first batch of meat to a bowl, then add a splash of brown ale or water to the pan and scrape up any meaty bits.

Tip the liquid into the bowl of meat.

Wipe out the pan, then add a tablespoon of oil and brown the second batch of beef. When the beef is golden-brown transfer it to the bowl and set aside.

Add the final spoon of oil to the pan and heat gently. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery and herbs to the pan and fry for a few minutes, until softened.

Put the beef back into the pan. Pour in the stock and brown ale, then add the tomato purée and balsamic vinegar. If necessary, add a little more stock or hot water to ensure the meat is covered in liquid (this will prevent the beef from drying out).

Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer the stew for 1–1½ hours until the beef is almost tender and the sauce has thickened. Set aside to cool, overnight if possible.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan, then add the mushrooms. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Mix with the cooled pie filling and add to the pie dish.

To make the pie, preheat the oven to 200C.

Flour the work surface, then roll out the pastry to the thickness of two £1 coins and wide enough to cover a family-size pie dish with some excess. Brush the edge of the pie dish with a little water or beaten egg.

Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry to fit the top of the dish – if it’s too big it doesn’t matter. Lift on top of the pie, laying the pastry over a rolling pin to lift it. Press down gently to seal.

Holding the knife blade horizontally, make a patterned edge by pressing down gently all around the edge of the pastry (this will help the layers in the pastry to puff up).

Cut a couple of slits in the top of the pie to release steam.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten.

Chill for 10 minutes, or until the pastry is firm.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden-brown and puffed all over.

Sticky Toffee Pudding & Toffee Sauce
This James Martin recipe is packed with flavour and is certainly a British favourite! It's super easy too, there's no steaming, no caramel, just a simple sponge and a treacle toffee sauce.

Ingredients
5tbsp demerara sugar, for coating the moulds

200g pitted dates

½ tsp vanilla extract

50g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the moulds

175g dark muscovado sugar

1½ tsp golden syrup

1½ tsp black treacle

200g self-raising flour

2 eggs

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

500ml double cream

175g demerara sugar

175g butter

1tbsp golden syrup

1tbsp black treacle

Method

Preheat your oven to 190C.

Butter eight small pudding basins and sprinkle demerara sugar inside, coating evenly. Shake any excess sugar out of the moulds, and place them on a baking tray.

Place the dates with 250ml water into a saucepan and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir the vanilla extract into the date mixture.

Blend with a stick blender until the date mixture is thick and soupy.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and muscovado sugar together until smooth.

Stir in the syrup and treacle, then the flour, mixing well.

Break the eggs one at a time into the bowl, stirring well after each one.

Add the bicarbonate of soda to the date mixture, then pour into the flour mixture and beat well to blend.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pudding basins, filling them two-thirds full.

Put the puddings into the oven immediately, and bake for 20 minutes until well-risen and springy to the touch.

For the sauce, gently heat the cream in a saucepan. Add the sugar and butter and whisk until melted. Whisk in the syrup and treacle.

To serve, turn the pudding out onto a plate, spoon the sauce over the top and around, then finish with a dollop of ice cream.