Steak and Guinness Pie

This pie is delicious and really easy to make.  It's kind of like a really quick beef stew.  If you don't like the Guinness, you can substitute for a milder beer with less bitterness to keep this stew savory with no bitter quality.  I kind of like a little bitterness though... but I grew up in Wisconsin drinking Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet with extra bitters! Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ lb sirloin steak cut into ½ inch cubes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion; peeled, halved and sliced
• 1 small carrot; peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds
• 1 small stalk of celery; cut into ¼ inch sections
• 1 medium red potato; cut into ¼ inch sections
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme (if you can’t get fresh, use 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 12 oz Guinness or other strong dark beer
• 1 can diced canned tomatoes
• Beef or chicken broth to taste
• ½ package whole wheat puff pastry
• 1 egg white, beaten

Method:

Thaw puff pastry then cut to fit snugly inside a 1 quart casserole dish.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Put the flour in a bag and season the flour with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.  (I also added Mrs Dash Table Blend – I use this a lot because I don’t use much salt.  It adds a ton of flavor.)  Add the beef and shake to coat.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and brown meat.  Reduce heat to medium, add the onion and remaining flour mixture.  Cook another minute.  Next add carrot, potato, celery and thyme and cook another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add Guinness and tomatoes.

Increase heat to high and bring just to a boil.  Immediately reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 mionutes.  Adjust seasonings and add broth if necessary and cook another couple of minutes.  (I found the flavor a little bitter and the broth tones that down a bit and adds a little more depth of flavor.)

Pour meat mixture into the casserole dish and top with the puff pastry.  Cut several slits in the pastry then brush with beaten egg white.  Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Notes: You could add any number of vegetables to this dish.  The original recipe called for parsnips, but they added more bitterness on top of the beer, so I substituted the potato for them.