English – In search of flavor

These days, thanks to the global coronavirus pandemic, we are stuck at home. As I go stir crazy, I decided that it might be nice to go down memory lane and look back at some of our travels. 2018 was a BIG year! Both my husband and I finished grad school and we decided to splurge on a much-needed vacation. So off to London we went! When in London, there are few things one must partake in. First, is the traditional “pub fare”. I had to have mushy peas with fish and chips. My husband opted for the heartier steak and ale pie. Both were delicious!!! In fact, since our trip to London, meat pies have become a staple in our winter menu.

Another classic experience that I highly recommend is the proper English Afternoon Tea. We took advantage of every single opportunity to have “tea”. For a more relaxed experience, I would recommend tea at Harrods. For a more formal (over-priced, but totally worth it) experience, go to the Ritz-Carlton. As always, our travels have inspired our everyday “tea” drinking.

Finally, a romantic dinner. Our first night in London, we went out to eat at Hutong a glamourous Asian restaurant on the 33rd floor of the Shard . I still dream of the Lotus leaf beef and the dumplings!!

I recently jumped on to the “Game of Thrones” bandwagon. Yes, I know I am about 8 years late, but I am here now, completely obsessed and can’t wait to see how the story wraps up. This past week has been everything “thrones” especially with the HBO marathon going on. In Season 4, there is an extensive description of a particular “Steak and Kidney Pie” made by the character “Hot Pie” at the “Inn at the Crossroads”. As Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne hungrily tucked away large bites of the pie, I couldn’t stop thinking about how delicious it must be. Decision made. I am was to make a classic English Meat Pie (you can read the “mini” versions of these pies here–slightly different recipe though) to celebrate the premiere of Season 8. Yes, the weather is warming up, but I hope you choose to make this recipe soon, we only have Game of Thrones on till the middle of May !!!

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds stew meat, cut into small bite-sized pieces

Chopped button mushrooms, carrots and onions – cut them small enough so that they are the same size as the meat. You can change up the ratio, but I went meat heavy since that is the way my husband likes it. I would reckon about 1/4-1/3 cup for each veggie would be sufficient.

1/4tsp of dried rosemary, thyme, and sage

3tbsp of flour

2tbsp of good red wine, you know what to do with the rest of the bottle

1tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1tsp of paprika

1 can of chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil for frying

Store bought pie crust

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan (I like my dutch oven), heat olive oil and brown beef in batches, seasoning it salt and pepper. Once browned, set aside.

In the same pan, add a little bit more oil and add all the veggies and saute till pale brown. Once browned, added dried herbs, salt and pepper and saute for 5 more minutes.

Add the beef back in with all the veggies.

Add flour, and saute till all the meat and veggies are coated with the flour and browned (5-7mins)

Add 1 can of chicken stock, paprika, wine and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on medium low heat till the gravy thickens, the carrots are soft and the meat is fork tender. This is a pie filling, so it has to be nice and thick.

Divide the filling into individual “pot pie” dishes (OR one big pie pan) and cool the filling completely. In the past, I have made a meat and potato version of this in muffin tins, with a double crust. You can find that recipe here