NIGE’S AWESOME BRANDY PEPPER-STEAK PIE RECIPE

Ingredients

You will need:

  • A large, good quality rump steak
  • An onion (diced)
  • Some thickened cream
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Mustard (I use Dijon, usually)
  • A teaspoon of beef stock powder
  • Brandy
  • A packet of puff pastry sheets
  • An egg
  • Some sesame seeds
  • A pie dish, either one large or a couple of small ones.
  • An oven pre-heated to 180 degrees.

Method

First things first, you need to grind pepper over both sides of your raw steak. The pepper should stick to the meat nicely, especially if you press it in with your hand. Be as generous or as stingy as you like, it depends how peppery you want it.

In a little saucepan, cook the diced onion in some butter until it’s kinda soft, then put to one side.

Heat a non-stick frying pan until it’s as hot as hell, then drop the steak in it and cook for about 3 minutes each side, ONLY TURNING IT ONCE YOU HEATHENS!

When the steak is just about done on its second side, pour a decent slosh of brandy over it, then immediately flambé it with a lighter, making sure to keep your eyebrows well clear. When the flames die down, remove the steak and put it aside. This should be smelling pretty awesome by now!

Next, you want to turn down the heat on the frying pan. DON’T clean it out, leave all the brown steaky bits and brandy residue in there! Add the pre-cooked onions, some cream (not the whole tub, but maybe half), a decent tablespoon or two of mustard and another dash of brandy. Heat this through until it’s bubbling away, then add a teaspoon of beef stock powder and stir it in well.

Leave the above concoction to simmer for a while and turn your attention to the steak. You want to slice the whole thing VERY thinly, in fact, as thinly as is humanly possible. Then dump the sliced bits of steak into the sauce and stir through. Let it all simmer for a bit longer (thicken with some cornflour if you think it’s necessary, up to you)

All you need to do now, is make a pie shell with the puff pastry sheets. I usually do one big pie, but you can do a couple of small ones if you’re feeling up to it. Either way, make a casing and a lid for your pie(s), pour in the mixture from the frying pan, seal it all up with a fork around the edges and brush the top with egg. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for added “real pie” look and jam it in an oven at about 180 degrees for 20-25 mins.

Awesome pie will ensue!!!