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Mini Beef and Blue Cheese Pies


Mini Beef and Blue Cheese Pies

Amy Scheuerman
Gilded with crowns of puff pastry, these pies make for a rich supper on cold nights. Use mini soufflé pans or ramekins for this recipe.

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • pounds boneless beef chuck roast trimmed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 2 small carrots diced
  • 12 ounces dark beer
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 10 ounces white button mushrooms stemmed and quartered
  • 14 ounces puff pastry thawed
  • cups frozen peas
  • 6 ounces Stilton crumbled
  • 1 egg lightly beaten

Instructions
 

  • In a small jar, combine cornstarch and water. Seal jar and shake vigorously. Set aside.
  • Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
  • In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add beef in a single layer to pan and cook up to 1 minute on each side until well browned. Transfer beef to a plate and repeat until all meat is browned. Reduce heat to medium.
  • Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots to pan and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
  • Add beer, stir to scrape browned bits from bottom of pot, and continue to cook over medium heat until most liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Add stock and cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Add beef, mustard, and bay leaf, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, partially covered, about 2 hours, or until beef is tender. Turn off heat and discard bay leaf.
  • Heat oven to 375°F. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft and evenly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • While beef cooks, unfold puff pastry into a single layer on a floured surface and roll into a 14-inch-long rectangle. Invert a mini soufflé dish on top, and, using the tip of a paring knife, trace a circle about ½ an inch wider than the dish’s edge. Repeat to create 4 pastry circles and refrigerate until ready to assemble pies.
  • Add mushrooms and peas to Dutch oven, stirring to distribute. Gently fold in blue cheese.
  • Divide beef filling equally between 4 soufflé pans. Brush rims of each dish with egg. Top each with a puff pastry round and crimp along edges of dish to seal crust. Poke a small hole in the center of each pie to vent steam. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Remove and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Photographed by Mark Ferri, styled by Leslie Orlandini

Amy Scheuerman

Amy Scheuerman—culture's former web director—spent eight years in North Carolina where she developed a love of barbecue and biscuits before moving up north to get a degree in nutrition. She now works at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

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