There was a breath of Spring in the air today and it felt really good not to go outside looking like a sherpa. It is still too early to hang out at the markets looking for spring produce but I am getting quite excited with the prospects that a new seasons produce can bring. Very excited in fact because I have a list of Spring recipes that is going to see me well into the next millenium.
Consequently, I am finding myself on the outer cusp of the comfort food zone. I still have a few things that I set out to make this Winter, this pie being one of them and I am so glad that I didn’t pass on the opportunity because it is sensational. The primest of prime meats is delicately enhanced with ginger, sake and shiitake mushrooms and wrapped in a buttery pastry that only serves to compliment its melting qualities.
I actually made the meat mixture a day in advance because I thought the pastry might take some serious concentration and a little time – it did, but that is only because all good things take time and I am not a regular pastry buff. My efforts did not go unrewarded because it turned out as good puff pastry should – buttery, flakey and light, I felt quite proud.
Nothing like a good pie to embrace the last gasps of Winter – a Winter wagyu pie too see you through to Spring.
Filling
1 kilo/2 pounds Wagyu oyster blade cut into 2cm peices
1/2 cup plain (all purpose) flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sake
200 grams/7 ounces shiitake mushrooms
1 egg, lightly beaten
to serve: freshly grated horseradish
Pastry
3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
450 grams/1 pound frozen unsalted butter, coarsely grated
Place beef and flour in a bowl and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy based saucepan, add onion, cook over low-medium heat for 8 minutes or until soft, then stir in the ginger. Remove onion mixture from the pan and set aside.
Return pan to heat, add remaining oil and heat, then add beef in two batches and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until browned, then remove from pan. Return beef and onion to the pan, add the soy, sake and 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Add shiitake mushrooms, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally for 40 minutes or until beef is tender and liquid is thickened. Season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate until chilled.
For pastry, sift flour and a pinch of salt onto a work surface, scatter butter over then cut through the butter (using a knife or a pastry scraper) until roughly mixed. Make a well in the centre, add 3/4 cup ice-cold water and using the pastry scraper mix until the dough forms. Divide pastry in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Work with one pastry half at a time, roll out on a floured surface to form a 1.5 cm thick rectangle, fold shortest ends over to meet in centre, then fold in half from the same direction. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes, then repeat rolling, folding and resting process twice more for each half.
Roll out each pastry half on a floured surface until 5mm thick, then cut into 6 pieces large enough to fit the pie tins. Line the tins with the pastry, then fill with the beef mixture. Brush the pastry edges with the egg. Cut lids from the remaining pastry and press onto pies, trim edges and press to seal. Cut small slits in the top and brush with egg. Bake at 200c/380f for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately with grated horseradish.
Source: Rodney Dunn
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
