Beef & stout pie

Olive oil	7 tablespoons
Mushrooms, white button, quartered	1 pound
Pearl onions (blanched to peel)	2 cups
Salt & pepper
Beef chuck roast, cut into 1” cubes	3 ½ pounds
Flour	1 cup
Garlic cloves, minced	3
Tomato paste	2 tablespoons
Irish stout	2 ½ cups
Beef broth	1 cup
Carrots, chunked	1 pound
Red potatoes, chunked	1 pound
Thyme, fresh, chopped	1 tablespoon
Stilton Pastry
Flour, sifted	1 cup
Salt	½ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, cold, cubed	½ cup
Water, icy cold	1/8 cup
Stilton (blue) cheese	1/3 cup (to taste)
Egg wash	1 egg + 1 teaspoon water

1. In a 5 ½-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 tbsp oil. Cook mushrooms and onions, seasoning with salt and pepper; 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. In the same pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 tbsp oil. Sear in batches of one-third for 7 minutes. Transfer to a separate bowl. Add ½ water to the pot, and scrape up browned bits. Pour into a separate bowl. Add another 2 tbsp of oil, and repeat twice with remaining beef.
3. Return pot to medium-high heat. Add garlic and tomato paste; stir for 30 seconds. Add beef, stout, broth, and reserved liquid. Scrape up browned bits. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 3 hours.
4. While the stew simmers, prepare the pastry: cut flour, salt, and butter together until the butter is in pea-sized chunks. Stir in enough water to form dough ball. (Note: Too much handling makes dough tough.) Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the stew is ready. Roll out dough to 12”x16” rectangle. Crumble Stilton (blue) cheese over half the dough. Fold the other half over the cheese, and roll out again. Trim the dough into a 16” round.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush rim of pot with water. Lay pastry on top; let it droop onto filling. Trim dough to 1”; crimp to seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut four slits. Bake 30 minutes.

Recommendation: For love of cheesy crust, divide the stew between a pair of casserole dishes, and make additional pastry dough for both.

Serves: 8 to 10
Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma catalog, September 2008.