Mini Beef & Stout Pot Pies
These mini beef & stout pot pies with a flaky blue cheese crust are delicious comfort food for the late winter season!
Servings: 2 pies
Ingredients
For the stew:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound lean beef cut into about 2" cubes
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ cups red potatoes about ⅓ pound, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- ½ cups Irish stout or other stout beer
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
For the crust:
- 1 (14 ounce) package puff pastry this should be 1 sheet, defrosted
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Brown the beef. Heat oil in a 5 quart or larger dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and brown for 1 minute per side (4 minutes total). Remove the beef from pan and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Make the base + deglaze. Add onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Add a small amount of the beef broth and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots, potatoes, thyme and rosemary. Cook for an additional minute until the herbs are fragrant. Add the remaining broth, beer, mushrooms and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate.
- Season the beef. Sprinkle the beef with salt, pepper, cornstarch and flour. Return the beef to the pot.
- Simmer the stew. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool while you assemble the crust.
- Prepare the crust. Preheat the oven to 400°F. While the stew is cooling a bit, cut the puff pastry into two even pieces and roll each lightly with a rolling pin. Sprinkle one half of each piece with blue cheese. Fold the unsprinkled side over the sprinkled side. Lightly roll each piece with a rolling pin again. Place the puff pastry sheets back into the freezer until you are ready to top the pot pies.
- Assemble the pot pies. Divide the stew mixture between to mini gratin or other small oven-safe pans. Each pan should be able to hold 8 - 10 ounces of liquid. When the oven is heated remove the puff pastry from the freezer and cover each pan with a sheet of puff pastry.
- Make the egg wash. Mix the egg and water together. Brush the mixture onto the puff pastry before placing the pies in the oven.
- Bake the pies. Place pans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- If you want to save one of the pot pies for another time, cover tightly with aluminum foil after it cools and refrigerate. When you are ready to reheat it place in a 250° oven for 20-30 minutes until the desried temperature is reached.
- I've made this recipe with two different brands of puff pastry and the cooking time does vary a bit by brand so keep a close eye on it while baking. You want a nicely puffed, golden brown pastry crust.