Easy steak and kidney pie with puff pastry

I can't think of anyone who doesn't love a good pie! And this easy steak and kidney pie, topped with crispy puff pastry and overflowing with succulent chunks of steak and kidney, is one of the best! I like to serve this pie with a helping of freshly steamed vegetables!

📝 Ingredients

• 1 lb / 450 grams stewing steak (cubed)
• 8 ounces / 225 grams ox kidney (coarsely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons flour (to coat the beef)
• 2 medium onions (chopped)
• 3 medium potatoes (cubed)
• 1 large carrot (sliced)
• 1/4 to 1/2 small white cabbage (shredded)
• 1 cup beef stock (You can use a beef stock cubes to make it)
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree (or tomato paste)
• 2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cornflour (mixed with a little cold water to form a thin paste) (used for thickening if needed)
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 roll puff pastry (approximately)
• 1 beaten egg (to brush the pastry)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Preparation ---
2. 2Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and chop the kidneys into half-inch pieces. If you used a whole kidney, discard the inner fat and core.
3. 3Mix the flour and salt together.
4. 4Peel the vegetables and cut them into small cubes. Half an inch is fine – you don’t want huge pieces of vegetables in your pie, smaller pieces are best.
5. 5Shred the cabbage finely – I normally cut it into one-quarter-inch wide slices.
6. 6Chop the tomatoes. There is no need to peel them.
7. 7If you are using a stock cube, dissolve it in one cup of boiling water, then mix in the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato puree.
8. 8--- Steak and kidney pie filling ---
9. 9Pat the beef with a paper towel to remove any moisture and then coat the meat with the flour and salt.
10. 10Heat the oil and fry the steak over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until it is nicely browned. Don’t overcrowd the pan as this will lower the temperature and cause the meat to draw water and boil, rather than fry.Transfer the browned meat to the pressure cooker
11. 11Fry the onions gently in the same pan (you may need an extra splash of oil) until they start to soften then add them to the meat in the pressure cooker.
12. 12Add the chopped kidneys, tomatoes and shredded cabbage to the pressure cooker and pour over the prepared stock. Stir to combine.
13. 13Select the stew function on the pressure cooker (this is the highest setting on my model) and cook for 20 minutes.Allow the pressure to release.
14. 14Now stir in the remaining vegetables (carrots and potatoes) and cook on ‘Meat’ function (second highest setting) for 15 minutes.Allow the pressure to release.
15. 15Stir the filling and check the consistency of the gravy. It should have thickened sufficiently from the flour that the meat was browned in.If the gravy is too thin, thicken it by stirring in the cornflour and water paste (use the ‘browning’ function to keep the pressure cooker hot) until the gravy has thickened to your liking.
16. 16Taste for seasoning and add black pepper and more salt if necessary.
17. 17--- Assemble and bake ---
18. 18Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
19. 19Tip the filling into a baking dish and allow it to cool.If you put the pastry on while the filling is still hot, the pastry will go soggy and not rise properly.
20. 20Cut a piece of pastry from the roll (I needed half of a roll) and lay it over the dish.If you have a block of pastry rather than a roll, you should roll the pastry out to approximately one-eighth of an inch thickness.
21. 21Use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pastry to seal it against the edges of the dish. Prick the pastry with a fork to allow the steam to escape as the pie cooks in the oven.
22. 22Brush the top of the pastry with a little lightly beaten egg to encourage the pastry to brown.I like to place the pie dish onto a baking sheet to catch any drops of gravy that may bubble out while it is cooking.
23. 23Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and well risen.
24. 24Remove from the oven and serve hot with extra vegetables if desired.