This recipe was featured on week 36 of my food blog, “Travel by Stove.” I am attempting to cook one meal from every nation on Earth, and British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos is my 36th stop. Unless otherwise noted, my Travel by Stove recipes are taken from authentic or traditional sources, and this recipe has been posted without any alternations or additions to the ingredients.
Pure traditional British comfort food, that isn’t that much hassle to make. Can serve 4 people if served with mash potato, carrots and peas but sometimes I prefer to do away with the mash and just serve this for 2! Don’t forget the sherry onion gravy which you’ll probably wanna drink all on its own!
A traditional British steamed savoury pudding – fluffy dumping style suet pastry layered with tender and succulent braised beef steak – pure comfort food. Once you have prepared this, just let it steam quietly away in the background, whilst you get on with other things. Unmould this pudding at the table and serve it immediately with extra gravy, steamed seasonal greens and mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes. There is an urban myth in the UK, that men ask woman who can cook this delicious savoury pudding to marry them……..be warned…….be careful! Preparation time includes the cooking of the beef steak before the pudding is made and steamed. (This recipe comes from my family’s recipe collection – it was cooked regularly by my grandmother and my mum; the original recipe is written in pencil on a scrap of paper………it was like finding real treasure!)
This is my tribute to my recent trip to London. I had something similar in a small pub, and it was my favorite meal in the grand ol’ city! The first time I made this I used cream of mushroom soup and 1 Tablespoon of beef boullion in place of the beefy mushroom soup.
Delicious individual pies which are perfect for supper, lunch or a picnic. These contain steak & onions cooked in good quality ale with a Stilton cheese & mashed potato topping, instead of the usual pastry. My own invention which is requested regularly now; this recipe was born out of left over mashed potato, stewed steak in ale and the dried up end pieces of some Stilton cheese! Here I have given instructions for my basic steak in ale casserole, but have assumed that you will know how to make mashed potatoes – I have also suggested frozen shortcrust pastry for ease! Serve these pies with chips, more mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables….and don’t forget the pint of ale to accompany them! “British Open Top” is a play on words, based on the British Open Top Mini car I used to have when I was a student….NO pastry tops here you see!!
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