Meat pies in wine with black trumpets

Our contributor Virginia, from gastroblog Sweet & Sour, brings us a perfect recipe for mushroom season: meat pies with black trumpets. A recipe that creates happiness at home: a delicious combination of flavors with an irresistible presentation.

Autumn is slowly settling in, and heartier dishes start to appeal, especially those where we can use seasonal produce.

In this case it's puff pastry pies filled with meat braised in red wine, with one of autumn's star ingredients, mushrooms. We added fresh black trumpets, which can be found well into autumn. Although they are a type of mushroom you can also find easily dehydrated.

We prepared the meat stew partly on the stovetop and partly in the oven. To my taste, cooking in the oven at a constant temperature gives us tender meat and a wonderfully thickened sauce.

For this type of stew I always use my Le Creuset cast iron casserole, which is ideal for slow cooking, as it allows the meat to cook in its own juices without adding large amounts of liquid. It also easily allows transferring the stew from the stovetop to the oven with total convenience.

Let's get to the recipe:

INGREDIENTS: (For 5 individual pies or 1 large)

For the red wine meat stew:

• 1 kg of beef shank cap (Tapa de brazuelo de buey), cut into approximately 1 cm cubes
• 3 medium red onions cut into medium dice.
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed.
• 2 carrots peeled and cut on the bias into pieces of about 1 cm.
• 2 celery stalks cut brunoise.
• 400 ml of good red wine. (What you don't drink you don't add to stews)
• Approximately 400 ml of water.
• 2 tablespoons of sifted flour.
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• 30 gr. of butter
• Fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped.
• Fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 handfuls of fresh black trumpets
• 1 garlic clove.

For the pies:

• 500 gr. of puff pastry, homemade or store-bought
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

PREPARATION:

We begin by preparing the red wine meat stew:

Preheat the oven to 190ºC, top and bottom heat.

Place our Le Creuset casserole over medium heat to warm up. When it's very hot add the oil. Next add the red onions and let them cook without taking much color, until they start to soften, about 10 minutes. Raise the heat and add the pressed garlic, the carrots and the celery. If instead of using mushrooms we are going to add button mushrooms, add them now cut into quarters. Mix everything well and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the meat, brown it and add the rosemary and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until the meat is sealed on all sides. We want to avoid the juices escaping during the long cooking.

Add the wine, let the alcohol evaporate for a few minutes. Add the sifted flour in a sprinkling motion and water just to cover the stew. In my case around 400 ml.

Bring to a boil, cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven for 1 and a half hours.

After this time take it out of the oven and give it a stir. Return to the oven and leave until the meat is tender and the sauce has turned into a thick, dense gravy. In my case it took about 45 more minutes. It will depend a bit on the quality of the meat. But it's important that the meat is tender.

Remove from the oven and while it cools slightly, sauté the black trumpets in a frying pan with a garlic clove and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add them to the stew.

At the moment of filling the pies, add a cold knob of butter to the stew to give it shine. Mix well while it melts.

Increase the oven temperature to 200ºC

Let's assemble the pies:

Roll out the puff pastry sheets to a thickness of about 3 mm. Cut according to the size of the containers you will use. For the smaller lids and for the larger bases.

Lightly butter the ovenproof dishes and line the inside with the larger puff pastry pieces. Prick the bases to prevent them from puffing up in the oven.

Fill with the well-warmed meat stew. Brush the edges with egg so the puff pastry lid adheres well. Cover with the lid and make a hole in the center to allow steam to escape. Seal the edges of the pies with a fork, and with the back of a knife blade make diagonal slashes.

Brush the pies with the egg mixed with one tablespoon of heavy cream

Bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC for about 25 minutes, until the pies have taken a nice golden color.

Remove from the oven, unmold, as they will come out of their dishes without problem, and serve accompanied by a fresh salad and a good red wine. Nothing more is needed to enjoy these pies that will delight your diners.

Tips:

• The best meat for braising is the beef shank cap (tapa de brazuelo), because it cooks faster and becomes very tender.
• Fresh black trumpets can be substituted with dehydrated mushrooms or half a dozen button mushrooms cut into quarters
• Do not add the black trumpets before baking, as they are more delicate than button mushrooms. That's why we sauté them and add them before baking the pies. That will allow them to cook without losing their flavor and texture and to add their aroma and taste to the meat and sauce.
• Do not fill the pies with piping hot meat, it should be quite cooled so as not to damage the puff pastry.

Enjoy.