Steamed Steak & Pudding

Ingredients (for 6 people) :

• 700g Topside of beef, cut into 2.5cm cubes
• 350g Ox kidneys, cut into 2.5cm cubes
• 3 tbsp oil or dripping
• 3 Banana shallots, finely chopped
• 350g Mushrooms diced
• 50g Plain flour
• 1 tsp Tomato puree
• 300ml Beef stock
• 175ml Red wine
• 2 tbsp Henderson’s relish (or Worcestershire Sauce if you can’t find Henderson’s)
• Black pepper and salt
• Butter, for greasing
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Sprig of thyme

For the Suet Pastry :

• 190g Chopped suet
• 370g Self-raising flour
• 1/4 tsp Baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 40g Diced butter
• Enough ice cold water to form a dough

Method :

1. Chop onions, soak the ox kidneys in milk, and slice the mushrooms.
2. Fry the steak and mushrooms and add onions and thyme. Slice the ox kidneys.
3. Dust the beef in the flour to coat it evenly, fry in batches until well browned. Add a little extra dripping to the pan then fry the shallots, add the tomato puree and cook for one minute or so.
4. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, reduce the liquid by 2/3 and add the stock and everything else. Gently simmer for 1 ½ hours or place covered in the oven at 160°c for 1 ½ hours.
5. Once cooked, take the mixture out and leave it to cool to room temperature, then add the diced kidney.

For the pastry :

1. Rub the suet and butter into the flour and baking powder. When roughly incorporated (there should be no large lumps of fat left), gradually add cold water until a dough is formed. Wrap in cling film to rest for 30 minutes.
2. Take a large pudding basin (around 2 litres) and butter generously. Remove about a quarter of the pastry to keep for the lid then roll the rest out to the thickness of a pound coin. Line the basin with the pastry, spoon the mixture in and place the lid on top. Crimp the edges to seal.
3. Place a pleated piece of baking parchment over the top of the basin and secure in place with string.
4. Place the basin in a pan. Carefully add boiling water so that it comes about halfway up the basin. Cover with a lid and steam for 2 hours. Be careful that the water doesn’t boil dry!
5. Turn out and serve.