Only one thing is better than a dinner party- a Harry Potter themed one! But being across the water makes it hard to take part when all the other guests are based in Canada. Thanks to I Say Nomato and 365 Days of Easy Recipes (and Food Bloggers of Canada who put the idea in their heads), a Harry Potter virtual dinner party was born.
- Sorting Hat Cupcakes from I Say Nomato
- Canary Creams from the Bluenose Baker
- Hagrid’s Pumpkin Patch Rock Cakes from Peppers & Pennies
- Arachnid Balls from 365 Days of Easy Recipes
I knew from feedback from my first Harry Potter themed dinner party post, it was time I brought a savoury dish to the party. Steak and kidney pie it was! Based on Mrs. Beeton’s recipe, I adapted her beef steak and kidney pie /pudding recipe to make single serves, cutting down cook time, allowing the use of lamb kidneys in this recipe. They’re typically not a great ingredient to cook for very long (more modern recipes recommended ox kidneys for larger pies). In these smaller sizes, they work well. For my personal taste, I’ve changed the recipe to combine the flavour with beef better. In layers, you taste the beef and kidneys separately. Unless you grew up eating lamb kidneys, they’re certainly an acquired taste!
- 2.5 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup | 225g unsalted butter, chilled
- ¼-1/3 cup water
- extra melted butter
- 500g chuck steak
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ~1/2 cup red wine
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 lamb kidneys
- Preheat oven to 200C | 400F.
- Spray a muffin pan (or mini pie pans if you have them) with cooking oil.
- In your mixer, add the flour and salt.
- Chop up the butter into small cubes. Mix into the flour and salt until it becomes a course meal texture.
- Slowly pour in the water in a slow stream. If the dough is too sticky add more flour. If too dry, add more water.
- Roll out to ⅛-inch thickness.
- Split the dough in half- one half for the base, one half for the tops.
- Use a large glass or round cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough. It's handy to use a slightly smaller glass for the tops, but measure it against your own muffin tins.
- Press the base dough circles into the muffin tin.
- For the dough tops, cut a small opening in the centre of each and set aside.
- Cut out the white centre of the lamb kidneys and discard.
- Very finely chop up both the beef and the lamb kidneys. Mix together in a bowl.
- Sprinkle the salt and cayenne pepper over the meat and stir to distribute.
- Scoop the mixture into the muffin tins, adding a bit more in the centre to help keep the rounded pie top shape.
- When filled, pour a little red wine in.
- Press the dough tops on, and use a fork to press the edges together.
- Finish by brushing some melted butter on top of the dough.
- Pop into the hot oven and cook for ~30 minutes.
I am so thankful for this collaboration as it introduced me to your gorgeous and inspiring work! These look fantastic and while I admit I don’t think I would try kidney… I will be referring to this recipe for my next beef pot pie. Make my dinner a tad more magical 🙂
Loved being able to collaborate with you too, Amanda! Such a fun idea- I think we’ll need to do some more virtual parties in the future 🙂
Hello! I had a quick question: If I decide to not use the kidney, would the substitute to make the quanities are still the same be to add more beef (and if so, how much) or to omit that portion of the recipe altogether?
I love you channel and it’s recipes. I cant wait for the next one!
Add an extra handful of beef to replace the kidneys will do the trick. You’ll need the same amount of meat to help keep the pastry tops rounded.
Do you need to use the red wine????
Thank you so much for doing this recipe!!!
You could probably replace it with a red wine vinegar instead or some beef stock.