About Steak and Kidney Plate Pie

Asked on 31 Jul 2021 by Eoghan

Hi Lindsey,
Hello from cold wintery South Australia. I hope you are all well and enjoying the new found freedom from lockdown.
I am making ‘Mums Steak and Kidney Steak and Kidney Pie’ and am seeking clarification about the gravy after cooking the meat in the casserole. I am left with thickish gravy but I think not thick enough to all go into the pie. Do I strain the meat and add to the pie and then thicken the gravy in the casserole or just add the cooked meat to the pie with no gravy at all? I don’t want to end up with a soggy pie with over running gravy in the dish. It tastes wonderful at this stage, another Delia success.

I am contemplating a Delia recipe a day for a year to show everyone how great her recipes are!

Many thanks.
Eoghan

Lindsey, Food Editor replied

Hello Eoghan,

After cooking the meat and letting it cool you should have a thickish sauce that coats the meat and it all goes in the pie.

I think it may be one or two things? Before the meat goes in the oven it needs to be bubbling hot and with regards to the flour it may be that you used a bit less than needed? Delia uses an old-fashioned kitchen tablespoon which is equivalent to 2 dessertspoons or 20ml so for this recipe you will need 3 dessertspoons (or 6 teaspoons) of flour to thicken the sauce.

Wonderful to hear that you’re doing a recipe every day. We look forward to hearing about it.

Kind regards

Lindsey

Eoghan replied

Hi Lindsey,

Thanks for the prompt response. I use a 20ml tablespoon but think I was maybe not generous enough with the flour. A lesson learned.

I rectified the error by straining the meat and using half of the gravy which I thickened with a corn flour slurry so it coated the meat. The rest I added to the extra gravy I had made. All turned out beautiful and delicious, as all of Delia’s recipes do!

I have been a fan of Delia’s since I watched her as a young boy on the Multicoloured Swap Shop and really do cook from her repertoire everyday. I have just prepared her Chicken Puttanesca with green tagliatelle - a favourite of mine!

Thanks once again for the help with the pie and I will keep you updated with my Delia A Day progress.

Best wishes
Eoghan