Why is kidney pie so salty

Return the meat to the pan, bring up the heat, and then pour in the red wine and let it bubble up and cook off a bit. By now, the beef should be meltingly tender and the sauce lovely and thick — try a bit and see — if not, give it another half-hour or so, then remove and allow to cool.

Bring the oven up to C on fan bake. Chop up the parsley and fold into the cooled beef mixture. Taste and season. Take a ceramic pie dish or similar I used my trusty Lodge pan and spread out the beef mixture in an even layer. In an age before refrigeration, pies were a means of preservation; baked in pastry and sealed with clarified butter, the contents — from salads to swans and even porpoises — would keep for months.

Meat pies, however, have always been a British favourite. The first mention of the modern dish is less than appetising. As for why that particular combination of fillings proved popular, well, kidney adds an earthiness and richness that complements the beef, and creates a deeply savoury gravy.

Interestingly, Isabella Beeton, whose clever marketing continues to make her the best-known British food writer of the 19th century, is also often mistakenly credited with inventing the steak and kidney pie. Various types of kidney can be used, depending on your taste. Ox kidney offers a distinct, robust flavour, but for something more subtle, try veal or even lamb.

The suet pudding, meanwhile, could be steamed in a pan of water over the fire, which explains why it predominates in home recipe collections well into the 20th century, until technology began to favour the pie, which is quicker and perhaps easier to make. Annie Gray says that, up until the mid to late 19th century, steak and oyster was probably a more common combination than steak and kidney in both pies and puddings. This was until, in a familiar story, over-fishing and disease decimated supply and oysters became the luxury they remain to this day.

In the 20th century, however, kidneys once again became the usual bedfellow to beef. After a few mouthfuls, he paused for a puff on his cigar, followed by more shovelling, and a few sips of brandy. More contentious still is the pastry; not just the question of puff, suet or shortcrust, but whether it should line the dish, creating a deliciously soggy, gravy-soaked base, or just sit proudly on top like a crown, as Nigella Lawson recommends.

Steak and kidney pie may not be the most on-trend of pies, but in tough times, old friends are the best friends.

Read more: from London to North Yorkshire, don't miss our pick of where to eat the best steak and kidney pie. Coat g cubed 4cm is perfect stewing steak and g trimmed pork kidneys, also cubed, with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry the steak and kidneys in batches until slightly browned, remove from the pan and set aside with the mushrooms.

In a small pan, boil 18 peeled pearl onions in ml beef stock for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add ml red wine, 1 tbsp grated horseradish and 3 splashes of Worcestershire sauce to the pan, scrape any flour that has stuck to the bottom of the pan and stir it into the sauce. Let it bubble until thick. The mixture should be quite sloppy, so add water if necessary.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 more minutes. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until they are crisp and golden.