I had a miserable time.
So, back to reality. I don't know if it's just me, but my flat feels far more icy than usual. I can't tell if our carpet in the lounge is damp or just near zero degrees.
I don't think there is anything better than a hot pie on a cold day. Which reminds me of the time my good friend and I spontaneously made a road trip to the bottom of the South Island, and shared the last hot pie the small store by the beach had. It was the best pie ever.
Maybe it was the company that made it good. But regardless, pies remind me of one of the best days ever.
I found myself this morning with a whole stack of pastry in the freezer (we are talking flaky, sweet short crust, filo and more flaky!) and a fair amount of mince (venison, lamb or beef anyone?).
We (by we I mean I - Jelley sat there and provided the banter) made three pies thinking that our obese alter egos would be able to gobble them down. But alas! Along with the homemade oven fries and roasted cauliflower we could barely manage a single pie each.
We ended up packaging up the last lonely pie for her man. Men like pies right? Haha.
I cooked these in Texan muffin pans. Lining them with pastry is a little tricky, so these pies are not the prettiest but I'm working on it. I am just going to claim intentional rusticity. And these photos are very brown (apart from the sauce!). Probably should have cooked up some broccoli just for its colour!
I did add the peas to the mince mixture though, not only to make the meat go further but to add extra goodness.
Jelley got a little jealous of the chilli that was named after Lars. That article was passed around the chem department with great hilarity so I agreed to name these pies after her. Maybe this will be a new theme - naming my recipes after the friends I share them with. I could be onto something there.
Individual mince and cheese pies
(that I made while Jelley gave moral support from the sidelines)
serves 4-5 people (the mixture makes 8-9 Texan muffin pan-sized pies or one large pie)
4 sheets flaky puff pastry
400g lean beef mince
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp flour
1 heaped Tbsp Marmite (or Vegemite, if you are that way inclined)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp beef stock powder
1½ cups cold water
pinch of oregano
pinch of dried basil
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup peas (I used frozen)
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of grated Edam cheese
cooking spray
splash of milk
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
tomato sauce
Heat the oven to 200degC.
Remove pastry sheets from the freezer to defrost slightly.
In a deep frying pan, sauté the onions and garlic and brown the mince on a medium heat. Add basil, oregano and rosemary and mix in tomato paste, beef stock powder and Marmite until it has become a paste.
Stir in the flour, followed quickly by the water and stir until a thick gravy forms. Stir in the frozen peas and remove from the heat.
Spray the muffin pan lightly with cooking spray. Cut two of the pastry sheets into quarters and line as best you can each muffin well with a square.
Cut another quarter off the third pastry sheet and line the 9th muffin hole. Using a large mug, cut out circles of pastry that are large enough to comfortably fit over the top of the muffin well and set them aside. Use the leftover pastry to patch up the sides of the nine wells.
Divide the mince mixture between the pie cases then do the same with the grated cheese. Avoid overfilling, because things get messy once they start cooking.
Fold any edges that are sticking up from the muffin tin inwards over the filling.
Prick each lid with a fork then gently press onto the pie to secure. Use your fingers to dab over the top with milk then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. I also topped mine with little hearts because I am just that cute.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven but wait 10 minutes before removing from the muffin pans.
Serve with mashed potato or oven fries with veges and of course tomato sauce!
Enjoy!
