A Meat pie with Vegies... a nice way to eat vegies without noticing ;)
Ingredients: When I cook, I rarely do so with measurements.. I just bung stuff in..... so I haven't bothered with measurements. Pastry
sheets (Puff pastry - I buy this, making it is too hard)
Method: 1).. Get your frozen pastry out and let it defrost while you make the filling. 2). Put a saucepan on the heat and add the mince (no oil). Fry this until no pink is remaining. Drain off excess oil. Add diced onion and fry until the onion is soft. Add finely chopped garlic and fry until the garlic starts to go brown. 3). Add your peas, corn, broccoli (cut into small "trees"), Pumpkin (cut into really small pieces) and carrot (I cut my carrot into slices, then cut each slice into quarters, so it cooks quicker), and about a handful of rice (depending on how much mince you used). The rice helps to give it substance, soaks up the liquid (and stretches the mix further!) Note: if you want a pie with a pastry lid, then cut the potato up into very small pieces (like the pumpkin/carrot) and cook this with the mix. If you want a Shepherd's pie type effect (with mashed potato as the lid), then don't add potato. 4). Put about a tablespoon of gravy powder in a coffee mug, fill with water, mix and add this to the pot. Add more water if needed to just cover the ingredients. Add about a teaspoon of tomato paste, about the same of wholegrain mustard, and herbs to taste. If you like, you can add some milk powder dissolved in water to make a slightly creamier pie filling. I use about 3 tablespoons milk powder in 1/2 cup water. 5). Simmer this until the rice is getting soft. At the same time (in another pan), make some mashed potato with the potatoes if you want a potato tpo. You can add cheese to this mashed potato if you are feeling decadent! Certainly some Salt and pepper is a good addition. Mash this well... we want no lumps... Think KFC's mashed potato.... really smooth! 6). When the mince mix is cooked, allow it to cool (you can use it while still warm, but its best not to be hot). 7). Grease your chosen pie making dish (I find the best thing to use is actually a spring form pan. You know those cake tins with the base and sides separate, with a locking thingie to release to let the bottom out.... I find it makes getting the pie out in one piece really easy!. Place the pastry into your dish. 8). Spoon the filling mix into the dish, and put your lid on. Or place mashed potato on top, and smooth it out so that it covers the whole top of the pie. (This stops you needing to worry about glazing the pastry! or making a lid for the pie) 9). You can give the top of the pie a light glazing with milk and a pastry brush (you can add egg to the milk, but it isn't necessary), or if you have the potato lid, you can give it a quick spray with oil if you wish, and perhaps a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh parsley (if you are feeling artistic). Don't forget to cut an air slit in the pastry lid to allow the steam to escape. (The potato top doesn't seem to need one though). Put the pie in the oven to cook. 10). It should go in a hot oven (pastry needs to cook in a hot oven or it just goes bleerrgh instead of crispy), cook until the potato/pastry is browning. Probably about 20 mins? When I make this pie for 2 people it is wayyy too much, so we eat half of the pie one night (perhaps with some chips), and I wrap the remaining half in aluminium foil (when cold) and heat it up (still wrapped) the next night. Wrapping it in foil and cooking it in a low to moderate oven (for about 30 mins to an hour) stops it burning, and allows it to heat through.
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