Homemade Mince & Cheese Pies

It was Nigel Slater who said A pie teases us, with only a hint of what is to come under its golden crust. And there is the dilemma. What is inside the pie?  I am like the fair weather sailor, only venturing on board if a calm, sunny day bids.  It's the same with pies. I want to know what I'm getting before I embark on the tasting.

The easiest remedy then is to make my own so I know exactly what lurks under the golden crust. So I did.  I even went as far as making my own puff pastry which was not my initial intent but I am so glad I did. If you're not in a rush, give it a go. It is at once therapeutic and satisfying (more so when it turns out fine).

When I made this some weeks ago it seemed appropriate for the weather, at times tempting with hints of summer, then blowing cold and rainy. I opted to stay in the kitchen, keeping warm.  For most of the day I baked - Afghan biscuits first (see previous post), then this pie (well, there were three individual ones actually). In the process I attempted to improve my flour dusting and rolling pin techniques so that with one expert flick of the hand the board would be evenly and finely dusted and a few rolls of the pin and the pastry would be straight and even.  Ah well, that was the idea but I have a long way to go...

Individual Mince & Cheese Pies

There's a lot of chilling and resting so make sure you read the recipe through and allow plenty of time.

Homemade rough puff pastry (or use shop-bought)

makes about 3-4 pies depending on your individual tin size

250g high grade plain flour
1 tsp salt
250g butter, at room temperature
approx 150ml cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.  Roughly chop the butter into small chunks and rub loosely but not completely into the flour - you should still be able to see bits of butter.

Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water.  Mix until you have a firm dough. Cover with cling film, transfer to the fridge for 20 minutes.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board. Knead gently and shape into a rectangle.  Roll in one direction only, keeping the edges straight, until the rectangle is about 20 x 50 cm.  You should still be able to see butter streaks in the pastry.  From the long end, fold the pastry into three (fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that). Cover with cling film and chill for 20 minutes.  Repeat the rolling out, folding and chilling 3 times. Each time you roll, give the dough a quarter turn and roll out to the same size as before. Chill before using in the main recipe.

Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g lean beef mince
20g (2 tbsp) plain flour
1 beef stock cube mixed in 3/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp each each of dried basil and oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
200g Tasty (strong cheddar) cheese, grated
1 egg (for egg wash) + 2 tbsp water

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic gently for about 5 minutes until onion is translucent.  Add the mince and cook until well browned, using a fork to break down any lumps.  Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute.  Add the beef stock and bring to the boil.  Add the tomato paste, Lea & Perrins, balsamic vinegar, dried herbs and salt and pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes.  Turn off the heat. Stir in the fresh thyme leaves and leave to cool.

When you are ready to assemble and eat, roll out the pastry to approximately 4mm thick and cut to the size of the tin(s) you are using.  You will need pastry to cover the base of the tin and a pastry lid. I used Texan muffin trays which were perfect for single serve pies.  I used a small saucer as a template circle for the base and smaller circles for the lid.

Lightly grease the tins and line with the pastry base.  Fill the pastry almost to the top with the mince mixture then add a small handful of the cheese.

Brush the edge of the pastry with water and place the pastry lid on top.  Seal the edges, trimming off any excess pastry.

Whisk egg and 2 tbsp water together and brush over the pastry.  Rest for 1 hour before baking.  It was cold so I just left mine on the benchtop.  If it's too hot in the kitchen, place them in the fridge to rest.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown in colour.  Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool a little bit before eating.

Sweet New Zealand

There is a lot of sweetness to celebrate this month in New Zealand, not least a long, hot summer now stretching into autumn (with apologies to farmers).  And this weekend is Easter with its proliferation of eggs, bunnies and chickens, mostly of the chocolate variety. But what could be nicer than food bloggers dropping their delectable concoctions in my mailbox?  Come let me share with you the roundup for the month of March.

A peek into the world of raw food starts us off with this exquisite looking entry from Nicola of Homegrown Kitchen. Nicola made this for Purple Cake Day and the poignant and inspiring story behind this can be found on her post. I am so pleased she chose to enter with this, much admired by me,  Raw Blueberry 'Cashew' Cheesecake.    I am in awe at the wonderful colour and can only imagine what it would be like to bite into the creamy berry filling and chewy chocolate base. Nicola says it is so delicious and so good for you and I am certainly not going to argue with that.  I just long for a slice.  Sigh.

Sweet New Zealand creator Alessandra Zecchini dishes up her Apple Slice Cake made with Oratia Beauty apples.  Don’t you just love their name?  Apparently it’s an incredibly simple and quick recipe that makes an amazing apple cake. 

Alessandra has several blogs (I don't know how she does it, I have difficulty with one) and this second entry comes from her Only Recipes site.  Delectable Bergamot Orange Cupcakes topped with candied Bergamot Orange peels. Sounds exotic – and I have to say I am in love with that chair.

Mairi’s curiosity was piqued by a recent raw food class she attended and this dish, Fruit Salad with Honey Nut Crumble, stood out for her.   I’m not surprised as it really took my fancy too.   It looks so tasty with fresh summer fruits and a date & orange syrup.  Do check it out as Mairi has written about the rest of the raw food dishes too.

For those moments when only chocolate will do, Julie at Domestic Executive heads to the kitchen to make this, descriptively named, Anti Chocolate Nemesis Brownie.  In her words – it packs the same, if not better, chocolatey punch as a sugar and wheat version.  Or so my friend told me.  I believe a reliable brownie recipe should always be in one’s repertoire and I willingly add this one. 

In the unlikely event that it has escaped you, this is Easter weekend and Lydia of Lydia Bakes has played Easter Bunny by giving us her take on the famous Cadbury Crème Eggs – Creme Egg Cupcakes.  Love it!  Lydia is a real creative talent in the kitchen so you know these are going to be good.  Vanilla fondant filling, topped with chocolate buttercream and a mini crème egg on top.  Come on, you know you want to and Easter is a great excuse for a chocolate gorge.

Nutella + crostata. Those two words would be enough to warrant a look at GreedyBread Michelle’s entry but if you really require persuasion let me tell you her bad boy Nutella and Crostata tart (or the mini version) is very easy, very delish and very quick and you can slip in a cup of coffee while you’re waiting for the pastry to rest. Now, who can say No to that? 

I love the bunny that pops up everywhere on Genie’s Bunny Eats Design blog; he (she?) is so cute. This time topiary Bunny is guarding these Banana Hakanoa Mini Cakes (so much prettier than banana muffins). If, like me, you didn’t know what Hakanoa is, well it’s a ginger syrup. Bunny, or no bunny, these cakes look very appealing and that thick cream cheese frosting does it for me.

Fragrant cardamom is one of my favourite spices and I am always keen to see how it is used in both sweet and savoury dishes.  Inspired by a plum and cardamom jam, Sue from Couscous & Cousciousness has used it here to give autumn warmth to her Plum  & Cardamom Cake.  I love that she has frozen single serves ready for breakfast on the run or a quickfire dessert.

Jess, a Californian now living in New Zealand, makes people laugh with her stand-up comedy routine as well as promoting fitness and healthy eating on her blog Jessness Required.  So don’t be fooled by the names Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs (top) or No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Balls (bottom), these are her healthy versions.  Go on, take a look and experiment a little.

Last but not least will be me and my Peach Pie with Lemon Pastry.  Well it’s not actually mine it belongs to Nigel Slater but I am so glad I baked it.  It is everything a summer pie should be: fragrant golden peaches, light, lemony pastry and crispy crust.  It leaves you wanting more.

And if you want more, don't forget Sweet New Zealand will be hosted in April by Monica from Delissimon. 

I’ve had fun hosting Sweet New Zealand for March and bringing these recipes and blogs to you.  Have a Happy Easter.

Just peachy

Ever since gifting myself Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries II at Christmas, the golden ribbon marker has been sitting at his peach pie recipe, (page 317 if you’re asking), just waiting.  The mere thought of fragrant summer peaches in a pastry would have been enough but listen to his description:

Peach pie.  Whisper the words.  Luscious fruit under a crust that must, surely, be as soft and crumbly as the most buttery shortcake.  It must sparkle with sugar and break tenderly under the fork. A crust that sighs rather than snaps.

Okay, sold, many times over.  Mr Slater has a wonderful way with words and I’m sure that if you bought this book and did nothing but read the diary entries you’d feel you’d spent your money well but you really would be missing out on all the comforting pleasures such as this pie which, I have to say, is a fine match for his words. It is all I dreamt it would be.  A sugary, crumbly pastry with a delectable, sweet peachy filling.  Oh my lord, it was good.

I am hosting Sweet New Zealand this month and this sweet peachy pie is my entry.  I'd love you to join in.  You have until the 29 March to submit your entry - rules and more details here.

Peach pie with lemon pastry 

(from Nigel Slater – Kitchen Diaries II)

Pastry 

150g butter

150g caster sugar

1 egg

grated zest of 1 lemon

250g flour

1 tsp baking powder

Filling

6 ripe peaches

2 tbsp caster sugar

grated zest of 1 orange

1 heaped tbsp cornflour

a little milk & extra caster sugar to dust the top

Method

Lightly butter a 24cm tin pie plate (18cm across the base).

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat to incorporate.  Add the lemon zest.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and fold gently into the mixture, bringing the dough together into a ball.  Knead the dough lightly for a minute or two on a floured surface.  Cut in half, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Use one half of the dough to line the base of the pie plate.  Return the pie plate and the remaining dough to the fridge.

Turn on the oven to 180°C.  Halve the peaches and remove the stones.  Cut the halves into large pieces (cut them smaller if you are using individual tins) and place in a bowl with the sugar, orange zest and cornflour. Toss together gently, and spoon into the lined pie plate.

Brush the rim of the pastry in the pie dish with a little milk.  Roll out the second half of the pastry to fit over the top of the pie and place it gently across the top of the filling.  Trim off any excess.  Press the edges of the pastry to seal.   Brush the pie lightly with milk and dust with sugar.  Pierce a small hole in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes until the pie is golden.  Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6.

Notes

I used 4 mini tart tins (see photo right), 11.5cm in diameter instead of the recipe’s metal pie tin but I have given the recipe in its original form using one large tin.  If you do use individual tins, you will probably only need 2 or 3 peaches and the cooking time will be reduced to approximately 25 minutes (and you will likely have leftover pastry which you can freeze).

Keep the pastry (and your hands) cool. The pastry, as Nigel comments, is very crumbly.  I tend to always roll any sticky or crumbly pastry between two swipes of cling film to make life easier.  When it comes to topping the pie, you simply peel back the top cling film sheet, scoop up the pastry and bottom layer of cling film from underneath, cover the filling with it and then carefully peel off the cling wrap.