Mince Pie

OK, Here's one of those recipes that's a real keeper. Like, for real. I made it twice in a week, so that has got to mean something. To begin with, it was one of the easiest pastries I ever made. No working butter into flour with your fingertips or bringing the pastry dough together by hand. This was just a whiz and blitz in the mixie. And it worked!!!! like really well. I was skeptic at first, but this is now my go to recipe for savoury pastry. I don't think I'm going to bother looking at any other pastry recipe for a while. This was flaky, buttery, crispy crusty, all at the same time. And most importantly sooooo easy to make and a very easy recipe to remember. Easy to remember is important, in case you're a contestant on masterchef and need to remember your favourite pastry recipe. I'm always in awe of how contestants whip up cakes and dish out bakes without a recipe. I might have baked the same cake 10 times, but will still need the book at hand while I need to bake it for the 11 th time. So that way, this one is super easy to remember and poses no such problems. Masterchef Australia fever in the air by the way, in case your wondering where all this masterchef talk is coming from.

The filling again is pretty simple and flexible. From the kind of mince you use, to the spices you throw in. Apart from a few constant ingredients, you really can afford to mix and match. I've tried this both with chicken and beef mince, and both pies tasted pretty darn good.

Putting it altogether was pretty simple too. Chill the dough for about 20 mins, roll it out between sheets of cling film, toss in the filling, fork the edges and bake for about 25 mins. I could go on with my love for this pie. Whether you are looking for a nice sunday meal for your family to dig in to, or serve friends pie over tea or visit a friend who's feeling down, this pie will make perfect sense anytime. So let's get started then

Mince Pie

Ingredients :

For the pastry :

250 gm flour

125 gm cold butter, cut into cubes

4 tbsp cold, salted water (60 ml)

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt.

For the filling:

2 tbps oil

2 onions finely chopped

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

250 gm mince

2 eggs, hard boiled, shelled and chopped

1 1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs

1/2 tsp all spice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method :

1. For the pastry, measure the flour and toss it into the mixer/ processor. Add the cubes of butter and pulse in 3 - 5 second spurts till the mixture resembles crumbs.

2. Pour the water, lil by lil and pulse again in short spurts till the pastry comes together.

3. Toss the pastry on to a sheet of cling film and cover it tight to bring it together. Keep in the fridge to chill for 20 mins.

4. While the pastry is chilling in the fridge, start on the filling. In a pan, heat the oil. Toss in the onions and salt, and fry till onions are soft.

5. Add the tomatoes, the dried herbs, all spice, pepper and fry till the tomatoes soften.

6. Turn the heat to high and add the mince. Stir well to break up the clumps of mince. When the meat has browned, add the hard boiled eggs.

5. Cook on a low heat till the mince is cooked thoroughly.

To assemble the pie :

1. Preheat the oven to 190 C.  Line an oven tray with a sheet of baking paper.

2.Divide the chilled pastry into two halves. Place one half of the pastry between two sheets of cling film. Roll the pastry into a rectangle, a roughly shaped one will work just as fine. Transfer on to the baking sheet.

3. Place the filling onto the rolled pastry, spreading it evenly using a spoon, and leaving about 1 inch on the edges. Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water.

4. Roll the other half of the pastry, in the same way , about the same size and place it over the filling.

5. Press the edges of the top and bottom pastry together, first with your fingers and then with a fork.

6.Prong the top of the pastry to make air holes and brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg .

7. Bake for about 25- 30 mins till the pastry turns a nice golden brown.