Pies are the ultimate comfort food. Nothing says feel warm and cozy like a beef pie. This recipe makes 6 small hand pies. You can definitely make the filling ahead of time and leave to develop in the fridge overnight – it’ll taste EVEN BETTER! If shortcrust pastry isn’t your thing, feel free to replace with any other pastry of your liking – I just like the crispiness of shortcrust. If you’re gluten intolerant, the filling works super well on polenta and / or mashed potatoes.
If you, like me, occasionally get really lazy these pies work a treat in a pie maker. I have a Sunbeam Pie Magic maker. It is a life saver when you’re making big batches to stock up the freezer (or just because you like pies a lot). The picture below is the exact same filling recipe, but made in my Sunbeam Pie Magic maker and without an egg wash.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500g chuck steak, cut into 2cm cubes
- 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
- 100g small button mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp plain flour (you can use rice / tapioca flour instead if required)
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 5 sprigs lemon thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Store bought short crust pastry, 3-4 sheets (if you’re feeling like a legend and want to make your own pastry, go for your life, but I find store bought works just as well)
- 1 egg, beaten (to glaze)
For the pie cases, I used round foil cases for this recipe, you can also use pie pans too (in any shape), whatever is your fancy!*
*Read: Whatever you have lying around the house.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Heat oil in a large ovenproof pot (something reasonably deep – I use a Chausseur round French oven in 22cm). Once oil has heated, brown the meat.
- Once the meat has browned, remove from the pot. Add the onions to the pot and turn down the heat.
- Cook the onions until softened, and then add the mushrooms and the flour to the pot. Stir the mixture. Once the mushrooms have softened, add the tomatoes and red wine. Turn up the heat in the pot and bring to a boil. Once the liquid comes to a gentle boil, add the beef and lemon thyme to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover with a lid and place in heated oven for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Check the beef, it should be cooked through by now. If not, leave in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
- Once the meat has cooked through, leave the filling aside to cool completely. The filling must be completely cool before you start filling the pasty.
- Cut 12 circles out of the short crust pastry approximately 1 inch larger in diameter than the size of the pie cases. If you’re making these using a pie maker, follow recommended instructions. If you’re doing it old school, follow the steps below.
- Use 6 of the circles to line the bottom of the pie cases. Put in the fridge for 10 mins to cool. Once chilled, the pie cases are ready to be filled.
- Carefully spoon the chilled pie filling into the pie cases. Don’t overfill – they should be approximately 90% full, and make sure each pie has a good amount of meat pieces. No one likes a scrooge.
- Once the pies are filled, place the 6 remaining circles on top of each of them. Use a fork to seal the pastry, or any other sealing method you’re used to, then pop the pies in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius while the pies are chilling in the fridge.
- Once the oven reaches temperature, take the pies out of the fridge. Brush the egg wash onto the top of the pies and place the pies into the oven to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Resist the urge to bite into hot pies – you will burn your tongue!
the quarter life cook 