By Christine Salins.
Pies are the perfect comfort food in winter. They warm us up with their piping hot fillings, satisfy us with their deliciously rich flavours and nourish us with their goodness.
They’re also easy to make, especially if you take a shortcut and cover the top with shop-bought puff pastry rather than making your own pastry and baking a shell and lid. If possible, buy a quality brand of pastry made with real butter and natural ingredients – you’ll definitely notice the difference.
The pies in this recipe literally take only about 40 minutes from go to whoa. If you have a piemaker, you can adapt the recipe to suit.
Pie makers are undergoing a huge craze in home kitchens. One Facebook group for fans of the cheap and very popular Kmart Pie Maker has more than 200,000 members who share their creations and exchange recipes and tips.
Perhaps the reason for their popularity is not only that pies – especially the homemade variety – taste delicious but making them with a pie maker is … well … as easy as pie.
Beef, Red Wine & Mushroom Pies
Serves 4
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250 grams field mushrooms, sliced
250 grams button mushrooms, quartered
700 grams lean beef mince
1 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
4 sheets butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk
In a heavy-based saucepan, heat oil, add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms, sauté until browned. Add mince and cook until well browned.
Sprinkle in flour, stir well then add mustard, paste, red wine and beef stock, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes until thick. Add thyme leaves and divide mixture between four 1½ cup capacity ovenproof dishes. Top each one with puff pastry, brush with beaten egg yolk.
Place in a preheated 200 deg C oven for 10 minutes until pastry is golden. Serve with green steamed vegetables.
Recipe courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia.
