Individual Mince Pies
The great New Zealand pie has a thousand names and memories for everyone. Keep some flaky pastry sheets in the freezer and experiment with fillings; whether the old traditionals or new combinations. It’s a great way to use up leftovers and combined with tinned tomatoes, cream fraiche or fresh herbs you can whip up a satisfying dish for all.
Ingredients
Method
Shortcrust pastry for base
- 200g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 100g butter, melted
- 2 to 3 tbsp water to combine
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1 sheet flaky pastry
Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 150g Prime Beef Mince
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 200g mushrooms, finely chopped
- 20 very ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
- 3 tbsp crème fraiche
- salt and pepper to taste
- beaten egg yolk to glaze pastry
- To make pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter gradually. Using a flat-bladed knife, combine mixture until crumbly. Pour in water and gently mix to form a soft dough. Form into a ball, wrap in clingwrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and add onion to soften. Add the minced beef and cook together for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are caramelised and the beef is browned. Add tamari, vegetables and herbs and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Stir often to ensure even cooking. When the mixture has reduced by a third, add the crème fraiche.
- Generously grease the individual pie tins and roll short crust pastry to line the bottom of the pie. Spoon in the filling and then brush the edges of the pastry with egg yolk and fit a final flaky pastry top for each pie. Press the edges of the pastry together, decorate with left over pastry and brush tops with remaining egg yolk.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.