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Thursday 2 October 2008

Beef & Veggie Pie – British Food Fortnight Event




Antonia from Food Glorious Food is organising a wonderful food event running from the 20th September until the 5th October for British Food Fortnight which is a celebration of the fantastically diverse range of foods produced in Britain. I spotted this event a little while back and just knew I had to partake and give my support in such a great event with seasonal British food, how could I not submit an entry!! I’m just skimming in here with the dead line *phew*....



My entry comes from my childhood when my mother would use up leftover roast beef from the Sunday roast for a family pie on a Monday. I think this was one of my favourite meals as a child. I would rush home from school to the smell of a freshly baked beef and veggie pie served with creamy mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage & gravy what joy this was. We never had any waste food in our house, everything mum would utilise into another dish.

Today in my family we still have roast beef on certain Sunday meals but alas we never seem to have any leftover roast beef to make my mum’s pie. I now use fresh British beef mince from my local butchers and seasonal veggies that I buy at my local greengrocers.

*If you don’t fancy making your own shortcrust pastry for any reason, a good shop brought one will be just as good for this pie*.






Beef & Veggie Pie

Ingredients
For Shortcrust Pastry
400g (14 oz) plain flour
100g (4 oz) butter
100g (4 oz) vegetable fat or lard
A pinch of salt
Ice cold water
For The beef & Veggie Filling
450g (1 lb) beef mince
2 onions, peeled and chopped into dice
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into dice
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped into dice
A quarter of a small swede, peeled chopped into dice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
A good splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
200ml (7 fl oz) Beef stock
A little olive oil for frying
1 egg beaten with a little milk, to glaze the pie


You will also need a pie tin 20cm (8 in) round in size, greased with a little butter.

Method

Firstly make the pastry by adding the flour, salt, butter and vegetable fat to a large bowl. Rub through the mixture with your finger tips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add 1 tsp of cold iced water for each 25g (1 oz) flour in the recipe and bring together with a rounded knife. Form into a ball with your hands and wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to cool. *If you need to add a little more water to bring the pastry together again add a tsp at a time*.

Whilst the pastry is cooling, gently fry the onions and veggies until the onions and veggies are giving slightly but not brown. Fry the beef mince until brown add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, sweet smoked paprika, chilli powder and stir through then add the beef stock. Simmer slowly on the stove until the veggies and meat are soft and cooked through fully, and the stock is reduced to virtually zero, leaving a very moist filling. Season the filling with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Leave to cool slightly while you roll out the pastry.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

Cut a quarter off the pastry and leave aside for the lid. With the remaining pastry roll out on a floured surface until it is large enough to line the base and sides of the pie dish with a little overhang, gently prick the base with a fork making sure not to go through all the way and then fill the pie case with the filling. Roll out the remaining pastry large enough to fit as a lid. Brush the pie edge with the filling with a little egg glaze and place the pastry lid on top. Crimp the pastry around the edge to fully seal the pie and cut off any excess pastry. Re-roll any scraps of pastry and cut out shapes to stick on the pastry lid and brush over the pastry lid with egg glaze. Lastly place two slits in the lid with a sharp knife to let the steam out while baking. Place in the oven and bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown on top. Cut and serve slices with seasonal veggies of choice and lashings of good beef gravy – believe me this tastes excellent and such a lovely comfort food to sit down and eat!

I was also going to share this recipe with ‘dear’ Ivy at Kopiaste, to Greek hospitality for her Savoury Pie Event but alas, I have had family staying and then unfortunately I caught an awful cold and cough and regrettably missed the posting dead line, sorry Ivy!
Edit - Thank you Ivy for allowing my entry into your Savoury Pie Event - so very kind of you :)


41 comments:

Ivy said...

Rosie, your pie looks great and it doesn't matter than you were one day late, I shall add it in the round up.

Finla said...

Hi Rosie pie looàks good.
I have never ate a pie. Even though I have been so many times to london, never tried them.
I think it is always nice when we make a dish which moms used to make.

Maria♥ said...

Great entry! That pie looks so delish Rosie, I can smell that home-cooked goodness from here.

Maria
x

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

This is a lovely pie with a perfect crust. Can you speed mail me a piece! - only joking, but I certainly would like a taste.

Rosie said...

Ahh Ivy thank you sweetie you are such a gem to allow my pie to be added to your round-up :)

Hi H.C. I have to agree it brings back wonderful memories of re-creating something mum used to make :)

Hi Maria, hubby really enjoys this pie as much I do - hope you will try this one out for your family sometime :)

Hi S.T. *giggle* I would love to airmail you a slice ;) I hope you will try this recipe out sometime.

Many thanks for callng by and for all your lovely comments :)

Rosie x

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I shouldn't be visiting your blog so early in the morning Rosie. I am famished:D Love these pies!!

priscilla joy said...

this looks delicious and that crust looks perfect!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Well, it may not be cake, but it looks like a truly marvellous meat pie! I think you should start a 'bring back good old-fashioned homely pies' campaign...

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the stars on top. That's sooo cute! I'dl ove that pie.

Emily Rose said...

The crust is so perfect on this pie! It's beautiful!

Prudy said...

How homey and delicious! My family would just love that for dinner tonight.

Oh my! Apple pie! said...

oh what a pie! delicious, proper home food.

Unknown said...

Pie looks cute!

Anitha said...

Hi Rosie,
The pie looks great. The crust has such a beautiful texture. Sounds yummy

Anitha

Donna said...

I am Seriously going to try this!! Looks Comforting!!!hughugs

dabrah said...

Hi Rosie, I just got home from choir practice and saw your pie. I skipped dinner, so it's really making me feel hungry. Now I know what I'm going to cook for dinner tomorrow! It looks absolutely wonderful.

test it comm said...

That pie looks really tasty! I like the stars on the crust.

Cakelaw said...

Delicious - gotta love a hearty beef pie with a golden crust (with stars!!).

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Hi Rosie!

That Pie looks delicious and extremely conforting!

I would love to buy some cookbooks (not too easy) on real English food (cooking/baking), do you have any that you could recommend? Thanks

Cheers,

Rosa

Nic said...

Nice entry Rosie - looks delicious!
I would have to make a veggie version.

Anna said...

Ah, this is so fantastically British! It looks absolutely perfect!

tartasacher said...

Hello Rosie
Delicious your recipe for the event british food. Thank you for your comments in my sweet blog

La Bella Cooks said...

What a fun event, I will definitely have to check that out. Marrying into a British family, I enjoyed trying different dishes and this was one that I remember trying early on. Very savory. After all these years, I guess I better get moving on trying my own hand at one, right? I love your little stars :)

Maria said...

Brilliant looking pie. Nice job!

glamah16 said...

I love this sort of food. Wonderful.

Uma said...

looks so good. Yum!

Emily said...

Looks awesome, Rosie!

Absolutely perfect and delicious.

Sara said...

This looks really delicious!

giz said...

This savory pie looks absolutely to die for. I've been intrigued for a long time about these pies and this is such good inspiration for me.

The Caked Crusader said...

Great looking pie Rosie, I was just saying to someone the other day that there is little more exciting than a big pie! I think your photos prove it!

Rosie said...

Hi Val, I was so pleased when I found out Ivy was hosting this event and also Antonia for the British food fortnight. It gave me chance to do something savoury for a change....

Hi ~Priscilla~ thank you sweetie :D

Hi aforkfulofspaghetti, it makes a change for me to post something savoury I must admit even though I cook each day for my family my passion still lays with baking....

Hi the Blonde Duck, welcome and lovely to *see* you here! Many thanks for your lovely comment :D

Hi Emily Rose, awe thanks sweetie :D

Hi Prudy, I do hope you will try this pie out :D

Best wishes Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Anitha, thanks sweetie!! I have my mum to thank as so many years ago as she taught me as a child to make pastry and bake pies.

Hi Donna, ooooh l can’t wait to hear what you think to this pie hugshugs xoxox

Hi dabrah, Great news and I hope you loved this pie as my family do :D

Hi Kevin, many thanks and I always try to use scrapes of pastry to decorate pie tops – just like mamma used to do :D

Best wishes Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Cakelaw, pies are a great comfort food and when the weather becomes cooler nothing beats a good homemade pie lol ....

Hi Rosa, thank you :D Now for English cookbooks I really enjoy Gary Rhodes British Classics as Gary is a great champion of good British food, Delia Smith her complete cookery course. James Martin who is great pastry chef as well as cook, Nigel Slater – The Kitchen Diaries cookbook, Nigella Lawson Feast cookbook, Rachel Allen who is Irish but has wonderful recipes. I hope this helps Rosa :D

Hi Nic, ooooh yes a veggie pie would be just as delicious mmmmm

Hi Indigo, thanks sweetie, i’m trying to keep the British flag flying :D

Hi tartasacher, awe thank you and it is my pleasure to visit your blog and view your scrummy creations :D

Hi Bridgett, Thank you !! yes such a great event and I hope you will partake :D

Best wishes Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Maria, so kind of you – thank you :D

Hi Coco, thank you! It’s great comfort food in the fall :D

Hi Uma, thanks sweetie :D

Hi Emiline, awe thank you so much :D

Hi Sara, many thanks for your kind comment :D

Hi Giz, thank you and I hope to post an old recipe of meat & potato pie my mum taught me to cook when I was a little girl.

Hi T.C.C. I have got to agree with you because my hubby adores homemade meat pies, one of his favourite meals.

Many thanks my ‘dear’ blogging friends for all your kind comments and taking the time to call by my blog – I really appreciate it!!!

With best wishes to all - Rosie x

Maggie said...

Great entry! This pie is posher than the mincebeef pie I had as a child. I think I should give this recipe a go.

Rosie said...

Hi M, I do hope you will try this pie out :) Enjoy

Best wishes Rosie x

test it comm said...

Flaky pastry filled with savoury meat and vegetables...mmm...

Gloria Baker said...

Rosie I didnt see this Pie is one of more beautiful I have seen!!! Is so nice! I like savoy pies, Rosie and I love british food, sadly I didn't see before this lovely event, xxGloria

Rosie said...

Thank you Kevin & Gloria :) When the weather becomes coller here in the U.K. my family enjoy tucking into this kinda of pie. Sorry Gloria you missed this event :(

Best wishes Rosie x

glamah16 said...

Especially after my most recent trip, I have an immense appreciation for Bristish food.

Rosie said...

This is great to hear coco! Bristish food has come into its own in recent years. I'm glad you had a great visit here :)

Rosie x