by Karen Swan

Let me start off by saying that here at MamaBake HQ we’re not about hiding veggies and tricking our kids into eating healthy food.  BUT sometimes, those little tackers of ours decide that they will exist on a diet of air and, in my case, plain pasta.  It’s in these stages that we need to get a little creative.  The reality of this pie ending up chock full of vegetables, was that I had a vegetable crisper full of sad looking carrots, celery and zucchini that were only a day or two away from becoming food for our worm farm.  We’re budgeting our little behinds off at the moment, and I just couldn’t face that waste.  (I also had a heap of mince to use up; hence the ‘Ode to Mince’ this week!)

So, enter the meat pie.  Being a coeliac and unable to sink my teeth into the flaky, buttery goodness of the puff pastry, I consider baking this for my family the ultimate act of love and expected no less than bowing before me as I served husband and son their plates of tomato sauce drenched, meat pie deliciousness.  One word describes this meal, ‘devoured’.

You could totally go all out and line the dish with shortcrust pastry and make it a more traditional pie, but I,  a: didn’t have any.  and b:  couldn’t be shagged making any, so we went without.

You could also forgo the puff pastry in favour of a cauliflower mash and make it a little more like a Cottage Pie; but for the sake of flavour and tradition, puff is king.

I was a touch liberal with my sauces and flavourings, so please use my quantities as a guide.  For that salty and quintessential Aussie taste, you can’t go past good old Vegemite, but, you could add soy sauce or plain salt instead.

Easy as, well, pie, this recipe will make 4 pies (using medium size baking dishes or takeaway lidded foil containers)

Ingredients:

(makes 4 pies approx 18cm x 13cm)

Olive oil for frying

4 onions

4 zucchini

6 celery sticks

4 carrots

8 garlic cloves

2kg beef mince

4 tablespoons cornflour

4 cups beef stock

1/2 cup Worchestershire sauce

3/4 Cup  tomato paste or tomato sauce

1 tablespoon Vegemite (optional)

4 sheets (maybe a little more depending on the size of your pans) puff pastry.

1 beaten egg (or more) to glaze the pastry.

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C.

Roughly peel and chop the vegetables (not the garlic and onion) and puree in a food processor.  You can leave them with some bulk if you like, but I virtually liquified mine (mainly because I got distracted elsewhere and forgot!)

Dice your onion and garlic.

In a jug, dissolve the cornflour in the beef stock and put aside.

Heat some oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic, cooking for a minute or two, until soft.

Add the mince and cook until it changes colour (you’ll be browning it with the veg in the next step, so it’ll be that charming grey hue)

Add the pureed veggies and cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is browned and any liquid is evaporated.

Add the tomato paste or sauce and stir to combine, cooking for another minute or two.

Add the beef stock, Worchestershire Sauce and Vegemite (if using).

Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer until the sauce thickens. (I also stirred in some frozen peas at this point)

Test for taste and adjust the flavours as needed.

Divide the mix amongst the trays/dishes and smooth over the top a little.

Lay a sheet of pastry across the top, seal the edges, prick with a fork and brush with a little beaten egg.

Bake for around 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Serve with loads of tomato sauce and enjoy!