Since I only cook for two at the moment, a pack of minced meat stretches quite far in our household. Especially since I love adding veggies or lentils or both, which makes it a lot more substantial, and also helps to increase the nutrients. I therefore often meal prep a batch and divide it into different meals. Or I save and re-purpose the leftovers. I like to serve it with pasta or top it with mashed potato or sweet potato for a cottage or shepherd’s pie. It freezes really well too.
So when we’re having a little mid week madness and don’t have much time to cook or when I’m just not in the mood for a lot of effort, I love being able to just pull a tupperware of mince and a roll of puff pastry out of the freezer in the morning, knowing it will be defrosted and ready to pop in the oven in the evening. The pies only take a couple of minutes to prep and only around 25 minutes to bake so it’s super quick and convenient.
It’s perfect to serve as is as I like to add veggies to my mince, but you can also serve it with a side salad or additional veggies if you’re serving to the family.
What makes this the perfect quick meal is that everything is pre prepared. But I have included my basic minced beef recipe in case you need one. Please do read the notes at the end of recipe if making the mince just for this purpose.
Midweek Meat Pies
Ingredients
Minced Beef Filling
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ Cup Onion finely chopped
- ½ Cup Carrot finely chopped
- 2 Cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 500 Grams Minced/ground beef
- 1 Tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ½ Cup Peas Fresh or frozen
- ½ Cup Sweet Corn Kernels Tinned, fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp Fresh herbs or chives, Finely chopped Optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Pies
- 1 – 2 Rolls of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry (400g roll) 1 roll yields 4 pies. If frozen defrost thoroughly first but keep the pastry cold in the fridge until ready to make pies
- ¼ Cup Grated strong cheese Optional
- Grated Parmesan for sprinkling on top of the pastry Optional
- 1 Egg for egg wash
- 1 Tbsp Milk for egg wash
Instructions
- NB: Please read the recipe notes below if making the minced beef purely for these pies
Minced Beef
- Add the olive oil, onion and carrots to a large pan and bring to medium heat
- Cook for about two to three minutes, just softening the veg, not browning them, then add the garlic and stir through
- Add the minced beef, breaking it up and ensuring that it is all covered in the spices. Continue to cook and stir for about two to three minutes. You can turn up the heat slightly to give the meat some colour but do not have it too high and do not cook the meat through totally. Season the meat with salt and pepper
- Add the tin of tomatoes and the sugar and let it cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just ensure you regulate the temperature to ensure the mixture does not burn
- Add the peas and sweetcorn and cook for 5 minutes. Taste the mixture and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Add the fresh herbs or chives at this point and stir through
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool before adding to the pastry. If there is a lot of moisture/liquid in the mixture, you will want to drain it before using in the pies. Too much sauce will make the pies soggy
Pies
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Prepare a large baking sheet and line with baking paper or a silicone baking mat
- Remove your ready rolled pastry from the fridge (1 roll yields 4 pies or use 2 rolls for more. If frozen defrost thoroughly first but keep the pastry cold in the fridge until ready to make pies)
- Unroll the pastry and slice down the middle lengthways (If the pastry is very soft or it's a warm day, do the cutting filling and sealing on the baking paper or silicone baking mat you will use to bake on so that you don't struggle to move the pies)
- Add 4 dollops of around a ½ – ⅓ cup amount of cooled mince mixture onto the one length of pastry, spacing evenly and not going to close to the edges so that the pastry will stick. Add a little sprinkle of cheese on top of the meat if you wish
- Drape the other length of pastry gently over the top and push down with your hands or fingers around the meat to seal the pastry. If your pastry is quite dry you might want to dip a finger in water and run it around the meat mound to moisten the pastry before placing the other layer on top. Once sealed, cut between the mounds to make four separate pies. You can trim to neaten but leave an edge. Then with the teeth of a fork, seal the edges properly
- Transfer the pies to a piece of baking paper or silicone baking mat if you didn't do the filling one it. Place the paper or mat on the baking sheet
- With a sharp knife make a small hole in the top of the pie to let steam escape
- Wish the egg and milk in a cup or bowl for the egg wash and brush over the top of each pie. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of Parmesan if you wish
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden and flaky. Ensure that the bottom is cooked too then remove and serve
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