What’s for dinner?  Mince and mushroom pies

You’ll need: For the crust – 4 x 250g sheets of puff pastry

For the filling – 500g beef mince; 500g mixed button mushrooms, quartered; 1 onion, diced; 2 stalks celery, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 Tbsp rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped; 1 tsp mixed dried herbs; 70g tomato paste; 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 375ml beef stock; 1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash; 1 tsp dried herbs; 1 x 12 cup muffin tin

How to:

For the crust:

• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll out 2 sheets of the puff pastry quite thinly. Cut out 12 discs – large enough to be pressed into the bases of the muffin tin with a little excess to attach the lids.
• With the other two sheets, keep them slightly thicker.
• Cut out 12 smaller discs that will become the pie lids. Line each cup of the muffin tin with the larger puff pastry discs. Place the 12 lids on a lined baking tray and place all of the pastry in the fridge.

For the filling: 

• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry off the mince until golden brown and set aside.
• In the same pan add a fresh drizzle of olive and sauté the mushrooms until golden brown and they have released all of their liquid. Season lightly and set aside with the mince.
• Add a fresh drizzle of olive oil to the pan and sauté the onion and celery until soft. Add the garlic, rosemary and dried herbs. Cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook until it turns a dark brick red colour.
• Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Add the mince and mushrooms back to the pan.
• Bring everything to a simmer and cook until all the flavours have melded together. Taste to adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool.

To assemble the pies:

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Fill the base of the pies with the mushroom mixture.

Rub the edges with a little water to help the lids stick. Cover with the pastry lids. Pinch the edges of the pastry together to seal. Pinch them at even intervals to create a cute pattern around each pie.

Cut out a little steam hole at the top of each pie. Brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with dried herbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. Allow resting for 10 minutes before removing from the tins and tucking in!

* Recipe & image by The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association.