Pea Pie and Spud - A Rich Apple Pie to Finish

On the subject of Pies again
A wonderful comfort dinner…
It is cold outside
Last Thursday, I made a plethora of pies
"The Piewoman Cometh"
I was planning to make some for the freezer,
but by the time the kids had theirs,
(Complete with their initials),
I also gave some to the lovely young lady,
that "does" for me,
Dale ate his portion.
Then, there was only enough left over for dinner tonight,
Plus a couple of spares.
I'll pop them in the freezer
Make a nice little lunch later in the week

I had made little ramekins filled with mashed potato, shallots, cheddar cheese, sour cream and an egg to help them puff up.
Excellent for the children they loved them

What. A Wonderful Friday night dinner in front of the TV with a couple of glasses of a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

The only real recipe here in this post,
is my Mother's Simple Mince.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg good mince
2 large onions chopped
Salt pepper
2 tablespoons flour
Beef stock cube
3 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Dash Worcester sauce
700mls hot Water

Thickening agent
1tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons of water

Place 1 tablespoon olive oil into a hot pan
Start frying the mince over high heat

It pays to do it in batches
You want a nice colour, no Grey Mice here
Season each batch with S&P
When brown, remove from the pan and set aside
When all of the mince is cooked
Add remainder of olive oil into the pan
Sauté onions over med heat till soft
and just starting to colour
Add flour
cook for about 3-4 minutes
Dissolve stock cube in hot water and add to onions
Stir till thickened a little
Return mince to pan
Mix well
Season with tomato ketchup, Worcester sauce and soy sauce
Simmer for about 30 minutes
Stir occasionally, to stop mince from sticking to bottom

The mince will probably need to be thickened a little more

The Thickening
Make a slurry of flour and water
Just whisk well with a fork no lumps please


Add to mince
Just cook about 5 minutes
Cool
This really is best made the day before
Dont forget to buy Frozen Pastry
The sheets are good for this.
To make the pies

Grease your pie tins with butter
Roll out pastry enough or bottom and top
Line tin with one disc
3/4 fill with mince
Put a lid on
Crimp the edges
Brush with egg wash

Bake at 190c for 20 -25 minutes or until golden brown
Remove from tin and cool on rack

Just reheat in a 190c oven when needed
Should take about 10 minutes
Comfort food at it's best
The pie in the picture only yielded 622 calories
Mashed potato about 3 tablespoons
Only around 50 cals Not bad

The kids think the meal is not a meal, unless I make dessert
I researched and found this recipe by Nigel Slater
It’s from Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers
Now this pie is not Lo-Cal at all

But it is delicious
Crumbly, short with those sweet apples 
So so good
A word of advice. I found the egg yolks were not enough to bind the dough.
I chilled down some water and added it little by little, till the consistency was right.


Ingredients
250g/9oz plain flour
125g/4oz butter, cut into small dice,
plus a little more for cooking the
apples
2 free-range egg yolks,
3-4 tablespoons iced water (Only if needed)
plus an extra beaten egg for brushing the pastry
4 tbsp mature farmhouse cheese, grated,
plus a little more for brushing
the pastry
6 medium-sized dessert apples
a pinch ground cinnamon
a little milk for brushing the pastry
plain yoghurt, to serve (optional)

Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

To prepare the pastry, put the flour into a mixing bowl,
add the butter and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips
(use a food processor if you prefer. I did.)
Beat the egg yolks with a fork and mix with the flour and butter, 
till it looks like breadcrumbs
This is where you may have to use your iced water.
You need to pastry to be able to clump together

then bring the dough together to form a ball.
Scatter the grated cheese over a large chopping board
then put the dough on top,
Knead the dough very lightly, pushing the grated
cheese in as you go.

Put into the fridge to rest, covered in cling film.
To prepare the filling,
Cut the apples into quarters,
Remove and discard the cores
then cut the fruit into chunks.
Put a generous slice of butter
into a non-stick pan over a moderate heat,
add the apples
and leave to cook, with the occasional stir,
until they are lightly coloured and starting to soften.
Stir in the cinnamon. 
Roll the pastry out into a rough circle about 35cm/14in in diameter,
then transfer it to a baking sheet or roasting tin.

Pile the apples in the centre of the pastry
leaving a wide rim around the edge;

Pull the edges of the pastry in over the apples, leaving those
in the centre quite visible.

Mix the remaining beaten egg with a little milk and brush the pastry
with the mixture, then scatter a little extra grated cheese.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
Serve warm,
with yoghurt or Creme Fraiche, if you wish.
Serves 6