Speedy Beef and Vegetable Pie - for Random Recipes #45

This month we are rifling through our magazine cuttings for Random Recipes, the challenge run by Dominic at Belleau Kitchen. I have all but given up buying magazines as I can find recipes on the internet with so much more ease. However, a couple of weeks ago I had a little time to kill in the supermarket and so was drawn to browse through the cooking magazines. Eat in is a new magazine for me and I was drawn to the Comfort Food on a Budget. This mag has been sitting around on the dining room table, so I picked it up and it opened at this Speedy Beef and Vegetable Pie.

Speedy Beef and Vegetable Pie

Serves 4-6

• 1 tbsp veg or olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 500g beef mince
• 500g frozen mixed vegetables (I didn't have any so used diced carrots)
• 25g onion gravy powder (didn't have any of that either, substitute tbsp flour and beef stock cube)
• 320g sheet puff pastry
• Milk for brushing (I used a beaten egg)

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ Gas 7. Grease a 20cm square ovenproof dish (more deviation from me!). Heat the oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Saute the onion for 3 minutes or until softened. Add the mince and cook for 3 minutes or until browned.

2. Add the vegetables, gravy powder and 125mil hot water. (If using flour add a tbsp of flour and cook, stirring for 3 minutes to cook out the starch, crumble in the stock cube then add the water.) Cook stirring for 3 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes but longer if you can.

3. Place the pastry sheet over the mince to cover. Tuck the overhanging pastry inwards to form a border around the inside edge of the dish. Score the top of the pastry with a sharp knife. Brush with milk. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned. Serve the pie with herbed mash or vegetables. I served my pie with slow cooked Braised Red Cabbage.

The pie was excellent, it always surprises me what seems to hit the mark on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but this pie was definitely a hit!