The meat pie is the British “brother” of the pie familiar to the Russian people, but still with slight differences. In this dish, there is only one layer of dough - the top one, and the filling is put down when finished. Try an English pie with vegetables and herbs, or bake an authentic shepherd's pie, a popular Scottish dish.
English meat pie with vegetables and herbs
Ingredients (for 6 servings):
- 800 g of beef;
- 300 g of puff yeast dough;
- 1 onion;
- 2 carrots;
- 4 stalks of celery;
- 1 parsnip root;
- 1 small bunch of cilantro and parsley;
- 400 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
- 1 chicken egg;
- 2 pinches of ground black pepper;
- salt;
- vegetable oil;
You will also need 6 heat resistant molds.
When choosing meat for ration, give preference to tenderloin. In this part of the carcass, the beef is very soft and tender due to the absence of veins and muscles, and at the same time quite lean.
Wash the beef, pat dry and cut into small cubes. Peel and finely chop onion, carrot, parsnip root and celery stalks. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the meat pieces in it over high heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Add onions there, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add the other prepared vegetables to the roast, season with salt, pepper and simmer all together for another 5 minutes.
Peel the canned tomatoes and transfer to the skillet. Reduce the cooking temperature to the lowest setting, place the lid on the pan and simmer the contents for 2 hours. Chop the cilantro and parsley greens, stir in the meat with vegetables 5 minutes before the end of cooking and spread it evenly in the tins.
Defrost the dough, gently roll it out with a rolling pin and cut the circles to the outside diameter of the baking tins. Apply the beaten egg yolk liberally to the edges of the portion pots using a cooking brush. Cover them with sheets of puff pastry and let it stick. Brush the tops of the cakes with ground egg white. Bake the meat pie in a 180oC oven for 20-25 minutes.
Scottish Meat Pie "Shepherd's Pie"
Ingredients:
- 700 g of ground beef and potatoes;
- 1 carrot;
- 1 onion;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- 200 g tomato paste;
- 2 tsp Worcester sauce;
- 4 tablespoons dry red wine;
- 2 tbsp. water;
- 2 tbsp. 30-35% cream;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 50 g of grated Parmesan;
- 3 tbsp. butter;
- 0.5 tsp ground black pepper;
- salt;
- olive oil.
Boil water in a saucepan, add salt and dip peeled potatoes, cut into large pieces. Boil it for 15 minutes, then drain and mash. Combine it with egg yolks, butter, cream and 20 g of grated Parmesan cheese.
Fry the ground beef in olive oil, stirring constantly to avoid clumping. Season with pepper, salt to taste, toss in the crushed garlic, grated carrots and onions and continue stirring with a spatula for another 5-7 minutes.
Then add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, wine and water to the skillet. After 3 minutes, move the filling into a large, preferably round shape, cover with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Pierce the cake with a fork in several places so that the escaping steam does not distort its appearance.
Bake Shepherd's Pie at 180oC for 18-20 minutes.
