A good meat pie is a thing of beauty but they can be hard to come by. There’s many varieties of pies, the pies from high end bakeries that are delicious as well as the mediocre ones. There’s the service station pie that’s been left in the warmer for hours, the school canteen pie, and, the pies from specialty pie shops that just don’t seem to cut it. Most store bought pies are extremely expensive and at some point in time I’m certain that every pie lover has been disappointed by the pie they’ve just bought. What’s the solution? The solution is simple, it’s not hard to make your own pie so think about what you like best about pies and get started!

The great thing about making a pie yourself is that you can modify it to suit your mood. This recipe is for a plain beef pie. I added lentils to stretch our dollar a bit further and make it a bit healthier. No one knew they were there!

There are many ways you can modify this base recipe, the easiest way would be to add a cheese and bacon layer on top of the mince, or, you could also omit the top layer of puff pastry and replace it with mashed potato, a slice of tomato and cheese. I like to keep things simple though, I’m perfectly happy with a plain meat pie served with mashed potato and mushy peas. Another great side dish would be a cheesy potato bake.

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 50 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 400 g beef mince
• 75 g dried green lentils, soaked overnight
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 tbs beef gravy powder
• 2 1/2 cups water

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan to a medium heat and add the onion, carrots and mince. Cook for 5 -10 minutes, using a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the mince.
2. Combine the gravy powder and water then pour it into the mince mixture.
3. Add the lentils.
4. Whilst stirring, bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for approx 2 mince until the gravy is the desired thickness.
5. Preheat oven to 200C.
6. Grease a pie dish and lay a sheet of puff pastry across the bottom and sides of the dish. Blind bake the pastry for 20 minutes.
7. Spoon the mince mixture into the pastry case and top with the remaining pastry. Trim the excess and press the edges firmly to seal.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut a small cross in the centre of the pie top to allow steam to escape while cooking.
9. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until golden and puffed.
10. Serve with mashed potato and mushy peas.