THE PIES HAVE IT ~ AUSSIE CUISINE?

Beef and Guiness Pie

After many requests and many more half started New Year’s Posts (some of which will see the light of day, time permitting) this was a recipe I could get up on here quickly before the half way point of the first month of twenty ten was staring back at me. If last year was anything to go by, this year will feel like about 2 months, and I’ll be adding Christmas recipes before I can finish singing Auld Lang Syne! Never one for weight loss resolutions, this will certainly not help in that department, but what the hell, Lets Get Fat this year!

NEED:
Handful Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
15g cornflour
500g diced beef
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp fish sauce
100-120g sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 batch Shortcrust pastry (see below)
1-2 sheets puff pastry

DO:
Place parsley into Thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 7. Set aside.
Place garlic, onion and oil into Thermomix bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 8. Sauté for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.
Add parsley, cornflour, beef, sauces and mushrooms to Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 100ºC on speed 1.
Cool completely before making pies.
Pre-heat oven to fan forced 200ºC.
Roll shortcrust pastry out to 2mm thickness and line 6 large muffin holes in ‘Texas’ size muffin tin. Double line the base of each pie, by re rolling pastry and cutting to suit. Place in freezer until use.
Fill lined pie shells with cold mixture, top with puff pastry top. Cut cross slit in pastry and cook for 30-35 minutes until golden and puffy. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray. Serve hot.
Shown is a below average pic of a single pie, using a ceramic pie dish…or if you prefer to skip the whole shortcrust base thing, do so, use the ceramic pie dish (or dishes for individuals) and just use Puff Pastry as a topper…YUM!

Shortcrust Pastry…always easy in the Thermomix, but if you are Thermomix-less, feel free to buy or simply make by hand. Remember the colder your butter/hands/workbench the better. I have a fantastic new book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman which you should all rush out and buy…you will never need a recipe for pastry again, but for those of you without that book, this is for you;

NEED:
200g plain cake flour
100g unsalted butter cubed and chilled
pinch sea salt
just enough icy water to bring together

DO:
Place flour, butter and salt into Thermomix bowl and blend for a few seconds on speed 6 until mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Add water through hole in lid as you continue to blend on speed 5 until pastry forms a ball. Remove from bowl and mold into flat disc. Chill whilst you make filling.