Recipe of the Month

Savoury Cornish Mince Pie.

Ingredients

1lb lean minced beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, skins removed and finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
12ozs short crust pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan.
Fry the onion for about 5 minutes without browning.
Add the mince meat and fry for a further 6 minutes until the meat is just cooked.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and parsley
Season with salt and pepper.
Put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for 45 minutes, checking that the mixture does not stick.
Roll out the pastry and use to line your chosen pie dish, making sure to reserve enough pastry for the lid.
Place the filling onto the pastry and spread it out evenly, leaving a good margin of pastry all around the pie dish.
Roll out the reserved pastry to make a lid.
Dampen the edges of the pastry with the filling on it with a little milk.
Place the lid on top of meat filling.
Press around the edges with a fork.
Make a slit with a sharp knife in the middle of the pie.
Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg.
Bake at 220°C. for about 15 minutes.
Reduce the temperature to 180°C.and bake for another 20 minutes.
The pie is ready when the filling is fully cooked and the pastry golden brown.