What to do with the roast meat you have (I prefer the term "Planned over" to left over) from the other night? Don't turn it into sandwiches, but rather, make another meal. And what about the veggies you roasted and are in the back of the fridge? Don't throw them away, chop them up and add them to your pie. I think any roast meat and vegetable medly would work well in this pie as its so simple. For this recipe I have used roast Lamb, roasted potato, pumpkin and sweet potato.
I couldn't pass up a large Lamb leg that was on sale the other day. I had plenty planned over and managed to get 3 meals out of the one roast. The first night was a Roast Lamb (with all the trimmings), the second night we had Lamb Kebabs and I had enough meat to make a final meal, but what? A pie of course. So my 3.5 kilo (7 pound) Lamb leg that cost $23 turned into a very economical cut of meat.
This recipe uses butter (for the pastry) I believe that pastry is one item where margarine shouldn't be added, it compromises the end result. I used a generic store brand "regular" salted butter. Yes you read correctly, I make my own pastry. I use my food processor, I can make my short-crust pastry from scratch in mere seconds. If you don't have a food processor, you can use the rub in method. But from my experience most people own one of these devices and don't use it nearly enough as they should or could.
This recipe isn't difficult, but is a bit fiddly (due to lots of steps) it isn't as daunting as it appears. This will make one large 23 cm (9 linch) deep pie plate (the same one you would use to make an apple pie in). You'll get 6 very generous servings.
Recipe:
Pastry
300g (10.5 ounces) plain flour
150g butter (5.25 ounces) cold butter
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons cold water - extra
Filling
3 cup chopped roast meat
1 cup chopped roasted vegetables
1 tablespoon oil/butter
1 onion, diced
2 cups chopped mushrooms (you can leave this out in if you have 2 cups of roasted vegetables)
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon Massel vegetable stock powder
1 1/2 cups water
To make the pastry: place the flour and the butter in the bottom of your food processor (with the metal blade attachment) and pulse until breadcrumb consistancy.
Add the egg yolk and water, pulse until combined.
Add the extra water half a tablespoon at a time until a ball of pastry forms.
Flatten the pastry slightly and cover with cling wrap and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest (use that time to prepare your filling).
To prepare the filling: Chop your roast meat and veggies into smallish pieces.
In a pan, heat the oil and and the onions and mushrooms, cook until the onion is translucent and the mushrooms are wilted.
Add in the roasted meat and vegetables and heat through.
In a measuring jug, combine the flour and Massel vegetable stock powder. Add the water a little at a time, stirring constantly until all the water is added and no lumps are there.
Add the water mixture to the pan and stir constantly until a gravy has formed. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly while you roll out the pastry.
Pre-heat the oven to 200oC (400oF) and grease a 23 cm (9 inch) pie plate and set aside.
Dust a clean part of your bench with flour, remove the pastry from the fridge and cut in half. Roll half the first half out to fit a bit beyond the pie plate. Gently roll the pastry onto your rolling pin and unravel over the pie plate, use your hands to fit the pastry into all the base of the plate.
Carefully pour the filling into the base.
Repeat the rolling of the pastry with the remaining half and carefully put on top of the filling. Use your fingers to pinch and roll the pie crusts together to form a seal.
Make two medium sized slashes across the top of the pie (this lets out the steam and prevents your top crust from being soggy).
Bake in the prepared oven for 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing (enough time to steam some vegetables and set the table).
Serve and enjoy!
Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x
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