16/11/2012
Xmas recipe 1:
Meat Pie
The number of meat pies you will get depends on the diameter of the meat pie cutter you use. A cutter that is 8 inches (20cm) in diameter will give you about 10 meat pies with the following ingredients.
For the dough
Plain Flour (All Purpose Flour)– 1 Kg (2.2 lbs)
Baking Powder – 2 teaspoons
Margarine – 500g (1.1 lbs)
Salt – 2 pinches
Cold Water - ½ cup / 125 ml / 4.2 oz
For the meat pie filling
2 medium-sized Irish potatoes
2 medium-sized carrots
500g (1.1 lbs) of minced meat
1 medium-sized onion
2 cooking spoons of Vegetable Oil
Seasoning - 2 big Maggi / Knorr cubes and 1 teaspoon of thyme
2 tablespoons of plain flour
Cold water – 1 cup / 250 ml / 8.4 oz
Salt to taste
Ornamental Ingredient
1 medium-sized egg
Tools you will need to make a meat pie
Oven: This will be used for baking the meat pie.
Dough Roller or good old wine bottle.
Kitchen scale:
A table: You will need a flat surface to roll out and cut the dough for the meat pie.
Meat Pie cutter: There are special cutters in the market but if you have a pot cover with sharp edges that can make a clean cut on the flattened dough, please use this.
Table fork: This will be used to press the edges of the meat pie after the filling has been added.
BAKING DIRECTIONS
The Meat Pie Filling
Peel the Irish potatoes and scrape the carrots, wash and cut these two into tiny cubes.
Wash and slice the onions into tiny pieces.
With your cooker or stove set to medium heat, heat the vegetable oil in a pot, add the diced onions and stir for a bit, add the minced meat and stir vigorously till the minced meat turns pale.
Add 1 cup of water and the seasoning. Cover the pot and once the contents of the pot starts boiling, add the diced carrots and potatoes.
When the ingredients are well done, dissolve 2 tablespoons of plain flour in half cup of cold water and add to the meat pie filling. This tip is so that the meat pie filling does not dry up during baking. It is also what keeps the meat pie filling moist.
Add salt to taste, stir the contents and turn off the heat. Set the meat pie filling aside. Now is the time to prepare the dough for the meat pie.
The Meat Pie dough
Put the 1 kg of flour in a sizeable bowl; add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 2 pinches of salt. You really do not need a lot of salt for the meat pie dough. The meat pie will get most of its taste from the filling. Mix these dry ingredients very well.
Use a tablespoon to scoop the margarine in small bits into the bowl of flour. The smaller you make the bits of margarine, the easier it will be for you to rub them into the flour.
Use finger tips to rub the margarine into the flour till the mix becomes like crumbs.
Do not use melted butter because it simply ruins the meat pie.
Now, start adding cold water in bits while at the same time folding the mix till a stiff ball of dough is formed. You will be surprised at how small quantity of water you need to get the dough stiff. At most, all you need for the 1 kg of flour is half a cup of water.
Place the dough on a flat surface, roll it out to achieve a 5mm thickness. If the dough is sticking to the surface, spread dry flour on the surface.
Set your oven to 170°C (335°F) and leave to preheat while you continue with the meat pie.
Rub margarine on the insides of the oven tray and set aside. This is so that the undersides of the meat pies do not burn or stick to the tray during baking.
Cut, Fill, Fold and Close
Break the egg, beat it and set aside, you will need it pretty soon.
Use a cutter, be it the cover of a small pot or a meat pie cutter, to make round cuts on the rolled out dough.
Remove the excess dough, leaving behind the round cuts.
Scoop some meat pie filling into the center of the round cuts, the quantity should be such that you can comfortably close the dough without overflows. Don't worry if you over-filled the first one, you have many meat pies to fill today so at some point you will know just the right quantity of meat pie filling to scoop into the dough.
Rub the egg on the inside edge of the cut meatpie dough. Watch the video to see how this is done. This is to ensure that your meat pie is perfectly sealed and does not open up while it is being baked.
Fold one part of the dough to meet the other end and use a fork to press the 2 edges together to close tightly. Place your work of art in the oven tray and repeat the previous step till all the cut out dough is exhausted.
Roll out more dough, cut, fill, close and place in the greased oven tray till all the dough is used.
Rub the egg on the meat pies. This gives the meat pie a golden brown look when done.
Set the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. This time will depend on the type and heating capacity of your oven. For some ovens, the meat pie will be done in half an hour, for some, it may take up to 50 mins. Whatever type of oven you have, the important thing to know is that the best meat pies are the ones baked at medium heat. You can confirm that the meat pie is done when it starts browning. It is alright to open the oven to check this.
watch this space for more xmas recipes.....Mwah
