A fusion between Bolivian beef empanadas and English steak pies. This ended up coming together because I couldn’t find any flour at the supermarket, so resorted to pre-made puff pastry. These turned out delicious!
Ingredients
2 bay leaves
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 potato, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp chopped thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced and crushed
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1-pound beef chuck, in 1/8-inch diced or very coarsely ground
3 tbsp butter
¾ cup diced onion, finely diced
2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp paprika
½ cup green onion, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3 eggs
Two store bough puff pastry (see notes 1-2)
Directions
Preheat oven to 180C/350 or 200C/400F for a gas oven.
Season beef with salt and pepper generously, then set aside for 10 minutes.
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, cook beef in two portions. Cook beef until browned, around 5 minutes.
Turn down the heat to medium and add the onion. Keep turning the mixture with a spatula, until the onion is softened and browned, around 8-10 minutes.
Add remaining tbsp of butter, then add potatoes, carrots, garlic, thyme, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, cumin and bay leaves. Stir well to incorporate and season again with salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, cayenne pepper, and beef broth.
Turn heat to a simmer and cook for another 10-12 minutes, until the beef, potatoes, and carrots are tender. The mixture should be juicy, not saucy (not too wet).
In a separate pan, boil two eggs for 8 minutes, set aside to cool, then peel and dice.
In a small bowl, scramble one egg in a bowl for assembling pastries.
Preparing the pastry: you have a couple of options on how to prepare this pastry
1. Half-moon beef pies (8 pastries)
2. Mini beef pies (10 mini pies)
3. Large beef pie
1. Assembling the half-moon pastries
Cut out 4 ½ inch-circle, fill with about 2 tbsp of filling, then top with green onion and boiled eggs. Moisten outer edge of each round with egg, wrap dough around filling to form the “half-moon”, pressing the edges together. Fold edges back and finish by crimping them with a fork. Brush with egg and then poke holes using a fork into the top of the pastry to allow air through the pastry (this makes it “puff”). Bake at 180C/350F for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden.
2. Assembling the mini pies
This was sort of trial-and-error for me because I didn’t have mini pie molds. I use silicone cupcake molds and placed 4 ½ inch circles of dough into the cupcake mold, pressing into the bottom of the cupcake with the puff pastry dough. Place two tbsp of mixture into the cupcake, top with chopped green onions and hard-boiled eggs, then using the dough hanging over the edges, wrap it over the top of the mixture. The mixture doesn’t have to be completely covered (as you can see in my pictures). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden.
3. Assembling the pie
In a large baking tray (10x8x1.8”), pour mixture and try level it out. Then top with the pastry sheet, try tuck the dough into the dish around the sides. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden.
-- Notes --
Note 1: you need two puff pastry sheets to make the half-moon or mini pie pastries. For one large pie, you will only need one sheet.
Note 2: You can also make the puff pastry yourself, its relatively easy to make if you have all the ingredients! This is a recipe I've used before that I liked and would recommend: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/rough-puff-pastry
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