Source:

Australian Women's Weekly Cooking Class Cookbook

Serves/Makes:8 individual pies

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 1-1/2 lbs (.7 kg). minced steak
• 2 beef stock cubes
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups (475 ml) water
• pinch nutmeg
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) plain flour
• 1-3/4 cups (425 ml) water, extra
• 1 tsp (5 ml) soy sauce
• Pie Base:
• 2 cups (475 ml) plain flour
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) water
• 2 oz (56 grm). beef dripping
• Pie Top:
• 12 oz (336 grm). packaged puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp (5 ml) water
• Optional:
• tomato sauce

Preparation

• Filling:
• Place meat into pan, stir over low heat until meat is well browned; drain off any surplus fat.
• Add crumbled stock cubes, water, salt, pepper and nutmeg, stir until boiling, reduce heat, cover, simmer gently 20 minutes; remove from heat.
• Combine extra water and flour, stir until flour mixture is smooth.
• Add flour mixture to meat, stir until combined.
• Return to heat, stir until meat boils and thickens.
• Add soy sauce (to give brown colour); stir until combined.
• Simmer uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes; remove from heat.
• Allow filling to cool.
• Pie Base:
• Sift flour and salt into bowl.
• Place water and dripping into saucepan, stir until dripping melts; remove from heat.
• Make a well in centre of dry ingredients, add liquid, stir until combined.
• Turn out on to lightly floured surface, knead lightly.
• Roll out pastry to line 8 greased individual pie tins.
• Cut excess pastry around sides of dishes using a sharp knife; slant knife while cutting pastry.
• Fill centers with cold meat filling.
• Pie Top:
• Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface, cut out rounds for top of pies; use saucer as guide.
• Wet edges of base pastry, and gently press tops into place, trim around edges with sharp knife.
• Pierce centre with pointed knife.
• Brush tops with combined egg-yolk and water.
• Bake in 400 degree (200 C.) oven for 5 minutes or until golden brown, reduce heat to 350 degrees (175 C.) and cook an additional 10 minutes.
• I like to cover pie in tomato sauce before eating.

Comments

I am not really a pie person but any recipes I have cooked from the Women's Weekly cookbooks have always turned out. The pies I grew up eating were usually steak and kidney pies so perhaps that is what you are looking for. Pies with potato topping are usually referred to as shepherd's pies (for which there are many recipes on this site).