Wild Venison Mince and Cheese Pie

I read in the newspaper today that the Kiwi pie is going global with pie shops opening up in Melbourne, Idaho and Prague. And why not, cause what’s better than meat and pastry combined together in a delicious parcel you can carry in one hand. So… here’s my recipe for the humble pie but made with high quality ingredients that you can make at home. Make sure you don’t forget to blow on it before eating, because when they come out of the oven they’ll be thermonuclear.

-MacLean Fraser, Executive Chef Artisan Dining House, Bolton Hotel

Ingredients:          (Makes 12 Individual Pies)

500g Venison Mince

1 Can Beer (and Ale or Stout are good here)

½ Cup Beef Stock (or water + 1tsp beef stock powder)

½ Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Sprig Rosemary

1 Bay Leaf

1 Small Carrot

½ Cup Peas

3Tbs Corn flour (approx.)

12 Slices of Cheese (Cheddar or Tasty work well)

½ - 1 tsp Salt (to taste)

Freshly cracked pepper (to taste)

Cooking oil

Puff pastry (enough for 12 pie bases and lids)

Plus:

1 egg

12 pie dishes (or one family sized big one)

A Pastry brush

Method:

For the pie mix:

Finely dice the onion and garlic and in a medium sized pot fry the onion and garlic over a high heat for 1 minute so it starts to lightly brown. Finely chop the rosemary and peel and then grate the carrot and add both to the pot with the onions and cook for another minute. Add the Venison mince and cook out for 5-10 minutes until the mince has started to brown. Add the beer and beef stock (or water + powder) and the bay leaf and then simmer for another 15-20 minutes until everything is well cooked and the flavours have all combined together. Mix the corn flour thoroughly with a little cold water and then add a couple of table spoons of the hot pie mix to temper the corn flour and then stir it into the pot to thicken the mix. The mix wants to be reasonably stiff so if you need to add some more corn flour to the mix then you can do so now. Add the peas along with the salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down a bit.

To make the pies:

Spray your pie tins with cooking spray or brush with melted butter or oil. Cut out the puff pastry a little larger than your tin (you will need two pieces per tin; one for the base and one for the lid) and push one piece into the base of the greased pie tin making sure that it comes all the way to the edge of the tin. Put your pie filling into the pastry lined pie tin and then place a slice of cheese on top. Whish your egg together and using the pastry brush, brush the edges of the pastry base and then place your pastry lid on top. Push down the edges together with a fork to seal the edges, poke a couple of holes in the top with your fork to allow steam to escape when cooking and then trim the edges of the pie and brush the top with some more egg mix.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is nice and golden brown and cooked all the way through, the time will depend on your oven and the size of your pies. Serve with lots of tomato sauce, my favourite is Whitlocks!