Minted Lamb & Vegetable Pie

Did you know that next week is British Pie Week. To get in the mood I've been baking a few pies recently, mostly using the nice & easy ready rolled puff pastry. Unfortunately I'd forgotten to take a pack out of the freezer in time to top this pie so I made a quick scone type crust which, when rolled out thinly, resembled a light shortcrust.

Minted Lamb & Vegetable Pie

320g Diced Lamb leg
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned with black pepper
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 courgette, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1/2 butternut squash, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 beef stock cube
1 tbsp tomato puree
50ml Port
100ml water
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

'Pastry' crust
175g SR Flour
40g Butter
60ml milk
tsp finely chopped mint
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten

• Toss the lamb in the flour until coated
• Heat the oil in a casserole pan
• Add the lamb to the pan and brown
• Remove the lamb from the pan & set aside
• Add the onion, courgette, potatoes, garlic & squash along with the worcestershire sauce, stock cube, tomato puree, port, water & 1 tbsp of the mint
• Mix well, place the lid on and cook for 5-10 minutes
• Add the lamb and place in a 140 C oven for 1 hour, until the lamb is tender
• Stir in the rest of the chopped mint
• Meanwhile make the crust by rubbing the butter into the flour
• Add the chopped mint and salt and mix before adding the milk & bringing together to a dough
• Roll out the crust until it's slightly larger than the pie dish you're using (I used a 25cm x 19cm Mermaid pie dish)
• Add the pie filling to the dish
• Grease around the edges of the dish & lay the crust over and trim the edges
• Crimp the edges with a fork before brushing all over with beaten egg
• Bake in a 200 C oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned

The Mermaid Pie Dish is made from hard anodised aluminium, which is perfect for use with metal utensils - is scratch resistant and will never peel or blister. It is oven safe up to 240 C and twice as hard as stainless steel.

I was sent the pie dish for the purpose of review, the recipe is my own