Hap-pie National Pie Day!

In case you didn't know, I'm a big fan of pies - I get excited at the prospect of baking and eating a pie, I love sharing pies with others (most of the time) and even hearing the word PIE makes me sit up and pay attention. And yes, I celebrate the existence of pie every week on Friday Pie-Days.

And since it's National Pie Day today, I wanted to make a pie that screams out PIE! to celebrate all the pies in the land that will be eaten on this precious day.

It's funny really, because of all the pies in the world that I've made so far, I've never made one of my favourite classic meat pies - steak and mushroom. And I wanted to keep the filling simple since I wanted it to sit atop my PIE pastry letters in a co-operative manner, so it seemed like the best pie to go for.

Of course, if you are not so inclined to spell out the word 'pie' in your pastry, this recipe divides nicely into 4 rectangular pie puffs instead.

Um, have I said the word 'pie' too many times in this post?

Beef and Mushroom Puffs

Print-friendly recipe

Makes 4:

200g lean beef mince
75g mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp red onion, chopped
50ml hot beef or chicken stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mixed herbs
A bit of groundnut oil
300g puff pastry
A beaten egg

1) Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle to half a cm thickness. Cut into four equal rectangles. Then if you wish, cut out relevant portions to spell the word 'pie!' (I used the bottom right portion of the cut out P to create the stop of the exclamation point). Chill for 15 minutes.
2) Mix the soy sauce, honey and a bit of oil with the mince. Fry the onion and mince in a pan to brown.
3) Add the mushrooms, followed by the stock, then leave to simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the herbs, then take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
4) Take out your pastry and score a border roughly 1 cm from the edge of each rectangle/letter.
5) Bake the pastry at 220 degrees C for 10 minutes.
6) Remove, and use a knife to gently flatten down the centre. Spoon on the filling, then brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg.
7) Lightly cover with foil, then return to the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Pie out.

Read about my other Pie adventures!