Autumn Meat Pasties

Abi Fae's Note:

This just came together out of sheer boredom one day. It is now the staple of my winter cooking. It is very versatile. I make huge batches, because I stick them in the fridge and everyone munches on them all week. Everything can be very easily cut in half. For the yeasted bread dough... Basically you need enough dough to make a couple dozen rounds, that are about 5-6" in diameter.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 24

• 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb ground lamb
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 potato
• 1 yam
• 2 turnips
• 2 parsnips
• 3 carrots
• 1 cup peas
• 1 large onion
• 1 loaf yeast bread dough , large (I recommend Elevated Challah)
• 12 ounces beef gravy (I recommend recipe#173769)
• ½ cup flour
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons cream

Directions:

1. Brown beef or lamb. Add garlic and let simmer 10 minutes. Drain grease and add to gravy (or use the grease to make the gravy).
2. Cook all the veggies however you like best. Use anything that sounds good. I like root vegetables and as large a mix as I can get. Peeled or unpeeled, diced or minced. You want everything bite size or smaller. You want them cooked before you add them to the meat and gravy. If you like them crunchier, just steam them lightly. If you like them mushier, cook them longer.
3. Add veggies to meat and gravy. Mix well.
4. If you are making your own bread, before the second rise, you need to separate the dough into individual pastie sizes -- When I use the Elevated Challah recipe, I divide it into 16 parts for large pasties, twice that for small pasties.
5. I just divide the dough in half, and in half again, until I end up with a size that will probably work. I would guess that a small pastie is about 1/2 cup of dough. A large one is about twice that. Let the bread do its second rise.
6. If you are buying prepared dough, make it up as you go along. I've never done it that way, but I am sure it will work just as well. Divide it into pieces big enough to stuff with the gravy mixture. I think mine usually end up around 5-6" diameter.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 f.
8. Roll each pastie through a bit of flour. Roll out into a circle, about a quarter of an inch thick. Fill the middle with between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the gravy mixture (depending on the size of the dough).
9. Mix the egg white and tablespoon of water. Spread a small amount along the edge of the dough, then fold it over. Pinch the edges closed. It will look like a half moon.
10. Another option is to roll out two smaller circles, fill one in the middle with the gravy mixture, and set the second over the top and then pinch the dough closed (it will look like a full moon).
11. Score the top of the dough (take a knife and poke holes or cut small lines) and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
12. Very lightly coat each pastie with cream (this makes it brown pretty).
13. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until it is golden brown on top.
14. I always have leftover gravy mix, which never bothers me. I just eat it as it is.

Reviews

[Teddy's Mommy]

This was VERY tasty! I made several changes but wow what a great recipe. I did half a recipe, but used 1.5 lbs of ground beef and the full amount of brown gravy. The turnip and parsnip gave it an excellent flavor. I diced all of the root vegetables up into bite sized pieces about 1/4" in size. Then boiled them until they were cooked but still slightly crisp, turned the water off and poured in frozen peas, once the peas were thawed I strained the veggies. I added the garlic and onion to the meat mixture and browned them together. Then I made this pie crust instead of bread to save some time. Shake-A-Pie Crust I cut several 6" circles and found it was easier to make full moon shapes so did several of those then baked them for 30-35 minutes. Yumm!! Oh and I added salt & pepper to taste too.

[Midwife Meg]

This recipe is as versatile as it is tasty! We made 24 smallish pasties for my family of 8 and there won't be any leftovers. I didn't have turnips or parsnips on hand, so I increased the other root veggies. I made the Elevated Challah using 1/2 whole wheat flour. The dough was stiff but perfect for this recipe. Easy to work! The Brown Gravy suggested was fine but I might substitute cheater gravy (from mix) or make the gravy in the pan with the meat. There were just too many things happening simultaneously in the kitchen- especially with toddlers tugging at my apron. The kids and I are already planning to triple the recipe and have a pasty-making party soon. That is the only way we will get leftovers!