Quick, Cheap and Easy Homemade Beef and Vegetable Pasty

Easy beef and vegetable pasty

Pasties are unquestionably every bit as versatile as pies, in terms of the different fillings you can incorporate. While Cornish pasties may be what most people automatically think of when they hear the word pasty, it is important to realise - if you are to truly get the greatest enjoyment from this delicious food creation - that a pasty is simply a filling of some type encased in folded pastry and baked in the oven. You can even make sweet pasties, as well as savoury. This really easy and cheap pasty idea is based on the Cornish pasty but the filling is minced beef rather than chopped steak and the vegetables are considerably more finely chopped for a smoother eating experience. Why not give this idea a go as a really inexpensive and simple to prepare dinner some night?
 

Principal ingredients for beef and vegetable pasty

Ingredients per Pasty

6oz minced or ground beef
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
1/2 medium parsnip, peeled and finely diced
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb premade puff pastry
Beaten egg for glazing
Butter for greasing baking tray

Finely diced vegetables for beef pasty

Directions

Put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C.

Put the beef, vegetables and mustard in to a large bowl and season. Stir very well to combine. You can use a spoon here but you may find it easier to use your hand.

Pasty filling ingredients are mixed together in a bowl

Roll out the pastry on a dry, floured surface to a square of just over 13 inches. Use a 13" dinner plate to cut a circle in the pastry.

A large dinner plate is used as a template to cut the pastry for the pasty

It is virtually essential at this stage to use your hands to position and form the filling on the pastry. It should go on one half only, with a 1 inch border around the edge. Try to make the filling layer thickest towards the centre, slowly sloping down towards the edges.

Pasty filling is carefully shaped on rolled pastry

Glaze the border of the filled pastry half before folding the empty half carefully over the top and lightly pressing to seal.

Pasty is folded over

 
Crimp the pasty around the edges and lift it carefully on to a baking sheet or tray, lightly greased with butter.

Pasty is carefully crimped around the edges

Glaze the pasty well with more beaten egg and make a slit in the centre for steam to escape as it cooks. Put it on to the oven for thirty-five minutes until beautifully risen and golden in colour.

Prepared pasty is ready for the oven

When the pasty comes out of the oven, you should sit it aside to rest for ten to fifteen minutes.

Cooked and rested pasty is cut in half

Precisely how you serve the pasty is entirely up to you. It can be made to be a substantial meal for one person or form a meal for two with further accompaniments.

Below are just a couple of very simple serving accompaniments you may wish to consider...

Beef and vegetable pasty with baked beans

Beef and vegetable pasty with baked beans and tomato sauce

Classic French Onion Soup with Homemade Croutons (Easy Recipe)

French onion soup is topped with homemade croutons and garnished with chopped parsley

The idea of cooking a classic recipe is off-putting to many home cooks. For some reason, they expect it to be overly complicated and way beyond their modest culinary capabilities. Actually, in a great many instances, the opposite is true. Classic recipes from all over the world very often represent dishes which have been cooked for centuries, using ancient cooking techniques, from super fresh ingredients which have been locally sourced. French onion soup is one such recipe and this version is surely within the capabilities of just about anyone reading this article. This is quite a substantial soup and although it could be served as a starter or appetizer, it is equally perfect as a light dinner, served with fresh crusty bread.

Large white onions for French onion soup

Ingredients (Serves Two)

1lb white onions, peeled and sliced
2oz butter
1 tsp dried sage
2 to 3 tbsp French white wine
1 pint fresh beef stock
1 thick slice farmhouse bread
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish

Chopped onions and sage are added to melted butter

Put the butter in a large pot and gently melt. Add the sliced onions and the sage. Stir well and cook on the lowest possible heat for fifteen minutes, stirring every few minutes. You just want to let the onions sweat down. You will see them slowly become translucent.
 

Onions have gently been sweated off in the butter

After fifteen minutes, the onions should have reduced considerably. Increase the heat slightly and cook for a further fifteen minutes to caramelise the onions. You will need to watch them carefully at this stage, stirring frequently. Note also that the fresher your onions, the more beautiful brown colour you will achieve. This is simply due to the presence of a higher level of natural sugars.

Heat has been increased to caramelise onions

Add the white wine to the browned onions and simmer for two to three minutes to burn off the alcohol. Add the stock, bring back to a simmer, stir well and cook for ten more minutes.

White wine and stock has been added to the browned onions

Cut the crusts off your slice of farmhouse bread and chop to one inch cubes. Bring the olive oil up to a high heat in a small frying pan. If you add the bread to cold oil, it will soak up the oil rather than immediately start to crisp and your croutons will be soggy.

Crust is cut off bread to make croutons

Add the croutons to the hot oil and season lightly with salt. Turn regularly for a few minutes to brown and crisp.

Bread cubes are added to very hot olive oil

Remove the croutons from the pan with a slotted spoon to a plate covered with kitchen paper. Allow them a couple of minutes to drain.

Croutons are drained on kitchen paper

Use a ladle to divide the French onion soup between two serving plates.

French onion soup is plated

Lay the croutons on top of the soup and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Croutons are laid on French onion soup

Curry Spiced Mackerel Fillet on Turmeric and Garlic Rice

Curry spiced mackerel fillet is pan fried and served on a bed of turmeric, garlic and coriander rice

I've been doing a lot more fishing this year than I have done in a great many years. Although my fortunes have been varied, at least I have had a few trips where the mackerel (if not always anything else) have been caught aplenty. I was on just one such trip yesterday, to St Catherines on Loch Fyne, from where I returned with a good bag of mackerel for the pot. As mackerel is like most types of fish in that it does not freeze well, I have been eating little but mackerel for the past couple of days, experimenting as I go with the huge number of potential mackerel recipes it is possible to come up with if you give it but a little thought. I hope you like this idea and give it a try if you have access to fresh mackerel.

Rice should always be washed before it is cooked

Ingredients per Person

3oz basmati rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
Sea salt
1 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 large mackerel side fillet, boned but not skinned
Vegetable oil for frying
1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaf/cilantro (plus extra to garnish)
1 clove of garlic

Turmeric and salt are added to the uncooked rice

Directions

Begin by washing the rice in a sieve under running cold water. Add it to a pot with the turmeric and some salt. Pour enough boiling water in to the pot to comfortably cover the rice, bring back to a simmer and leave to cook for ten minutes.

Curry powder and salt are added to the flour for dusting the mackerel

Put the flour and curry powder on a large plate, season with salt and gently shake to combine. Put the oil in to a frying pan and bring up to a moderate to high heat.

Mackerel is patted in the curry powder and flour on its skin side only

Pat the mackerel on its skin side only in the curried flour before laying it skin side down in the hot pan. Season the flesh side with salt and a little more curry powder and leave it to fry for two or three minutes while you drain and finishing preparing the rice.

Pan frying the curry spiced mackerel fillet

Drain the rice at your sink through a sieve and return it to the empty pot. Add the chopped coriander, peel the garlic clove and grate it in to the pot. Stir carefully to combine before laying the rice as a bed for the mackerel in the bottom of your serving plate.

Coriander (cilantro) and garlic are added to the drained rice

Turmeric and garlic rice bed

When you can see the mackerel is cooked most of the way through, reduce the heat under the pan to as low as possible before turning the fillet on to its flesh side. Half a minute or so will allow it to complete cooking. It may then be lifted on to the rice bed with a spatula and garnished with the remaining coriander prior to service.

Curry spiced mackerel fillet is laid on bed of turmeric and garlic rice

Indian Pakora Spiced Chicken Wings with Homemade Pakora Sauce

Chicken wings roasted in pakora spices are served with salad and a homemade pakora sauce

Indian spices in many ways are almost meant to be combined with chicken. The number of tasty combinations we can make from these simple ingredients is beyond counting. It was while I was making a batch of vegetable pakora and contemplating making chicken pakora that I came up with this alternative idea. I was almost certain it would work well and I'm delighted to say that it did - it was absolutely delicious!

Note: Regular readers of this blog may notice a subtle change in the layout today. The pictures are not only larger but now contain captions. I very much hope you like the changes (which will remain, going forward) and agree that they improve the presentation of the recipes.

The spices are added to the sunflower oil

Ingredients (Serves Two)

8 large chicken wings (or as required)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium tomato
2 or 3 slices from half an onion
Homemade or bought pakora sauce
Chopped coriander/cilantro to garnish

Chicken wings are added to the bowl with the spiced oil

Directions

Put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.

Pour the sunflower oil in to a large bowl (it will need to be large enough to contain the chicken wings) and add the salt and spices. Stir well to form a smooth paste.

Chicken wings are carefully stirred through the spiced oil

Put the chicken wings in to the bowl and very carefully stir them by employing a folding motion until they are evenly coated with the oil and spices. Lay them in a single layer on a large roasting tray and put them in the oven for half an hour.

Chicken wings are laid in a single layer on a roasting tray

Remove the chicken wings from the oven and set them aside to rest for at least five minutes, perhaps while you prepare the simple accompaniments.

Tomato and onion forms the simple salad accompaniment to these spicy wings

The pakora sauce is best served in small ramekins. The onion slices should be separated in to strands and the tomato cut to six or eight segments. Plate your meal as shown in the photographs, serve and enjoy.

Pakora spiced chicken wings and homemade pakora sauce

Leftover Pulled Pork and German Potato Dumplings

A few days back, I created an entry for a contest that consisted of a Bavarian inspired version of Pulled Pork and Potato Dumplings. The leftovers were refrigerated and cooked up like this for my dinner the following night, proving every bit as enjoyable as the original meal.
 

Ingredients

4oz leftover pulled pork
2 leftover German potato dumplings
1 bread roll
2oz butter
Chopped chives to garnish
Salt and white pepper
BBQ sauce to serve (optional)

Directions

Gently melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Slice the potato dumplings to a thickness of about half an inch and season lightly on both sides with salt and white pepper. Fry for a couple of minutes each side until lightly golden and crisp.

Carefully lift the potato dumpling slices from the pan with a spatula and sit them briefly on a holding plate.

Cut the bread roll in half horizontally.

Lay the cut sides of the bread roll in the frying pan for about thirty seconds, just until they are lightly crisp.

Add the pulled pork to the pan to soak up the remaining juices and simply heat through.

Plate the bread roll with the potato dumpling slices alongside.

Lift the pulled pork from the pan with your spatula, straight on to the bottom half of the bread roll.

Garnish the potato dumplings with the chopped chives, add the optional BBQ sauce to the pulled pork, close your roll over and serve.

King Scallops on Black Pudding with Peppercorn Cream Sauce

This is a really quick and easy dinner recipe but still manages to look great and taste even better. Although scallops can be fairly expensive, their beautiful texture and flavours make them more than worth their price as an occasional treat. When you do buy scallops, don't make the mistake of removing and discarding the orange coral. Although it is not as tasty as the main white, circular muscle, it is perfectly edible and at the price you are paying, you will want the best value for money you can get.

Ingredients per Person

2 slices of black pudding
2 king scallops
2 tbsp double/heavy cream
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
Pinch of sea salt
1 small spring onion/scallion
Vegetable oil for frying

Pour a little vegetable oil in to a non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Fry the black pudding slices for five minutes each side. Remove to a heated plate and turn up the heat. Sear the scallops for one minute on each side.

Lightly crush the peppercorns with a pestle and mortar. Pour the cream in to a small saucepan and season with the crushed peppercorns and a little salt. Put on to a low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens.
 

Wash, top and tail the spring onion. Slice across the way in to fine discs.

Pour the sauce carefully in to the base of a deep serving plate. Lay the black pudding in the plate as shown and sit the scallops on top. Scatter with the spring onions for a final garnish.

Note: If you think the spring onions are likely to be a little overpowering, try using chopped chives instead.