Over the years, I’ve tried a plethora of pastry recipes to encase savoury and sweet fillings, and have finally settled on a simple, fail-safe recipe for each. For those who want to reduce their sugar intake, the shortcrust pastry recipe I give for savoury pies can also be used for sweet pies.
A meat pie served hot, with seasonal vegetables or simply on its own, with tomato sauce or chutney, is the ultimate in my opinion. I find that the best pastry to use for savoury pies is this buttery shortcrust.
This recipe will make sufficient pastry for one 20cm double-crust pie, or two tart bases, or two top-crust only pies.
180g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
90g butter, diced
1 egg yolk, lightly whisked
2 tablespoons cold water, approximately
1 egg, separated
Place the flour, salt and butter in a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or rub together with the fingertips to this stage). Turn out into a bowl, and mix with enough egg yolk and water to bring it together into a soft dough (do this with a metal spoon). Wrap in cling film and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 20–23cm round pie dish.
To make a double-crust pie, cut off two-thirds of the pastry. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, and fit into your pie dish. Whisk the eggwhite until just broken up, then brush over the pastry, right up to the edge.
Pour cooled filling into the middle. Roll out remaining piece of pastry to fit the top. Put in place and crimp the edges together with your fingers or a fork.
Prick the top in several places. Whisk the second egg yolk with 1 tablespoon cold water, and brush over the pastry.
Bake for 20–30 minutes until golden brown.
Variations: Add 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs (or ¼teaspoon dried) to complement the filling. 1 tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan can be added with the butter.
• Always use good shortening – butter or lard (the latter especially for pork pies).
• The shortening should always be used chilled for savoury pastry, never at room temperature.
• Pastry is best rested for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
• The filling should always be cooled completely before coming into contact with the pastry.
• The filling shouldn’t be too moist, or it may make the pastry soggy. A simple fix is to thicken the mixture while it’s still simmering with a paste made from a small amount of cornflour mixed with a little cold water. This is especially important for double-crust pies.
• For double-crust pies, I always use a clear pie dish as I can then easily see if the base pastry is cooked adequately.
• These recipes can be converted to gluten-free by using a good quality gluten-free flour.
• Leftover pastry can be wrapped in cling film and refrigerated. Use within 1 week. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.
• Oven temperatures given are for a fan-forced oven.
Serves 6
3 teaspoons vegetable oil
600g lean diced beef
250g best beef mince
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 small to medium carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
3 teaspoons tomato sauce (ketchup)
3 teaspoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chutney
2 cups (500ml) water
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cornflour mixed to a paste with 2 tablespoons cold water
1 quantity savoury shortcrust pastry, chilled
Pour the oil into a flameproof 1.5–2-litre casserole dish over medium–high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef and mince, and cook until browned. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes more.
Add the sauces, chutney, water and salt, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to very low, and place lid on casserole dish.
Simmer for 1½–2 hours on the stovetop or in the oven at 160°C until the meat is tender. Check occasionally during this time to see if more liquid is required. If so, add just enough to cover the rest of the ingredients, replace lid and return to a simmer.
Thicken with some or all of the cornflour paste as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cool filling before spooning into the prepared pie case and baking as for the savoury shortcrust pastry recipe, see page.
Variations: The diced steak can be replaced with mince. (An all-mince meat mixture will cook faster.)
Replace 375ml of the braising liquid with stout for a steak and stout pie, or 250ml with beer for a carbonnade flavour.
This pastry is ideal for any type of sweet filling. This recipe is sufficient for one 20cm double-crust pie, two tart cases of the same size, or two top-crust only pies.
125g butter, softened
125g sugar
1 egg
125g plain flour
125g self-raising flour
1 egg, separated
Whisk the butter and sugar together, then whisk in the egg until well combined. Mix in the combined flours with a metal spoon to make a soft dough. Wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes at least before using.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm round pie dish.
To make a double-crust pie, cut off two-thirds of the pastry. Roll on a lightly floured surface the dough and fit into your pie dish. Brush with the lightly whisked eggwhite, right up to the edge. Spoon in the cooled filling. Roll out the other piece to fit the top.
Fit in place and crimp the edges to seal well. Prick the lid in several places with a fork. Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon cold water, and glaze the top of the pie before baking for 30 minutes until golden and crisp.
Serves 6
600g cooking apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored and sliced
⅓ cup (80ml) water
3 teaspoons cornflour mixed to a paste with 2 tablespoons water (optional)
1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry, chilled
Place the apples in a saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil, stirring often, and then simmer until softened. Add sugar to taste. If the mixture is quite runny, thicken with some or all of the cornflour paste. Cool completely.
Spoon the cooled apples into the prepared pie crust, and bake as for the sweet shortcrust pastry recipe.
Variation: any fruit may be substituted for the apples.