Mince and Onion Pie

Pie is good. You can win friends with pie. This is based on a traditional English mince and onion pie. You can change the seasoning, add some extra vegetables in there and maybe even swap the soya mince out for lentils if you wanted.

Method

The filling:

• Finely chop the onion and soften in a large pan with the oil.

• Once softened, add the soya mince and cook off, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. The kind of soya mince I used needed to be rehydrated first so make sure you follow the instructions for that. If you are using frozen, break it up a bit and add t to the pan.

• Add in the gravy, ketchup, Henderson’s, pepper and oregano to the pan. Stir it all together then then cook over a medium heat. Try to reduce the mixture down so that it’s not too wet. You should be able to drag a spoon through the pan and have the mixture stay apart for a few seconds.

• This can then be refrigerated until you are ready to use it. It will freeze too so you can make lots this time and then defrost ahead of time in the future.

The pie:

• Get your pie dish or dishes ready and roll out the short crust pastry as per the instructions so you have enough to cover the bottom and the sides of your dish. This is a proper pie, not a stew with a puff pastry hat on.

• Line the bottom and sides of your dish with the pastry and then blind bake at 200C for around 15 mins until the pastry turns golden. You can prick the pastry on the bottom of the pan with a knife to stop it rising up and help it cook a little better.

• While your pastry is blind baking, you can roll out your puff pastry for the top as per the instructions on the packet.

• Once your short crust is ready, add the filling and then place the puff pastry on top. Crimp round the edges and then make a couple of holes in the top with a sharp knife to let the steam out.

• Brush with soya milk (or other non-sweet plant milk) and bake at 200C for around 30 mins or until the top is lovely and golden.