Mince and cheese pies are a Kiwi classic! Keep it simple with a side of garlic butter veggies.

This slightly more rustic version of traditional mince and cheese pies doesn’t require any special equipment. No pie dishes, no Texas muffin pans and only one type of pastry! Perfect for weeknights.

Make sure you seal the edges of the pastry together well and make a small cut in the top of the assembled pies – this will help stop the filling exploding out the sides.

Frozen mixed veggies have to be the most basic of all the veggie options out there! But cooking in stock and adding a little garlic butter dresses them up nicely. It also means this meal has very few short shelf-life ingredients, so is a great one to use if you only want to do a fortnightly shop.

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RUSTIC MINCE AND CHEESE PIES

Keyword: BEEF, MAIN MEALS

Difficulty: Easy

Ready In: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Mince and cheese pies are a Kiwi classic! This slightly more rustic version doesn’t require any special equipment. Keep it extra simple with a side of garlic butter veggies.

QUICK PRINT

Ingredients

PIES

2 carrots
1 brown onion
3 cloves garlic
120 g tasty cheddar cheese (4.2oz)
3 frozen puff pastry sheets (450g)
1 tsp olive oil
400 g prime beef mince (14oz)
2 beef stock cubes
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cornflour
1 cup water (250ml)
1 Tbsp garlic butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

VEGGIES

3 cups water (450ml)
2 tsp vegetable stock powder
3 cups frozen mixed veggies (450g)
2 tsp garlic butter

Instructions

PREPARE PIES
Finely dice carrots and onion. Crush garlic. Cut cheese into small squares. Get pastry out of freezer.
Heat oil in a large pot on medium-high. Add carrots, onion and garlic and cook until soft (3-5 minutes). Add mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned all over. Stir in crumbled stock cubes, paprika and oregano. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Dissolve cornflour in a little of the water, then add to pot with remaining water. Simmer for 5 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Stir in butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF) fan bake and line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
Whisk egg with a fork. Cut each pastry sheet in half (diagonally for triangular pies, vertically for square pies). Working one at a time, brush edges of pastry with a little egg. Place one sixth of the cheese and the mince mixture on half of the triangle / rectangle, leaving a small border around the edge. Fold pastry over the top, stretching a little if needed, and press edges with a fork to seal. Repeat to form six parcels.
Transfer pies to trays. Brush with egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and cut a small slit in the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden.
COOK VEGGIES
When pies have 10 minutes left to cook, bring water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in stock, then veggies. Boil for 3 minutes, until tender. Drain well, stir in butter and season with a little salt and pepper.
SERVE
Serve pies with veggies. Tomato sauce optional!

Recipe Notes

WINE MATCH: Go for a Merlot (or a beer!)
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use gluten-free pastry or try mince and cheese quesadillas instead (sandwich the beef mixture and cheese together with gluten-free tortillas and pan fry in a little oil until golden brown). Make sure you use gluten-free stock cubes / powder, Worcestershire sauce and cornflour.
INGREDIENT SWAPS / NOTES: I used Lewis Road Creamery Garlic & Parsley butter. You can replace the garlic butter with regular butter if you prefer (you may want to reduce the quantity a little). Feel free to swap out the frozen mixed veggies for any other veggies of your choosing. Beans and broccoli are both good options.
STORING AND REHEATING: For an easy lunch, store individual portions in containers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. For crispier pastry, reheat pies in the oven (veggies can be reheated in the microwave).