I found this recipe while wandering round the internet looking for a less sinful version of pastry to fit in with our healthier lifestyle - was going to go pizza base a la the hairy dieters but my local supermarket was sold out (guess what everyone round here is having for tea) so I went searching and found the grow your own blog and their recipe for low fat pastry
I was a bit dubious at first pastry can be VERY unhelpful if it puts its mind to it - and if you dont understand what I mean by that then you either have never made it yourself or are blessed - it is very fine line between tasty short crust pastry and chewy hard shoe leather and a second too long in bringing it together is all you need for it to cross that line.
Now actually if you are what my gran called a hot handed pastry killer this could well be the pastry for you as unlike its buttery relation it doesn't need cold calm hands or hours sat resting in the fridge.
It comes out short and crispy - maybe a little biscuity than normal pastry but eating it you wouldn't know it was made differently and it is really easy to work and roll - one thing to note is you do need to get it as thin as possible as otherwise it can get a little tough - but to be honest that is an issue you can get with normal pastry.
Ingredients: Pastry :- 8oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2oz of vegetable oil of your choice
4 tbs water
1 egg (optional if making for a vegan)
Salt and pepper
Filling :- 400g lean mince beef
1 small onion finely diced
1 garlic clove crushed
2 stalks of celery
4 mushrooms cut into chunks
1 knorr beef stock pot or similar
1 tbs of plain flour
salt and pepper
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tomato ketup
1/2 litre of water
handful of your favourite fresh herbs
Preheate oven 175C
In a large pan sweat off the onion and garlic until it begins to go transparent, add in the celery and mince and fry until browned then add the mushrooms and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add in the stock pot, ketup and worcestershire sauce and stir well. Sprinkle over the flour and mix it it - add the water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the flour cooks out and the filling thickens - stir in the roughly chopped herbs and stir well. Remove from the heat and allow to go fully cold - as with any pastry when making a pie the filling MUST be cold before you add it to the raw pastry.
When the filling is cold put the flour, salt and pepper and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine evenly . In a cup put the oil and water and whisk then add to the flour. Bring together to form a dough - add a little more water if it is a little dry.
Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the lid and roll out the remainder to fit the well greased pie dish. Line the bottom and paint a layer of egg wash in the bottom to help keep the filling from leaking. Place cold filling into the pie and then roll out the lid. Egg wash the edges of the pie base and place the lid over the top cutting a small slit in the centre for steam. Trim off any excess from the edges and egg wash the lid - place the pie on a baking tray in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes
Cook any left over pastry bits for the birds who will love them!
