Our very favorite murder mystery series -- The Brokenwood Mysteries -- premiered today on Acorn, and seeing as how it's based in New Zealand, I figured: I'm a bl*ody vego, why not take a stab at a vegan Mince and Cheese pie? Ambitious. Time-consuming. Delicious.
Source: Recipes by Carina | Makes: 8 pies | Time: 2+ hours
Changes: generally made vegan; used Beyond Beef; replaced soy sauce with coconut aminos (I aim to be soy-free whenever possible); replaced beef stock with
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp EVO
1 lb ground Beyond Beef
3 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1/3 cup flour (I had GF on hand seemed to work fine)
2 cups veggie stock (homemade to reduce sodium)
1/4 cup shredded vegan cheddar
1/4 cup shredded vegan mozzarella
2 sheets vegan frozen puff pastry
Instructions
Place a large sized frypan like a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and crushed garlic to the pan while it is heating up and cook for a few minutes.
Turn the heat to high and add in the Beyond beef mince. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mince and stir continuously until browned (7-10 min)
Turn the heat to low and add the mustard, vegan Worcestershire sauce, coconut aminos and pepper. Stir to combine.
Sprinkle the flour over the beef and cook for a few minutes, stirring. The mixture will look a bit stodgy and thick here but that is fine.
Slowly pour half of the beef stock into the frypan and stir. The beef mixture should start to thicken up immediately. Once combined pour in the second half.
Set the temperature to low and simmer the beef mince filling for about 30 mins to an hour or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
For best results cool the mixture fully before using in the pies. It can be made up to a few days ahead of time and kept in the fridge. I did about 2 hours in the fridge.
When you are ready to make the pies remove the puff pastry sheets from the freezer and thaw at room temperature. Roll the sheets a little thinner and cut out 4 rounds of each sheet to fit your pie pans.
Place pastry into each of the pie pans and divide the beef mince filling between the 4. Top with the shredded cheeses and the second round of pastry and fold the overhang of pastry from the bottom over the top to seal in the filling.
Cut steam holes into the top of each of the pies so the steam can escape. Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill before baking.
Place the pies into a 200C / 400F preheated oven for about 20-25 mins or until the pies are golden brown.
Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before serving.
