Beef and Vegetable Pie

We were away last weekend visiting our friends - Jim and Georgie - at their farm in Wingham, which is about 4 hours north of Sydney. It is not a huge farm, but there is plenty of open space, a few cows, some hens and sheep plus a vegetable garden to keep us busy. Not that we did very much, since our main aim was to catch up with Jim and Georgie and also to relax, and enjoy the fresh country air. We went with our good friends - Freddy and Lee Fong - and their two beautiful children, Yasmine and James.

Whilst we were there, Georgie passed me a simple recipe to make a Beef and Vegetable Pie, that Yasmine and James love.

500gm mince beef
1 packet Continental Spring Vegetable Soup
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup diced mixed vegetables
2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
salt and cracked black pepper

1. Combine the meat, soup mix, breadcrumbs and vegetables together.
2. Cut pastry sheet into 4 squares. Scoop some mince mix onto one of the pastry squares.
3. Wet the edge of the pastry square. Place another pastry square on top and roll the edges inwards to seal.
4. Make a small hole on the top to allow the steam to be released.
5. Place the pie on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place it into the fridge for about 15 minutes.
6. Heat the oven to 200C (for my oven 180C). 
7. Remove the pies from the fridge and brush with the beaten egg.
8. Bake at 200C (180C) for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 
9. Serve hot or cold.

Optional: you could also serve with salad. For the girls tonight, I made some mashed potatoes and gravy.