All posts tagged: meat pie

Venison, mushroom and red wine pies

Published by

“I love cooking with wine. Sometimes, I even put it in the food.” There’s a chill in the air. The days are getting shorter. Winter is coming. Comfort food is calling. This venison pie is great with some green vegetables or mash. Extra gravy too if that is your thing. Venison, mushroom and red wine pies Makes 4 pies INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons cooking oil 500 grams venison mince 1 onion, diced A knob of butter 100 grams thinly sliced button mushrooms 2 tablespoons plain flour 1 cup red wine 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 cup beef stock 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper Cooking spray (or butter) 4 sheets frozen puff pastry 1 egg yolk, beaten FILLING Place a sauté or non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Add cooking oil. Once hot, add venison mince and onion, breaking up the venison with a wooden spoon and stirring as you go. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until venison is browned. Add a knob* of butter, mushrooms and flour and cook for 2 minutes …

An ode to pie

Published by

In my thirty-something years of living in NZ, I have eaten a lot of pies. More than a hundred, less than a thousand. I love pie. In New Zealand, the word pie usually refers to a meat pie, not the fruit pie you might find in the US. My pie of choice is the mince and cheese pie. With golden pastry, beef mince, gravy and a oozy layer of melted cheese, it’s a classic. Found in every school tuck shop, dairy, lunch bar, bakery and cafe across the country, this humble meal is portable, cheap and filling. A fond pie memory: my 9th birthday party at the newly opened Rotorua Georgie Pie. Georgie Pie was a pie franchise that was KILLIN’ IT in the early ‘90s. Their $1 mince and cheese pie, a hand-held square in a paper sleeve. I thought it was the best thing ever. When we moved to Auckland the following year, we quickly located our closest Georgie Pie on Glenfield Road and made it our local. Loyal. Like any ubiquitous food, the …

Chicken and vegetable pie with creamy white wine and tarragon sauce

Published by

Hey folks, it’s officially winter in New Zealand. This week we have had bright cold days with beautiful blue skies. Now that we’ve hit the long weekend, the gloom has set in. The rain is relentless today. It’s 9am and as dark as night. We have the lights on, the heater cranking and it is good to be inside. Bring on the comfort food. I’ve been craving pie lately and since leeks are in season (just a dollar each!) I decided to make a chicken and vegetable pie. The creamy white wine and tarragon sauce is stunning. This is a good one to have up your sleeve. This recipe is very forgiving. I’m sorry, the ingredients list looks super long but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand to the equivalent of about 2 litres (an ice cream container) of filling. Some other vegetables that would try are: mushrooms, silverbeet, pumpkin, and celery. Read through the recipe ahead of time, as steps 2, 3 and 4 can be worked on simultaneously. Chicken and …

New Zealanders love their pies

Published by

I was once told by someone, that something I once said while eating struck a chord with her. “Every now and then, a girl needs a pie.” The cut off date for the Bakels NZ Supreme Pie Awards was yesterday and from now until July, pie makers all over the New Zealand will be perfecting their pies leading up to judging day on the 19th July. This excites me. If only I knew someone who needed a human guinea pig for their pie perfecting month. Last year, a fruit pie shocked the nation (ok, slight exageration) when it beat 4,400 entries and took the coveted top pie award. Fruit pies are ok, but I’m a meat pie kind of girl. Mince and cheese to be exact. New Zealand beef with a layer of melted cheese in a buttery puffy pastry case. Oh gawd. Pies in New Zealand are a traditional food (borrowed from England) and eaten for breakfast by kids on their way to school, everyone for lunch and others for dinner with an optional …