Hand held beef mince pies

You will have a small amount of the filling leftover, but I’m sure you will have someone to eat that up.

Filling

2 large handfuls	Baby spinach leaves, washed, stems removed and chopped
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 small	Onion, finely chopped
500 g	Beef mince (Main)
1 tsp	Ground allspice
1 tsp	Ground cumin
1 Tbsp	Tomato paste
250 ml	Beef stock, warmed (Main)
3 Tbsp	Pine nuts, toasted
1 handful	Flat leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Pastry

500 g	Butter puff pastry (Main)
1	Egg, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt and a dash of milk

Directions

1. For the filling, remove the spinach stems and chop them. Wash the leaves leaving some water clinging to them then roughly chop. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then place in the spinach leaves and stems. Cook until wilted. Remove to a sieve and drain well. Squeeze to remove any excess moisture.
2. Add the oil to the frying pan, lower the heat, then add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Increase the heat and add the beef mince, stirring to break up the mince. Cook for about 10 minutes, then stir in the spices. Cook spices for 1 minute before adding the tomato paste and stock. Cook until all the stock has been absorbed then taste and add salt if needed, and some freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. Once the mince mixture has cooled, add the pine nuts, spinach and chopped parsley.
4. Heat the oven to 200C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
5. To make pies, lightly flour the bench top and place on the pastry. Roll the pastry a little thinner. Cut pastry into 8 even-sized squares. Brush edges of each square with egg wash. Heap 3 tablespoons of the mince filling onto one side. Working with the first square, fold pastry over so the corners meet to form a parcel. Seal the edges with a fork.
6. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining pastry squares and filling.
7. Brush the pies with egg wash to glaze then cut a small slit in the top of each pie to vent steam. (If the pastry is too soft at this stage you can place pies in the fridge to firm up). Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is well-cooked and golden brown.

See more of Kathy's baking recipes

• Macadamia nut and white chocolate biscuits
• Ricotta and lemon scones