Ugly Beef & Lentil Pie

I made a beef and lentil pie the other night that was very ugly, but it was so delicious, even Dad complimented it. This is a big deal, half the time I don’t even know if he notices what he’s eating. Ha ha. So the fact it registered on his palate was very gratifying. Here is the recipe in case you’d like to have a shot at it.

Crust Ingredients

Two cups of self-raising flour.

Half a cup of oil.

Half a cup of water.

A pinch of salt.

A pinch of turmeric.

Filling Ingredients

Two onions

One cup of grated carrot

Half a capsicum (red pepper) diced.

One handful of chopped fresh basil

Five cups of ground beef

Two tablespoons of crushed garlic

One tin of cooked lentils (drained) (about two cups)

Half a tin of crushed tomatoes (about a cup)

Three tablespoons of corn flour.

How to make the crust

Combine the flour, oil, water, turmeric and salt. Mix just enough to form a dough. Do not overmix or your crust will be tough. Form into a ball and cover with cling wrap. Pop it into the fridge to chill for about ten minutes.

Once chilled, split and roll out the pastry.

I took my time over this stage and managed to get a thin lid as well as a pie case and it was yum. So split your pastry accordingly. You could also do a lattice if you prefer. Line your pie dish (put aside the pastry for the top) and put the empty shell into the oven for about ten minutes at 240c ( 464f) for about ten minutes.

How to make the filling

Caramelize the onions in a frying pan with a slosh of oil and a pinch of salt.

Add the beef and teaspoon of salt and cook ‘til nicely brown.

Add carrots and capsicum.

Cook ‘til soft.

Mix in the garlic.

Add crushed tomatoes and lentils.

Cut up the fresh basil and sprinkle it in.

Sprinkle in the corn flour. Stir throughout the mixture and cook over a slow heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching, until the mixture is nicely thickened.

Putting the pie together.

Fill up your pie crust with your filling and cover it with the lid. At this point I like to spritz it with a little bit of coconut oil to help it go extra golden brown. The turmeric in the crust gives it a lovely colour as well.

Pop it into the oven and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, until the pastry has gone a lovely golden brown.

Enjoy!