The beauty of these little pastry cases that house a meaty filling of beef cooked with onions, sometimes vegies, sometimes Vegemite, and always topped with a squirt of tomato sauce is that they’re so versatile.
That’s why I’ve decided to cook it for a low-key Monday-night tea with my lovely boy AJ. Meat pie in one hand and a VB in the other – ah bliss.
In Australia, the meat pie dates back to the early 20th century, although some research has found its origins in medieval Europe where it was a way of preserving meat. Details, details. Fast forward a century or so and we Aussies have well and truly claimed it as our own. Apparently every one of us eats 12 meat pies a year and, since that’s one a month, I’m not wasting any time to start my quota for 2010.
Type “meat pie” into Google and a plethora of recipe possibilities are at your fingertips. More traditional versions use mince meat while some gourmet choices are cooked with chunky bits of beef, but I couldn’t go past one that featured Vegemite as an ingredient because a meat pie is, well, as Aussie as Vegemite.
Cooking the mince mixture was delightfully pleasant. Wafting through the kitchen was the smell of, not surprisingly, a meat pie filling, even though it did resemble bolognaise. With a smell this good, I'm surprised I waited the hours till dinner.
I'm proud I restrained myself though - it was well worth the wait. The filling was deliciously rich and the pastry was fabulously crispy and golden. But quite possibly the best part was that I discovered another location to eat this you-beaut meal - on a picnic rug on my balcony with the backdrop of the sun going down.
Make your own pies and devour them wherever suits you - enjoy! x
Pushing in the pastry cases
I heart the finished product
What more could a girl want?
No comments:
Post a Comment