Hand Held Beef Mince Pies

Great for kids and perfect for the winter sport sideline. These hand held beef mince pies will disappear in a flash! They taste great and nutritious too, lots of spinach leaves are mixed with beef mince in the filling.

Ingredients

500g Quality Mark beef mince
2 large handfuls spinach leaves with stems removed (about 170g), or frozen (see tips)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 cup small cubes tasty cheddar cheese (about 100g)

3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten with a little milk
Your favourite tomato sauce or chutney

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C conventional.

Beef

1. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Place spinach in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted. Drain well and roughly chop.
2. Add a dash of oil to the frying pan with the onion and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft but not coloured.
3. Increase the heat and add the beef mince, stirring to break up the mince and prevent the onion from burning. Cook until the mince begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste and cook for a further minute. Stir in the beef stock, season and cook until the stock has been absorbed. Set aside.
5. Once cooled, stir through toasted pine nuts, spinach and cheese.

To assemble

1. Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 squares.
2. Working with 1 pastry square at a time, brush the edges with beaten egg wash.
3. Heap 3 tablespoons of mince filling onto one side then fold pastry over so corners meet to form a parcel. Seal edges with a fork.
4. Place on a lined baking tray. Brush the tops with beaten egg wash to glaze and cut a small slit in the top of each pie to vent steam.
5. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with your choice of tomato sauce or chutney and a green salad.