Individual beef and vegetable pies.

Makes 8 individual pies 360 kcal 33 g carbs 12.8 g fat 23.8 g protein per pie.

INGREDIENTS

750 g lean beef mince

1 375 g pack of reduced fat shortcrust pastry

750 ml beef stock

4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 heaped tsp Dyjon mustard

1 heaped tsp English mustard powder

3 onions

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sticks celery

2 carrots

2 dried bay leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp cornflour

Chop the onions carrots and celery quite finely into small cubes. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stalks and chop finely. Heat the olive oil in a large cooking pot and add the veg. Cook for a few minutes until the onions soften. Add the bay leaves and the rosemary. Stir in the beef mince and stir for a few minutes. Add both mustards and the Worcestershire sauce. Give it a good stir then add the beef stock and stir again. Simmer on a low heat, partially covered with a lid for about an hour or until the veg is cooked.

Remove the pastry from the fridge 10 minutes before using it. Divide into 2 pieces. Roll it out on a floured surface until it has the same thickness as a 50 p piece. Using the top of a 5 inch pie dish as a guide on the pastry, cut out 4 pie lids, making them slightly bigger so there is enough pastry to overlap. If making all eight pies, do the same with the second piece of pastry or freeze it if using another time. Alternatively, use one big pie dish.

When the meat and veg mixture is cooked, remove the bay leaves. Add a little water to the cornflour and make a paste. Add to the beef mixture stirring well until the sauce thickens. Fill each pie dish three quarters full. Don't overfill them otherwise they will overflow in the oven.( If only making 4 pies, let the other half of the mixture cool and freeze it for use another time.)

Brush the lids with a little milk or beaten egg and place on each pie dish pressing the sides down. Pierce the pastry with a fork a few times. This will allow steam to escape when its cooking. Cook at 180 C fan for about 40 minutes at the bottom of the oven, until the pastry is golden. Keep an eye on them so they don't catch.

Serve with new potatoes and vegetables.

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