Honorary Dish of the Day: Savory Puff Pastry Meat Pies
Honorary Dish of the Day: Keeping up with our "meaty" theme today by highlighting these crunchy and delicious Savory Puff Pastry Meat Pies as our honorary dish of the day today! I have certifiably become a happy camper ever since I discovered the wonderful magic that is puff pastry 😊. It is such a versatile ingredient that can save you so much time all while offering a truly unlimited number of recipe options to choose from. After successfully making apple turnovers before using puff pastry, I felt inspired to make a savory version of a similar pastry using ground beef as the main filling.
About 3 hours before I started making the pies, I made sure to take my puff pastry squares out of the freezer and placed them in the lower section of the fridge to allow them to thaw slowly while still maintaining their overall shape and texture. To make the delicious meat pie filling, I first thawed and cooked about 1/2 lb. of lean ground beef in a large skillet for about 10 minutes until the beef was fully cooked through and all the natural liquid within it had been fully absorbed. I then added about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sautéed the beef with some diced red onions and tomatoes, stirring continuously to ensure the mixture did not coat the bottom of the pan too much. I seasoned the mixture with a blend of herbs and spices including ground black pepper, turmeric, smoked paprika, and dried oregano before adding about 1/2 cup of frozen peas and carrots. I then sprinkled some salt to taste and let the filling mixture cook for another 5 minutes before turning off the heat and letting it cool off while I pre-heated my oven to 400℉ and unwrapped my puff pastry. Once the filling had cooled down just enough to be handled, I begun to scoop about 2 tablespoons of the filling into each puff pastry squares and used a fork to crimp and seal the edges of each pie. I had 8 puff pastry squares in total so I ended up having extra filling that I later re-used in a different dish. after filling each pie, I then baked them at 400℉ for about 20 minutes until they turned lightly golden brown as pictured above. We enjoyed these tasty meat pies warm as delightful snacks and they also made a wonderful side dish paired with soup for a dinner meal. Simple yet truly satisfying...do give these lovely snacks a try sometime in your own kitchen and let us know the verdict. Enjoy and have a great weekend! 😋
