Venison pies

Mini Meat Pies

When I was young, we used to go on regular family picnics. My mum used to spend hours in the kitchen making all kinds of wonderful snacks for us to eat. One of my favourites was her signature sausage and tomato pie, which was one of the highlights of our picnic. In this recipe, I have attempted to recreate a clean and heathy version of this pie, using lean venison sausages instead of pork sausage meat, but still with the twist of a tomato, garlic and onion topping.

Venison piesI have used a spelt flour and olive oil pastry for my pie crust, which is excellent for pies as it’s strong and crispy when baked. These pies really do taste great, and even better the next day as the pastry begins to soften a little.

And who better to try them out first but my mum, and she loved them (although secretly I know she thinks hers were better).

Well I’m not about to open a pie shop but, if it’s good enough for my mum, it’s good enough for me!

Nutritional values (per pie):

  • Calories: 270
  • Carbs: 26g
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Fibre: 4g
  • Fat: 12g
  • Protein: 13g

Ingredients – makes 8 small pies – Pastry:

  • 300g organic wholegrain spelt flour.
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
  • 8 tbsp cold water.
  • ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt.
  • Glazing – 1 small egg, beaten.

Filling:

  • 6 venison sausages.
  • 1 small red onion, chopped.
  • 1 large clove of garlic, chopped.
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped.
  • ¼ red chilli, chopped.
  • 1 tbsp of organic tomato puree.
  • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
  • A pinch of pink Himalayan salt.

Method –

Pastry:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°c.
  2. Using a small amount of olive oil, lightly grease the bottom and sides of a non-stick muffin tin.
  3. Combine the flour and salt together in a bowl, add the olive oil and water.
  4. Mix the ingredients together with a fork until it starts to come together.
  5. Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured work top and kneed together to form a ball.
  6. Cut the ball into two equal halves, put one aside and roll the other out until it forms a thin layer.
  7. Cut out 8 circular discs, to form the casing for the pies, re-rolling the pastry as needed.
  8. Place the discs into the oiled muffin tin and push down, overlapping the sides slightly.
  9. Place the tin in the centre of the preheated oven and blind bake for a couple of minutes.
  10. Roll out the other half of the pastry and cut another 8 circular discs to form the top of the pies.

Filling:

  1. Fry the onion, garlic, chilli and tomato in a little olive oil until the onion is soft.
  2. Stir in the tomato puree and heat through, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Remove the skin from the sausages and divide the sausage meat between the 8 pie cases. Pushing down until firm and spread a spoonful of the tomato mixture over the top.
  4. Moisten the edges of the pie lids with a little beaten egg and cover over the tops of the pies.
  5. Press the edges of the pastry together and use the back of a fork to create lines around the edges.
  6. Place the pies in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  7. Brush the tops of the pies with egg and cook for a further 10 minutes until golden brown.
  8. These pies keep well in the fridge for a couple of days, but allow them to cool first on a wire rack.

Enjoy! 

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