Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust

Serves	6 to 8 slices
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	40 minutes
Total time	55 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A truly delectable spicy pie that is made with meat and vegetable leftovers with a little bit of exotic fruit and spices added. Use ready-made and ready-rolled pastry for ease, or your own butter puff pastry, as I did with the pie in the photos. Adjust the pie filling ingredients and spices to taste. This pie is great when leftover beef or turkey is used.

Ingredients

2 x 320g ready rolled puff pastry (or homemade butter puff pastry)
500g cooked beef, cut into small chunks (I used brisket)
cooked vegetables, about 250g, cut into small pieces (I used potatoes and swede)
20 soft ready-to-eat dried apricots
2 tablespoons mango chutney
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon curry powder (of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
a little gravy or stock (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
1 egg, beaten with a little milk
sea salt (I used Malden sea salt)

Optional

500g cooked turkey, shredded or cut into small pieces (in place of beef, turkey can be used too)

Note

A truly delectable spicy pie that is made with meat and vegetable leftovers with a little bit of exotic fruit and spices added, and a crunchy salt glaze crust. Use ready-made and ready-rolled pastry for ease, or your own butter puff pastry, as I did with the pie in the photos. Adjust the pie filling ingredients and spices to taste. This pie is great when leftover beef or turkey is used.

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and grease a shallow pie dish, such as an enamel one. Place a baking sheet into the oven to heat up.
Step 2	Place one sheet of ready-rolled pastry on the greased pie plate and trim the edges, saving any excess pastry for the pastry shapes.
Step 3	Mix all of the pie filling ingredients together, except the beaten egg and sea salt. Pile all of the filling ingredients into the middle of the lined pie dish, leaving a border of about 1cm and pat it down carefully.
Step 4	Place the other rolled pastry sheet on top of the filling and crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork to seal the top and bottom pasty crusts together. Trim the excess pastry off.
Step 5	Stamp or cut out several pastry shapes from the excess pastry trimmings and set to one side.
Step 6	Make three of four cuts in the top of the pastry crust, to allow the steam to escape and then brush the beaten egg and milk over the top, before sprinkling over the sea salt.
Step 7	Arrange the pasty shapes all over the tip of the pastry lid and then brush them with some beaten egg before scattering some sea salt over them.
Step 8	Place the pie dish on the hot pre-heated baking sheet on the oven and place it on the bottom of the oven, to crisp up the base of the pie. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the pastry is well risen and golden brown, moving the pie to the top shelf half way through.
Step 9	Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting in slices and serving.
Step 10	Freezes well, but only if the filling ingredients have not been frozen before. Use any meat or vegetables you have to hand.