Onion and Mince Pie

My goodness! This is certainly been a winter meals week hasn't it been? I was flipping through Jamie Oliver's Minstry of Food book and the delish looking mince pie caught my attention this time. It was easy to do too, so I decided to try making a classic English pie for dinner one evening.

I think I didn't put enough flour in because the gravy isn't as thick as what I thought it should be. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a hearty pie with the crisp crust and tasty mince. What surprised me was that Jamie Oliver used marmite in this dish! woohoo, so grandma is not the only one who do that for her stews. Wait a mind, maybe Jamie Oliver took the idea from Grandma? Or maybe Grandma was influenced by the British way of cooking in her days as working as a nanny in British households (the days when Singapore was governed by British)?

English Onion and Mince Pie 

2 red onions chopped 
500 grams beef or lamb mince
1 bunch of rosemary coarsely chopped
1 carrot diced
1 cup of beef stock
1 small bunch of celery chopped
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of marmite
seasoning. 

1 piece of puff pastry defrosted

Pre heat oven 180C.

Cook onion till translucent. Add mince and break it up as it cooks. Add all ingredients (just not flour). Simmer for 5-10 mins. Stir in marmite. Do a taste test and adjust taste accordingly. Stir in flour till mixture thickens. Cool slightly.


Spoon mixture in heat proof dish. Seal with puff pastry, slitting a cross in the middle and patching it up with some reminder of the puff pastry. Bake for 30 minutes till golden brown.

ps-one tip is to place the dish onto a baking tray so that it is easy to remove from the oven.