Submitted by Serenity Maconar
To make Stock:
bones from the meat
1 carrot
1 onion
stalk of celery
bouqet garni (thyme sprig, parsley stalks and small bay leaf) tied with string
To make Filling:
1 pound of boneless mutton (from the shoulder or leg; keep the bones for stock)
2 1/4 cup chopped onions
1 3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 good teaspoons of cumin seed
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons flour
1 1/4 cups mutton stock (ingredients and recipe contained herein)
salt (preferrably Kosher)
freshly ground pepper
To make Pastry:
3 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups butter
3/4 cup water
Egg Wash (water, 1 egg [slightly beaten] and a pinch of salt)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Stock: if no stock is available, put the bones, carrots, onions, celery and bouqet garni into a saucepan. Cover with cold water and simmer for 3 to 4 hours to make a stock. Strain and set aside.
Filling: Cut all the surplus fat away from the meat and then cut the meat into small, neat pieces about the size of a small sugar lump. Render down the scraps of fat in a hot, wide saucepan until the fat renders. Discard the pieces. Cut the vegetables into slightly smallar dice and toss them in the fat, leaving them to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables and toss the meat in the remaining fat over a high heat until the color turns deep brown.
Heat the cumin seed in the oven for a few minutes and crush lightly. Stir the flour and cumin seed into the meat. Cook gently for 2 minutes and add in the stock gradually. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add back the vegetables, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and leave to simmer, covered. If using young mutton, 30 minutes will be sufficient; an older animal may take up to an hour.
Pastry: Meanwhile, make the pastry. Sift the Flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Dice the butter, put it into a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Pour the liquid all at once into the flour and mix together quickly; beat until smooth. At first the pastry will be too soft to handle, but as soon as it cools it may be rolled out to 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick, to fit the two tins. The pastry may be made into individual pies or 1 large pie. Keep back 1/3 of the pastry for lids.
Fill the pastry-lined tins with the meat mixturewhich should be almost, but not quite cooked and cooled a little. Brush the edges of the pastry with the water and egg wash and put on the pastry lids, pinching them tightly together. Roll out the trimmings to make pastry leaves of trwirls to decorate the tops of the pies. Make a hole in the center, brush the lid with egg-wash and then egg-wash the decoration also.
Bake the pies for 40 minutes.
Recommendation: Serve them with a good green salad.
Submitted by Morrigan
2 lb beef chuck (or other game while traveling)
1 onion, white or yellow
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp paprika (Hungarian is the best)
Cut the beef into 1 in. squares. Chop onion and brown in pan at medium temperature, with about 2 Tbsp shortening or oil. Add beef and spices. Let beef simmer in its own juice for about one hour on low heat. Add water. Cover and simmer until meat is tender.
**If you like, complements to this are diced potatoes, or dumplings (add these with the water)**