Beef & Baharat Pies

Beef, Black Garlic & Baharat Pies

Adapted from Helen Goh's Beef, Black Garlic and Baharat Pie in Ottolenghi Comfort | Emma Keenan, Accredited Practising Dietitian

When I’m craving a pie for a quick and easy dinner, I usually grab a packet of those fancier-looking pies from the supermarket. I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit shocked at how outrageously expensive they’ve become lately.

So, one Sunday afternoon, I decided to flip through my cookbooks in search of a good homemade pie recipe and came across this Beef, Black Garlic and Baharat Pie by Helen Goh from Ottolenghi’s Comfort cookbook.

According to the book, Helen is a huge fan of the classic Four’n Twenty pie. It’s apparently the first thing she hunts down when she returns to Australia to visit family. This recipe is her delicious tribute to that iconic Aussie meat pie, with her own unique twist.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe since some of the ingredients weren’t available to me at the time. The recipe was designed to make one large family-sized pie serving 6–8 people, but I opted to make smaller individual pies so I could freeze them.

I didn’t measure out the vegetables, so I ended up with quite a bit of filling — enough to make 15 pies in total. As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many pies… however, my freezer clearly disagrees!

Servings: 1 large pie or 15 individual pies

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 15g unsalted butter
• 2 onions, cut into 1cm dice
• 2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm dice
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1cm dice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 floury potatoes, cut into 1.5cm dice
• 200g turnips or ¼ swede, peeled and cut into 1.5cm dice
• 800g minced beef
• 1½ tablespoons baharat
• 1–2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 50g black garlic, roughly chopped (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2½ tablespoons plain flour
• 600mL beef stock
• 75g pitted green olives
• 1 pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• 1 pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Homemade Baharat

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

To Finish

• Black sesame seeds, optional

Instructions

1. Cook the vegetables – Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter to a medium heavy-based saucepan with a lid. Place over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrot and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly coloured.
2. Add the remaining vegetables – Add the garlic, potatoes and turnips and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
3. Brown the beef – Increase the heat to high and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the beef and cook for about 10 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned.
4. Add the flavour – Add the baharat, tomatoes, tomato paste, black garlic and bay leaves, along with 1½ teaspoons of salt and a little black pepper. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring regularly.
5. Build the filling – Add the vinegar and allow it to bubble for a few seconds. Stir in the flour, then return the cooked vegetables to the pan. Pour over the beef stock and bring to the boil.
6. Simmer – Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Partially uncover and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and stir through the olives.
7. Cool the filling – Set the filling aside to cool, then refrigerate until completely cold. Chilled filling is much easier to work with when assembling the pies.
8. Prepare the pastry – When ready to assemble the pies, preheat the oven to 190°C fan-forced. Grease individual pie tins with butter or cooking spray.
9. Add the shortcrust base – Cut the shortcrust pastry into pieces large enough to line each individual pie tin. Press the pastry evenly into the base and sides of each tin, trimming any excess.
10. Fill the pies – Spoon the chilled beef filling into each pastry case, leaving enough room at the top for the pastry lid.
11. Add the puff pastry lid – Cut the puff pastry into rounds large enough to cover each pie. Place over the filling and press around the edges to seal the pastry. Trim any excess pastry and crimp the edges with a lightly floured fork.
12. Finish the pies – Brush the pastry with beaten egg. Add a good grind of black pepper and, if desired, sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Cut a few small slits in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape.
13. Bake – Place the pies on a baking tray and bake for approximately 30–40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden, crisp and the filling is bubbling. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your individual pie tins.
14. Rest and serve – Allow the pies to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

• Black garlic: I couldn’t find black garlic when I made these, so I omitted it. The pies were still delicious!
• Baharat: I couldn’t find baharat, so I made my own using the spice blend listed above.
• Vinegar: The original recipe calls for red wine vinegar. I didn’t have any on hand, so I used apple cider vinegar instead.
• Individual pies: I used individual pie tins rather than making one large family-sized pie. This made approximately 15 pies because I ended up with quite a bit of filling.
• Freezer-friendly: For the pies I planned to freeze, I covered them with foil before baking. This helps prevent the pastry from becoming too brown when the pies are later reheated and crisped in the oven.
• Crunchy pastry edges: I like to leave some of the pastry hanging over the sides so it crisps up beautifully in the oven. I always tear these crunchy bits off and eat them straight away. They’re the best part!
• Meal prep: These pies are perfect for making in bulk and freezing for an easy dinner when you don’t feel like cooking.
• Original recipe: This recipe was adapted from Helen Goh’s Beef, Black Garlic and Baharat Pie from Ottolenghi Comfort.

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