Ingredients

Serves 4-6

* 650g boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 2cm cubes
* 2 tbsp plain white flour, seasoned
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 25g butter
* 1 tbsp tomato puree
* 300ml red wine
* 300ml chicken and beef stock
* leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
* 1 garlic clove, crushed
* 1 carrot, cut into 1cm dice
* 1 onion, cut into 1cm dice
* 2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm dice salt
* freshly ground black pepper

Thai Green Curry with Chicken

Four serves

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons green curry paste (store bought)
* 1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil
* 100g palm sugar
* 100ml fish sauce
* 100ml tamarind water*
* 4 kaffir lime leaf
* 200ml coconut cream
* 400ml chicken stock
* 500g chicken breast, thinly sliced
* 100g snow peas
* ½ punnet grape tomatoes
* 4 Thai eggplant
* 50g pea eggplant

Method

Hints and Tips
There are two styles of savoury pies, one has a pastry bottom and top, the other is served in a ceramic or glass pie dish with a pastry lid only.

For the lid in both cases it is best to use puff pastry. As it can take upwards of 3 hours to make a puff pastry at home it is suggested that the pre-made puff pastry found in the frozen foods isle in the supermarket will do the job nicely.

For the base of the pie use short crust pastry, also available frozen from the supermarket.

For the pie filling, especially when using left over casseroles, bolognaise or curries it is imperative that the consistency of the mixture is very, very thick. In this case, it is best to remember how thick the filling was in the last pie you ate.

For the following recipes (Lamb casserole and Thai chicken curry See below) I've used as much as half a cup of rice flour or corn flour mixed with half a cup of cold water to thicken the sauce in the dish. It may use more or less depending on the amount of liquid being thickened. Thickening requires the filling having to be brought back to the boil - the thickening agent is then stirred in and brought back to the boil. When the mixture resembles the thickness of cooked porridge, remove it from the heat and set aside. When it has cooled considerably, place in the fridge for it to cool completely, preferably overnight.

Defrost the frozen pastry overnight in the refrigerator.

Once the pie filling is cold and it must be cold before using in a pie case spray the pie tin (or muffin tin if making party pies) with oil spray then line with a disk of short crust pastry, fill almost to the top with pie filling, top with a disk of puff pastry then squeeze the two pastries together at the edge of the pie tin. Brush with egg wash and bake at 180ºC for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffy.

Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes before turning out.
Cooked pies can be frozen (once completely cold) in a sealed container for up to 2 months. Re-heat by defrosting in the fridge overnight, microwave for 1-2 minutes then crisp in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Lamb, Red Wine and Rosemary Casserole (From Nick Nairn)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the cubes of lamb in a plastic bag with the seasoned flour and give the bag a good shake so that the meat becomes well coated with the flour.

Heat a large frying pan until very hot. Add the oil and the butter and then the lamb and fry over a high heat, stirring now and then, until all the pieces of lamb are well browned. Don't crowd the pan; cook in batches if necessary. Transfer to a casserole dish and set aside.

Add the tomato puree and red wine to the pan and bring to the boil, scraping up all the little bits that have stuck to the bottom. Pour this into the casserole dish and add the stock, rosemary, garlic and diced vegetables.

Add a little seasoning, cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for 1-½ hours or until tender. (If using a slow cooker, cook on auto for about eight hours).

Remove from the oven, check the seasoning and serve

Method Thai Green Chicken Curry

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the curry paste and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add the palm sugar and fish sauce and cook until thick and bubbling. Add the tamarind water, kaffir lime leaf, coconut cream and stock. Bring back to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Add the chicken and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and eggplant and cook for 5 minutes.

Check the consistency as it needs to resemble a soup not a thick curry, adjust by adding extra stock if need be.

*Tamarind water can be made by using either a jar of tamarind paste mixed in equal parts with water or by soaking a block of tamarind in  one litre warm water, removing the seeds and straining, keeping the tamarind water for later use.

TIP: Try adding a stalk of lemon grass and a knob of galangal to the soup before adding any meat or vegetables, simmering for 10 minutes to infuse the flavour. Remember to top up with stock or water to keep it of soup consistency.