Leftover lamb pies

Stock up your freezer with these leftover lamb pies. They are made with succulent leftover leg of lamb and tender diced vegetables in a thick gravy encased in crispy buttery shortcrust pastry. Eating these pies is a bit like having a roast dinner in pie form!

📝 Ingredients

• 3 to 4 cups leftover lamb leg (cubed)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 1 small leek (thinly sliced)
• 1 stalk of celery (diced)
• 1 medium carrot (diced)
• 1 medium parsnip (diced)
• 1 cup brussels sprouts (halved or quartered)
• 2 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock (made with a stock cube)
• 14 ounce / 400 gram can Heinz Big Soup (or equivalent)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1 or 2 rolls shortcrust pastry
• 1 beaten egg (for brushing on the pies before baking)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Peel and chop all the vegetables. Cut the leek lengthwise and the slice into semi-circles. Chop the onion, carrots, parsnips and celery into half-inch dice. Remove the outer leaves from the brussels sprouts and either halve them or cut into quarters, depending on the size. Chop the tomatoes into small dice and set aside.
2. 2Heat one to two tablespoons of sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry all the vegetables except the brussels sprouts and tomatoes until the onions become translucent and the other vegetables start to soften This will take about 5 minutes.
3. 3Once the vegetables are softened, add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, stock, brussels sprouts, and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a strong simmer, cover with a lid and leave for 5 minutes.
4. 4Add the can of soup and the chopped lamb. Stir well to combine and continue to simmer until well heated through.
5. 5Taste for seasoning and season with salt and black pepper if necessary.
6. 6The mixture should be thick enough to form a thick filling for the pies. If it is still a little runny, leave the pan on the heat without a lid so that some of the liquid can evaporate. If necessary, thicken with a slurry of cornflour mixed with a little water to a smooth paste.
7. 7Set the mixture aside and allow it to cool before using it to make the pies.
8. 8Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
9. 9Unroll one of the pastry rolls and cut it into 4 equally-sized rectangles. If you are using your own homemade pastry, roll it out into a 14" x 10" rectangle, approximately one-eights of an inch in thickness.
10. 10Spoon a generous portion of the filling onto one of the pieces of pastry and fold the pastry over to enclose. Leave a small border around the filling,
11. 11Use a fork to seal the pastry, and prick a few holes on top.
12. 12Transfer the pastry to a baking tray lined with baking parchment (to stop the pastries from sticking). If you don't have baking parchment, brush the baking tray lightly with sunflower oil instead.
13. 13Repeat until all the pastry and filling has been used.
14. 14.Brush the pies with lightly beaten egg.
15. 15Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.