Beef Hand Pies

The inspiration for this dish came from a recipe in Everyday Food.  What I love about it is that it is basically a complete meal in one delicious package; you've got your meat, your veggies and its all wrapped in delicious puff pastry.  Puff pastry is one of the best items in the cooking world.  You defrost a sheet and wrap it around some ingredients and voila, you've got a restaurant quality meal.  Beef hand pies remind me of something we have in Northern Michigan called pasties.  I haven't had a pasty in years but this is kind of a stepped up version of that.  Feel free to switch up the veggies or use turkey or chicken instead of beef.  This dish would be a complete meal served with a simple green salad. It's safe enough for kids and could even be nice enough for company. 

Beef Hand Pies - makes 8 pies

1 package puff pastry, thawed
flour for dusting
olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 lb ground beef sirloin
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 medium carrots, small diced
1 egg, lightly beaten

Gravy (optional):
2 tablespoons flour, divided
1/2 cup beef broth

Preheat oven to 400.

In saute pan on medium high heat, saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Add beef and break up with wooden spoon.  Add Worcestershire sauce, thyme and salt and pepper.  Add carrots.  Cook until beef is just browned.  Add peas.  With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetable mixture to paper towel covered plate. Set aside.

For the gravy:  in a small bowl, place a tablespoon of flour, add a small amount of beef broth and stir together to form a loose paste (this is called a slurry.)  To the drippings in the pan, stir in the slurry and cook for about a minute over medium low heat.  Continue stirring and slowly add the rest of the beef stock.  If the gravy does not look thick enough.  Add another tablespoon to the small bowl and add some of the mixture to the flour.  Stir until loose paste forms and stir into the gravy in the pan. 

Add the meat mixture into the gravy mixture.  Fold together gently to combine.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pastry sheet to about 14 inches.  Cut each sheet into four squares.  On half of each square, add about a 1/4 cup of the meat mixture, leaving a 1/2 inch border.  Fold top off over and crimp edges.  Cut 2 slits into the top.  Repeat with remaining squares.  Brush the top of each hand pie with an egg wash (1 egg beaten together with a splash of water.)  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. 

*This is a perfect meal to freeze.  Do all steps up to putting in the oven, place in a freezer tight bag.  When ready to bake, put in at 400 for about 20 to 25 minutes.