Two foreign recipes with minced meat

This recipe may seem unusual for an Italian palate, but even in ancient Rome there were recipes for stuffed pasties enclosed in dough made with flour and oil. We are sure that the deliciousness of this pie with minced meat will win you over immediately, but remember to prepare the filling the night before!

#1 English meat pie

Ingredients

• 100 g of minced beef
• 180 ml of red wine
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 stalk of celery
• 750 ml of meat broth
• 360 g of peeled tomatoes
• 360 g of chopped mushrooms
• 60 g of cornstarch
• 1 egg
• 1 roll of shortcrust pastry
• 1 roll of puff pastry
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

Meat Pie, or Meat Pie, is an English second course made with minced meat, puff pastry and shortcrust pastry. Start by cooking the minced meat for 5 minutes, blending it with half the wine. Transfer the cooked meat to a bowl, draining it with a slotted spoon. In a saucepan lightly greased with oil, fry the onion, garlic, rosemary, adding the diced celery and cook for 10 minutes.

At this point, cover with the remaining wine and half the broth and, after 5 minutes, add the tomato, the remaining broth and the minced meat. Let it simmer for about an hour and at this point add the mushrooms and cook them. Adjust the density of the mixture by adding the cornstarch a little at a time. Here is the filling prepared, which should be left to cool and thicken in the fridge overnight.

It's finally time to assemble our English meat pie: turn the oven on to 200°! Line a 25 cm cake tin with the shortcrust pastry disc, brush it with beaten egg and pour all the meat filling inside; place a disc of puff pastry to evenly cover your pasticcio, remembering to make a hole in the center to allow steam to escape during cooking. Cut the edges, decorate with the puff pastry scraps and brush again with the beaten egg. Bake in the oven for at least 40-45 minutes, until the pie is golden brown.

#2 Meat Parmentier

Meat Parmentier, also called Hachis or Shepherd's Pie, is a succulent recipe of French origins and consists of a kind of pie made of mashed potatoes, minced meat and vegetables, cooked in the oven. For once we can "betray" lasagna with meat sauce and parmesan for this unique French dish.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of potatoes
• 20 cl of milk
• 50 g of butter
• 100 g of grated Gruyere or parmesan
• 800g of minced beef
• 1 onion
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 carrot
• breadcrumbs to taste
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method

Start by peeling, cutting and boiling the potatoes, which you will leave to cool separately. Prepare a sauté with the shallot, carrot, garlic and onion, remove the garlic and add the minced beef until cooked. Season with salt and pepper and return from the potatoes which should be mashed or blended and placed in a pan with the milk over a moderate heat until, adding the butter, the puree thickens a little. Last touch, a pinch of salt and nutmeg before adding the grated parmesan .

At this point, place the meat in a pan and cover it with mashed potatoes, breadcrumbs and a generous sprinkling of grated Gruyere. Bake at 180° for 15 minutes and finish cooking with two minutes of grilling, being careful not to burn the gratin!