Publications
Serves 4
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
- 350g lean mince
- 2 slices bread, crumbled and soaked in 30 ml milk
- 15ml tomato sauce
- 2 gherkins, chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 60ml flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 15ml meat spice
- 250g streaky bacon
- oil for shallow-frying
- 2 x 250g rolls puff pastry, defrosted
- 1 egg, beaten
- poppy seeds
1. Mix the mince, bread, tomato sauce, gherkins, onion and parsley; season with the spice. With wet hands, form 4 meatballs and flatten them. Wrap each one in 2–3 strips of bacon; fry gently until golden-brown (add oil if needed). Cool slightly.
2. Open out the first puff pastry sheet and divide into 4. Roll each piece with a rolling pin until it is big enough to accommodate the flattened meatball. Repeat with the second sheet. Brush the first four pieces of pastry with egg and place a meatball patty on each. Cover with a second sheet of pastry and seal carefully with your fingertips. Cut neatly into a circle, press down the edges with a fork and cut a cross in the middle of the top sheet. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
3. Place the pies on a wire rack on a baking tray and brush with egg. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 30 minutes or until golden-brown. Turn over and bake for a further 10–20 minutes to make sure the pastry is crispy all over.
Tip: If you’re short on time, buy ready-made meatball patties.
