What a miserable day it is here today – I am not in the mood for baking today and I am blaming it on the weather. It is more likely to do with the fact that I have sooooooo much else to do ranging from sorting out my images on my blog, sourcing packaging local to area, changing logos on my social media sites, proofreading my new book and last but not least, adding a recipe to my blog which was a recipe of the week many moons ago.
My images are the most important job on my list followed by my recipe book so this is what I am concentrating on today. Yesterday, I shared a photo of a Scary Giant Cookie on my Facebook page but the recipe for this cookie will be available in my new recipe book featuring ideas for Halloween. When the children saw the cookie they were looking forward to having a piece for their pudding last night. There were a couple of pieces left this morning but they didn’t last long as my two daughters tucked them away in their packed lunchboxes (still with a mini ghost intact). These giant cookies are definitely an idea which I can add to my webshop but first I need to price them up, trial some flavours and try posting them to family and friends to see how well they travel.
In order to do these cookies I need some different packaging as well as try to source some other type of boxes as my husband thinks the packaging I am using at the moment is too big for the size of traybake which I have for sale on my webshop and Etsy shop. So I have found a local supplier who I need to pay a visit to in order to see what is available. I think this trip may have to happen tomorrow as the day is starting to get away from me already.
The recipe which I am going to share today is for my Corned Beef Slice which was a very popular bake when I ran my market stall. It is a family recipe and is featured in my first recipe book “Baking at its best: Advice for home bakers and would be entrepreneurs“. For the pastry in this recipe I use Trex instead of lard – which I think is due to the fact that I am a vegetarian. I know that lard helps to give the shortness and crumbliness to the shortcrust pastry but Trex does the exact same job and is a more versatile ingredient all round. After all you wouldn’t make cookies using lard would you? Talking of Trex I made some Singing Hinny which is a local dish that you don’t see very often these days. Why I decided to make it I don’t know but I am so glad I did. I will share my thoughts and recipe for Singing Hinny Love-to-bake.uk style another day as I am digressing now.
Back to the Corned Beef Slice,
Corned Beef Slice Recipe
Course: Dinner, RecipesCuisine: dinner, savouryDifficulty: Intermediate12
servings40
minutes50
minutes252
kcal1
hour30
minutesYou don’t have to chill the pastry I just find it easier to handle if it is colder. I have used the pastry without chilling to cut down on time and it does still work.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
8oz plain flour
2oz Trex
2oz butter
1 tsp salt
water to mix
For the filling:
1 tin of corned beef
4 medium potatoes
1 onion (chopped)
1 Oxo cube (dissolved in 2 tbsp boiled water)
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 egg (for egg wash)
Directions
- For the pastry:
- In a mixing bowl, weigh out the flour, salt, butter and Trex.
- Rub the fats into the flour before adding the water to make a dough.
- Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Whilst the pastry chills make the filling.
- For the filling:
- Wash the potatoes (I don’t peel them as the skin is the best bit), chop and place in a pan of water.
- Add the onion and bring to the boil, then simmer till cooked.
- Drain the potatoes and onion but leave in the pan.
- Add the corned beef, ketchup, chopped tomatoes and the dissolved Oxo.
- Mash the ingredients together but make sure to leave some lumps of potatoes.
- Cover the filling and set aside whilst you work with the pastry.
- Preheat the oven to Gas 6.
- Lightly oil a rectangular baking tray.
- Roll out half the pastry to fit the tray.
- Brush the pastry base with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes to seal the base before you add the filling.
- Whilst the base bakes roll out the pastry lid.
- Once the base is baked and golden brown add the filling and cover with the pastry lid.
- Seal the edges with a fork and prick the top with the fork.
- Egg wash the top and bake for a further 30 minutes.
Notes
- Nutritionally, one slice of pie contains 252 calories, 12.2g total fat (16% daily total fat), 27.9g total carbohydrate (10% daily total carbohydrate), 2.5g fibre (9% daily fibre) 9based on a 2000 calorie diet).
Equipment needed to make this slice would be a rectangular baking tray, pastry brush, rolling pin, mixing bowl, sharp knife, masher, pan and a peeler. All of these items are readily available from supermarkets or online but really you usually have all these pieces of equipment in your kitchen cupboards and drawers.
As you can see there are a lot of stages to making this Corned Beef Slice but it is worth it. This is a recipe I was taught by my own mother so this recipe means a lot to me and even though there are lots of other recipes out there for Corned Beef Slice many of which will be similar to this one I still feel like I am giving away a little part of myself to the world wide web. The good thing I have found with this recipe is that the slice whether unbaked or baked freezes well and keeps for ages as a last minute meal for extra people coming over for dinner unexpectedly. The addition of Oxo and ketchup enhances the flavour of the corned beef which makes all the difference to some people. I have noticed this with my own children who will normally turn their noses up at slices of corned beef in a sandwich but when it is wrapped in pastry with all those other ingredients they will quite happily eat a slice (as long as it is smothered in gravy). I am adding this recipe under the “dinners category” but you could have it as a snack as customers did at the market.