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New Zealand's meat pie tradition seems to be second to no other country in the world. We have even progressed to the dizzying realms of the 'pie sandwich' which is a meat pie in between two slices of thick white toast bread, carbohydrates anyone?! This pie is a beauty and should serve at least 6 unless you have a couple of kiwis at your place for dinner and then all bets are off. Just make sure you have plenty of Watties tomato sauce and cold beer and you'll never get rid of them. Warning this is a man sized pie you will need a large pie dish.



Supermarket pie pastry in sheets (usually bought frozen and then defrosted)
700g/1 1/2 lbs of steak, blade, rump etc cut into cubes 1-2cm big
350g/12 OZ of minced beef
1 large onion diced
1 425g tin of mushrooms in butter sauce
3 220g tins of mushrooms in brine, drained and brine reserved
1 250g box of real chicken gravy
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried parsely
4 teaspoons of cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons of the mushroom brine
Lots of freshly ground black pepper and salt if required

Heat oil in a large pan and brown the meat well. Add onion and when cooked add the mushrooms and gravy and mix. Add herbs, tomato paste and worcestershire sauce. Let simmer for 5 minutes and add lots of black pepper and salt if necessary. Add cornflour mixture and let the mixture cook and thicken for 20-30 mins or until ready to go into the pie crust (the mix musn't be too wet when it goes in).
Pour filling into a large pie dish that has been greased and lined with pastry. Top with more pastry for the lid, apply egg wash and decorate with whatever pastry cutter shapes you have (mini gingerbread men in this case). Make 3 slits in the pastry to allow steam to vent. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C/390F for 30-40 mins. If the top browns too quickly place a sheet of tin foil over the pie. Stand for 10 miutes before serving. Oh man, I know I've said it before about previous dishes but seriously I could eat this a couple of times a week.