Nigerian Meat Pie Recipe (87p per meat pie)

This is a Nigerian meat pie recipe with my own little twist – using organic ingredients where possible and a low toxicity vegetable oil spread instead of unhealthy margarine. It came out lovely so I hope you enjoy it too.

Key facts:

• Creates approx 10 meat pies – if you make larger meat pie sizes the cost will increase, and vice versa for smaller meat pies.
• Time: 1 hour (Prep: 15 mins, Cooking: 45 mins)
• Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients (cost 87p per meat pie):

• 1 Organic Medium Potato (170g) – 21p (£1.85 for 1.5kg from Sainsburys)
• 1 Organic Carrot  – 15p (£1.35 for a 700g – approx 9 carrots from Sainsburys)
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 20p (£6.75 for 500ml from Sainsburys)
• 1 Organic Medium Onion – 17p (£1.65 for 750g – approx 10 onions from Sainsburys)
• 250g Organic Beef Mince Meat – £4.25 (£8.50 for 500g from Sainsburys)
• 1 Kallo Organic Low Salt Vegetable Stock Cube (10g) – 23p (£1.40 for 6 cubes from Sainsburys)
• *1 Level Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• *175ml Filtered Pre-boiled/Warm Water
• 500g Organic All Purpose Plain Flour – 90p (£1.80 for 1kg from Sainsburys)
• *1 Level Teaspoon Baking Powder / Sodium Bicarbonate
• *1 Pinch Sea Salt – Tip: If you do not have seat salt, invest in some as they have many minerals. Also common table salt which has a derivative of cyanide and bulking agents in it (check the ingredients list).
• 250g Organic Naturli Spreadable Vegetable Oil Butter – £2.17 (£3.90 for 450g from Sainsburys). Tip: For this recipe I used this vegetable butter as it works very well, on top of being rated highly on Yuka (product toxicity checker app).
• 1 Organic Egg – 41p (£4.90 for 12 eggs from Sainsburys)
• *1 tablespoon (8g) Organic All Purpose Plain Flour
• *60ml Filtered Cold Water

*Not included in the per person or per serving cost calculation. This is as the cost is very low (pennies) or negligible. Also most people will already have these ingredients readily available in their kitchens.

Method:

1. Cut 1 medium potato and 1 medium carrot into tiny cubes. Wash in a colinder to remove any potato starch and debris.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Add 1 handful of frozen diced onion to the pan and stir for a few minutes until partially cooked.
3. Add 250g organic beef mince to the pan. Prod and stir constantly to break down the mince and cook until browned.
4. Add 1 low salt kallo organic beef stock cube, 1 level teaspoon thyme and 175 ml pre-boiled/warm water to a jug. Mix well then add to the pan. Stir well with the mince then cover the pot with the lid.
5. When the pan starts boiling add the chopped potatoes and the carrots to the pan and mix well. Cover again and cook until everything is completely cooked through and soft (around 20 to 30 mins).
6. Beat 1 organic egg in a bowl and add an egg wash brush to the bowl. Tip: Preparing this now will be handy tfor later in this recipe, to glaze and glue the edges of the meat pie together.
7. Meanwhile, make your own pastry. Add 500g all purpose plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder/bicarbonate soda/sodium bicarbonate, and a pinch of sea salt to a large bowl and mix well.
8. Add 250g vegetable oil butter to the flour mix. Tip: You can use some dairy butter (up to 50% max) but note that 100% butter makes the pastry too flaky for this traditional Nigerian pie.
9. Use fingertips to rub the butter and flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add small amounts of water if needed whilst mixing together until a stiff dough forms. Tip: This should be no more than a half cup total.
10. Knead well by hand or use a food mixer, then leave to rest for 5 to 10 minutes (if you have time).
11. Roll the out the pastry into 0.3 cm thickness. Tip: This thickness is perfect as it’s not too thin that it loses its integrity and also not too thick that it overpowers the meat mixture. I’ve made the pastry too thick before and I won’t be doing that again. The pastry will also slightly thicken in the oven due to the baking powder.
12. Use a circle shaped tool or the open side of a small cereal bowl to create the pastry rounds. Continue to create pastry rounds until you have used all of the mixture. Tip: To save space if working on a small surface you could place the pastry rounds in a pile between layers of baking paper. This also makes it easier to store them in the fridge if the pastry has become too soft.
13. When the meat mixture is fully cooked, in a jug mix 1 tablespoon plain flour with 60ml cold water. Add this to the meat pie mix to keep moist when cooking. Mix well and add more water if needed. Turn off the heat.
14. Preheat the oven to 170°C (medium heat works best). Cover 2 baking trays with baking paper.
15. Prepare a few pastry rounds at the same time to save time. Depending on the countertop surface you have, this could be 2-4 or possibly all 10. Add egg wash to the 2 cm edge of each of the pastry rounds, then spoon in approximately 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into the centre of each round. Tip: It should be enough meat to not overflow when folding over and you can use your first meat pie to experiment with the correct portion of meat mixture for each meat pie. To create the meat pie, fold one edge over the other to create a semi-circle shape and use a fork to press down the edges into the egg wash to secure them. Place the meat pies on the pre-prepared baking trays. Repeat until all the pastry rounds and meat mix have been used up. Tip: If you happen to have any leftover meat mixture or pastry, you can freeze this to a month and reuse it later date.
16. Add egg wash to the top of the meat pies to give them a golden brown glow when baked and as a useful indicator of when they are ready to come out of the oven. Bake for 20 to 40 minutes until lightly browned, checking at 5 minute intervals after 20 minutes of baking. In my oven they are ready between 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when lightly golden brown. Tip: They will continue to brown when they are removed from the oven so make sure they are only light brown when you remove them otherwise the will look like they have caught the sun.
17. Leave them to cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve warm as a snack, or wait until they have completely cooled before storing them in freezer bags for up to 1 month. When you fancy eating one, defrost it on the kitchen counter or put it in the microwave until it warms up.

Prices correct at the time of publication.

If you liked this Nigerian meat pie recipe, you may also like my Nigerian Jollof Rice Recipe at £1.09 a portion.

Have you made Nigerian meat pies before? What do you think of this recipe if you have tried it? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.