Nan's Meat Pie

My Nan was way ahead of her time. She shopped locally and ate seasonal home grown produce years before Jamie, Hugh or Gordon suggested it. If my Grandad hadn't grown it or it wasn't at the bakers, grocer, butcher or fishmonger, she didn't eat it. Simple. She walked to the shops every day and if she left a carbon footprint, it would be dainty size 5.

We would go to Nan's regularly for lunch on Sunday and it was always a treat whether it was stuffed lamb breast, pork belly or topside of beef. She stretched these cuts with vegetables from my Grandad would provide to order; even sending him out at the last minute for fresh mint to make mint sauce on a lamb day. One of our favorites was 'Meat Pie' which could be made one of two ways, with braising steak or ground beef. The only drawback of meat pie was that there would be no Apple Pie after; possibly rock cakes but that's another entry!

Yesterday I alluded to my 2 years spent in Malaysia; well when I first arrived I was clueless in the kitchen and my Nan would send me the odd recipe in the mail as well as give me tips on the phone. I've included her handwritten recipe here which I doubled last night and used ground sirloin rather than braising steak. It was a hit with my family served with mashed potatoes & broccoli trees!