AUTUMN MEAT PASTIES

Steps:

• Brown beef or lamb. Add garlic and let simmer 10 minutes. Drain grease and add to gravy (or use the grease to make the gravy).
• Cook all the veggies however you like best. Use anything that sounds good. I like root vegetables and as large a mix as I can get. Peeled or unpeeled, diced or minced. You want everything bite size or smaller. You want them cooked before you add them to the meat and gravy. If you like them crunchier, just steam them lightly. If you like them mushier, cook them longer.
• Add veggies to meat and gravy. Mix well.
• If you are making your own bread, before the second rise, you need to separate the dough into individual pastie sizes -- When I use the Elevated Challah recipe, I divide it into 16 parts for large pasties, twice that for small pasties.
• I just divide the dough in half, and in half again, until I end up with a size that will probably work. I would guess that a small pastie is about 1/2 cup of dough. A large one is about twice that. Let the bread do its second rise.
• If you are buying prepared dough, make it up as you go along. I've never done it that way, but I am sure it will work just as well. Divide it into pieces big enough to stuff with the gravy mixture. I think mine usually end up around 5-6" diameter.
• Preheat the oven to 375 f.
• Roll each pastie through a bit of flour. Roll out into a circle, about a quarter of an inch thick. Fill the middle with between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the gravy mixture (depending on the size of the dough).
• Mix the egg white and tablespoon of water. Spread a small amount along the edge of the dough, then fold it over. Pinch the edges closed. It will look like a half moon.
• Another option is to roll out two smaller circles, fill one in the middle with the gravy mixture, and set the second over the top and then pinch the dough closed (it will look like a full moon).
• Score the top of the dough (take a knife and poke holes or cut small lines) and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• Very lightly coat each pastie with cream (this makes it brown pretty).
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, until it is golden brown on top.
• I always have leftover gravy mix, which never bothers me. I just eat it as it is.