Mini Lamb Pies is a modern British recipe for a classic starter of lamb cooked in lamb stock with spices, olives and lemon peel that's used as a filling for small shortcrust pastry pies and which make excellent starters or even snacks for Christmas, Easter and New Year celebrations. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British dish of: Mini Lamb Pies.
Begin by making the pastry according to the recipe. Cover in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator as you prepare the filling.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat then stir in the onion, garlic and all the spices. Fry for about 1 minute, or until aromatic then add the diced lamb and fry until browned. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, cover the pan tightly and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Add the preserved lemon peel at this point and continue cooking, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, or until the liquid has almost all evaporated away. Take off the heat, stir in the olives and coriander leaves then set aside to cool completely.
When the filling has cooled, use a little butter to grease a dozen 5cm diameter shallow tart tins. Turn the pastry onto a floured work surface and roll out thinly. Cut out 12 rounds with an 8cm diameter round cutter. Roll the scraps and use a 6cm diameter cutter to cut out 12 more rounds.
Use the larger pastry rounds to fill the tart tins then mound the lamb filling in each tin. Damped the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg and cover with the smaller pastry rounds. Crimp the edges to seal, brush the tops with the remaining egg and prick the tops with the tines of a fork.
Place on baking trays and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly then remove the pies from their moulds and serve immediately.
