MAISON DE KENNEDY

Shawn's Potato Top Mini Pies

❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍 (4/5) Tested by Cass — 1 hr 5 min · Makes 6–12 pies

Proper NZ savoury mince under a cheesy mash crown, in a muffin tin, with a pastry base and no lid. Worcestershire and soy for the umami backbone, tomato paste cooked in rather than stirred in, flour-thickened gravy that coats a spoon. No peas, no carrots — they steal flavour space and add nothing.

Ingredients

Mince Filling

• 1 lb Ground Beef — 80/20, flavour needs fat
• 1 medium Onion — fine dice
• 2 cloves Garlic — minced
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce — the secret umami
• 1 cup Beef Stock
• 1 tbsp Flour — thickener
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme or Mixed Herbs
• Optional: ¼ cup Minced Mushrooms — vanish into the gravy, add depth
• Salt & Cracked Pepper

Mash Top

• 2 medium Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes — peeled, chunked
• 2 tbsp Butter
• ¼ cup Warm Milk or Cream
• ¼ cup Sharp Cheddar — grated, into the mash
• Salt & White Pepper

Base & Topping

• Flaky Pastry — thawed, for bases only, no lids
• ½ cup Sharp Cheddar — grated, on top
• Optional: tiny dust of Paprika — for colour

Method

1. Brown the mince in a wide pan over medium-high, breaking it up. Drain off most of the fat, leaving about 1 tbsp for flavour.
2. Aromatics: Push the mince aside and cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms (if using) in the cleared space for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
3. Cook the tomato paste in: Stir through and cook 1 minute until it visibly darkens. Don't just stir it in raw.
4. Flour: Sprinkle over everything and stir for a minute. This is what thickens the gravy.
5. Liquids: Worcestershire, soy, beef stock and herbs. Bring to a simmer.
6. Simmer 10–15 minutes until thick — coating the back of a spoon, not soupy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
7. Cool completely before assembly. Spread on a tray to speed it up.
8. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
9. Dry them out: Drain and return to the warm empty pot for 30 seconds. Drier potatoes make better mash.
10. Mash with butter, warm milk, cheddar, salt and white pepper. Aim for stiff enough to hold a peak — wet or sloppy mash will slump on top of the pies. Let it cool slightly; scalding mash melts the pastry.
11. Prep the tin: Oven to 200°C / 400°F, grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
12. Cut bases only: Roll pastry to ~3 mm and press circles into the muffin cups so the pastry comes up the sides. No lids — the mash is the top.
13. Fill with the cooled mince, about ¾ full, leaving room for the mash.
14. Crown with mash: Either pipe a rosette with a large star tip for the bakery look, or spoon it on and rough it up with a fork — the peaks brown beautifully.
15. Cheese on top: Sprinkle the topping cheddar over each crown, plus a dust of paprika if you like.
16. Bake 22–25 minutes until the pastry is golden, the cheese melted, and the mash peaks have brown spots.
17. Two minutes under the grill for proper bakery-golden mash. Watch it — they go from gorgeous to burnt in 60 seconds. Do not walk away.
18. Rest 5 minutes in the tin before lifting out.

Notes

• What makes this proper NZ mince rather than a generic beef pie: the Worcestershire and soy stack together for the savoury backbone; tomato paste cooked in until it caramelises rather than stirred in raw; flour-in-pan thickening rather than a cornstarch slurry, which gives better mouthfeel and browns slightly with the meat; and a thick gravy that coats a spoon without dripping. A soggy bottom is the only real sin.
• No peas, no carrots. They steal flavour space and add nothing. Pure mince, onion and gravy is the platonic form.
• Baking alongside the butter chicken pies: if you're sharing the muffin tin, bake at 415°F for ~24 minutes — splitting the difference between the 425°F butter chicken pies and the 400°F potato tops — then grill the potato-top side for the last 2 minutes. Both finish together. Or do them sequentially, butter chicken first, tented in foil to hold heat.
• Freeze them baked, not unbaked. Cool completely on a rack, wrap each in plastic, then into a freezer bag. Good for 2–3 months. Reheat from frozen at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, tented with foil for the first 15.
• Pastry maths: one standard pack (~500 g, 2 sheets) gives you 12 butter chicken bases plus lids, or 12 potato-top bases. A mixed half-batch of 6 and 6 uses about 1.5 sheets. Buy extra if you want full batches of both.

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