Sunday Kitchen: Fed Deli’s Megan Cruickshank + Classic mince pie recipe

Federal Delicatessen's head chef, Megan Cruickshank. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Megan Cruickshank has been working as a chef for 14 years, the last seven at Federal Delicatessen and seven months ago took the reins of head chef there. Even after all this time, she says the job is always changing and no two days are the same. When it comes to her Sunday ritual, Megan’s all about comfort food, shared with friends and family. Here she shares a classic mince pie, reserved for nights when her household is all able to be at the dinner table together.

What do Sundays look like in your kitchen?

Sundays are family and friend time. If we aren’t going over to someone’s house to catch up we are at home relaxing, catching up with someone on Skype. Sometimes this leads to making dinner while chatting over the laptop and making a mess. There are normally three in the house, or more when people are over. We stick to cheaper comfort foods when we can but we have friends who are keto and vegan/vegetarian so that can add some fun challenges to make new dishes.

Why have you chosen this dish?

I find with this dish we all fight over the leftovers. I also love that I can make other dishes with the mix if we make extra or freeze for later. We can also sub out the ingredients for our vegan and keto friends. I have chosen the classic mince pie (cheese optional) as nothing beats a homemade filling. With winter approaching this will be frequent in my kitchen to fill cold bellies. We all join in prepping the filling and try to do this a day in advance if we have time, as it can taste so much better if left overnight. We only have two nights when everyone is normally at home at the same time for dinner and this pie is saved for these occasions.

Photo / Brett Phibbs

Mince pie

Makes 1 pie

Packet flaky puff pastry (pre-rolled pastry sheets)

Grated cheese, optional

Egg wash

Pie filling

1 onion, finely diced

2 tsp crushed garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1kg beef mince

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp mixed herbs

1 carrot, finely diced

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Marmite

2 cups beef stock or half vege stock (I use what I have on hand - cubes or liquid)

Salt and pepper

2 tsp cornflour

¼ cup water

1. On a low heat, lightly fry the onion and garlic in the oil. Add the mince and cook until brown, then add tomato paste, herbs, carrot and Worcestershire sauce.

2. Add the Marmite to warmed beef stock and pour into the mince mix. Simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Mix the cornflour with the water to make a slurry and add to the mince mixture. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste and season. (For the best flavour, leave the mixture to cool and leave in fridge overnight.)

5. Preheat oven to 180C bake. Fan-forced if you can.

6. Defrost the pastry then lay it in a 26cm fluted pie dish, allowing extra to go up the edge. Fill with filling, leaving a small amount of room at the top – you can then add grated cheese on top if desired.

7. Lightly wet the edge and place a pastry layer on top, pressing the edges together. Poke holes with a fork into the top and brush with egg wash (beaten egg mixed with a little water or milk).

8. Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to see if the pastry is golden.