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Pie floater
Meat pie in pea soup
Adelaide's beef pie upside down in thick pea soup
The pie floater is Adelaide's late-night street food, sold from pie carts outside the railway station and on North Terrace since the 1870s: a beef mince pie turned upside down in a bowl of thick, green split-pea soup and topped with a swirl of tomato sauce. It sounds odd and tastes wonderful on a cold night. This recipe makes both the soup and the pies; you could use good bakery pies to save time. A common mistake is a thin soup; it should be thick enough to hold the pie up. Chef's tip: make the pea soup the day before, it thickens overnight.
- Total time
- 160 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the pea soup
- 14 oz green split peasrinsed
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 carrotchopped
- 6 ¼ cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
For the pies
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 ⅓ lb minced beef
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 ¼ cups beef stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ⅛ lb shortcrust pastry
- 11 ½ oz puff pastry
- 1 eggbeaten
To serve
- 6 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 14 oz green split peas, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 6 ¼ cups vegetable or chicken stock and 1 bay leaf in a pot, bring to the boil, skim and simmer for 1–1½ hours, stirring now and then, until the peas collapse. Remove the bay, blend until fairly smooth and season with 1 tsp salt.
90 minStep 2: For the filling, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil and fry 1 onion for 5 minutes. Add 1 ⅓ lb minced beef and cook, breaking it up, for 6–8 minutes until browned all over.
8 minStep 3: Stir in 2 tbsp plain flour, then add 1 ¼ cups beef stock, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp black pepper and ½ tsp salt. Simmer for 15 minutes until thick, then cool completely.
15 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 400°F (375°F fan). Line six 12 cm pie tins with 1 ⅛ lb shortcrust pastry, fill with the cold mince, top with rounds of 11 ½ oz puff pastry, seal the edges and brush with 1 egg. Cut a small vent.
15 minStep 5: Bake for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is puffed and deep golden. The filling must be piping hot (160°F).
30 minStep 6: Ladle hot pea soup into wide bowls, turn a pie upside down into each and top with a swirl of 6 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup).
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 34 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pie floater take?
- About 160 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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