Our little corner of paradise had a wonderful rainy spell lately.   So despite the fact that our normal temperatures are in the 90s, we had a hankering for pot pies.  Ideal for a stormy evening when all you want to do is snuggle down with a good book and listen to raindrops.

For the Filling:

1 1/4 lbs Beef (stew meat, roast, or what have you)
1/2 cup Flour
Salt Pepper

1 can diced Tomatoes
1 cup Red Wine
1 cup Beef Stock
1/2 medium onion
2 white Sweet Potatoes (about the size of a baking potato)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
few sprigs of fresh Thyme
2 leaves fresh Sage

12 oz. cut Green Beans (fresh or frozen)

For the Pastry:

2 cups Flour
2 sticks Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ice water

4 medium ramicans or other containers for baking your pot pies.

Combine 1/2 cup flour, some salt and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Cut your beef into small bite sized pieces and place in the zip lock back with the flour. Seal and shake to coat the beef evenly.

Heat a little oil in a medium sized pan, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, remove the beef from the bag, shaking off any excess flour, and place into the pan. Brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.

While the beef is cooking, slice half of a medium onion.

When the beef is browned, add the onion, canned tomatoes, red wine, salt, pepper, cinnamon, thyme and sage to the pan, stir well and let cook over medium low or medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

While this is cooking, we’ll make the pastry. In your food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter and pulse until it forms pea sized pieces. Lightly beat 1 egg and add to the food processor, pulse until it is well blended in. Add about 1 tablespoon of ice water and pulse. The dough should form a ball in the food processor. If it’s too dry, add a little more ice water. (Not this dough is wet and somewhat sticky.) Form the dough into a ball and kneed for a few minutes. Cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. Flour a board and roll the dough out until each piece is larger in diameter than your baking dishes for the pot pies. (You can set the pieces aside separated by parchment if you wish.)

Beat your remaining egg.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

When the filling has cooked, remove from heat and add the green beans. Split the filling evenly amongst your 4 ramicans.  Tip: don’t over fill!   Using a pastry brush, brush egg around the top-outside of your baking dish and place the pastry on top. Fold over the edges and press down. The egg will seal the pastry to the top of the baking dish. Repeat for each baking dish. Make a small slit in the top of each pot pie to release the steam during baking. Brush the top of each pie with beaten egg so it browns up.  Optional: You can sprinkle a little kosher salt on top too.

Place your pot piece on the middle rack in your oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, serve hot.

For variations, feel free to use regular potatoes instead of sweet, add or substitute whatever vegetables you prefer and if you don’t like to cook with wine, substitute a second cup of beef stock, or 1/2 cup of beef stock and a small can of tomato sauce.

Enjoy!