Did you know that pot pie is considered to have originated 9500 B.C. 😳❓‼️
Archaeologists say that during the Neolithic Age our ancestors made pie with flaky crust made from ground oat, wheat, rye and filled with honey. It was baked over hot coals.
Greece 🇬🇷 is considered to be the birth place of pot pie. Greeks cooked different meats mixed with vegetables in pastries, called Artocreas.
Fast forward to the 19th century in America 🇺🇸 where pot pies with robins were becoming very popular. It is said that when people were migrating to the Westward, they took their recipes with them. 👩🍳
Nowadays, pot pies are a popular comfort food. 🥘 The meat fillings vary but usually it is beef 🐄 , pork 🐷 or chicken 🐔; you could also cook it with vegetable filling.
After this impressive history dating back more than 10, 000 years 😳, I decided to prepare a pastry less beef pot pie.
Pastry-Less Beef Pot Pie
Ingredients
Method
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Slice the courgettes lengthwise into long slices. Use a mandolin, if you have one. Once you get to the seeds, stop slicing (we will use the centre part later)
Pre-heat the oven at 180 C
Place the slices on a baking tray or grill and bake for about 10-15 minutes
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In the meantime prepare the filling
In a big bowl add the beef mince, chopped onion, sliced garlic cloves and the egg
Add the breadcrumbs and the chopped centre part of the sliced courgettes
Add the sliced roasted peppers
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds - if you don't like fennel seeds, feel free to skip this ingredient
Add the squeezed juice from half a lemon
Mix well until you get homogeneous consistency
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Place a baking sheet in a round baking tin. Take out the courgettes from the oven and start layering the bottom of a round baking tin
Overhang courgette slices around the edges of the tin (see photo below)
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Add the mince/vegetable mixture and press carefully around the edges
Fold over the overhanging courgettes to cover the top and press down carefully
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Bake at 180 C for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes
Take out and let it cool down for a bit. Place in the fridge for an our or even overnight. Or you can eat it right away but the shape may not hold
