Buy My Pie

There's nothing like a credit crunch and looming recession to catalyse one's entrepreneurial juices. How does an economic refugee in a small Japanese ski resort make some money whilst enjoying the wonders of a winter wonderland?

What is :

1) simple to make,

2) easy to transport,

3) relatively unavailable in Hakuba,

4) warm and beckoning after a hard day's skiing,

5) a gourmet meal in itself yet effortless to prepare?

Answer: The humble Beef Pie.

I secure my first order of 20 pies from Brendan for BZu's lodge, rope in my sister for much needed slave labour, a quick zip through Justco (our local supermarket), and Daph's Pie factory is ready for production.

One might argue that given the shape of my pies, they should really be called Pasties. Why this shape, you might ask. Well, it's the easiest to make; and, my customers aren't fussed about how my pies look or what they're called, as long as they are a juicy, herb-flavoured mince encased in a rich, buttery home-made shortcrust pastry.

Here's how:

Shortcrust Pastry:

makes 10

500gm all purpose flour

250 gram cold butter chopped

2 large eggs chilled

1 tblspn chilled water

a pinch of salt

Process cold butter and sifted flour and salt. Add water to lightly beaten eggs then combine with flour mixture to form a dough. Roll into a log, wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. (The dough can also be done by hand, which is what we do here at the Daphne Pie Factory, until we've made enough profit to purchase a food processor.)

Beef Mixture for Pie Filling

Makes 10

550gm good minced beef

0.5 large brown onion chopped

1 medium carrot cut into small cubes

1 clove garlic minced

200gm frozen peas

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs rosemary

beef stock cube

1 tblspn tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

flour to thicken

Heat oil in a pan and brown meat. Make sure all the meat touches the surface of the pan, or the meat will steam instead of fry. Add onion, garlic and herbs and fry briefly. Add carrots and tomato paste and enough water to cover mixture. Simmer till carrots are almost soft, then add peas and continue to cook till carrots are soft (but not squishy). Add salt and pepper to taste and thicken with flour until all liquid is absorbed.

When mixture is cooled, take dough out and divide into 10 portions. Roll each portion out into a circle (you can use a cutter to make a perfect circle) about 1 cm thick. Place meat mixture in one half of the circle, fold the other half over and flatten edges to seal. Press edges with a fork to ensure they are sealed, then place on a baking tray with baking paper. Brush the pies with eggwash made out of 1 egg and a splash of water and bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees till brown. ( About 20 min)

Allow to cool, then wrap tightly in cling wrap and freeze up to 2 months.

3 hours, 2 pairs of hands and 20 pies later, I work out the viability of my new business on my spreadsheet. Including cost of ingredients, labour and estimated utilities, I arrive at a tidy profit of Yen880 per hour. Right, so it's somewhat less than what I used to make in banking; yet strangely, so much more fulfilling, especially when I hear the gasps of appreciation from satisfied customers as they savour every morsel.

Given the success of my first order, I decide to do what all enterprising entrepreneurs do- Increase my product offering. What is easy to make out of local ingredients and also utilises shortcrust pastry?

Answer: Fuji Apple Pie