Mini chilli beef pies

1. step 1
2. To make chilli, heat oil in a pan and fry onion for 5 mins until soft. Add spices; fry for 1 min. Stir in beef and cook for a few mins. Add tomato purée, stock and cinnamon. Give it a stir, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 mins until very little liquid is left. Add beans 5 mins before the end of cooking. Check seasoning and cool.
   5 minutes1 minute15–20 minutes5 minutes
3. step 2
4. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Using a 7cm pastry cutter, stamp out 12 circles from the pastry. Use to line a 12-hole mini muffin tray, prick the base of the pastry with a fork, and bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a wire tray. Repeat with remaining pastry.
   10 minutes
5. step 3
6. Meanwhile, cook the potato in boiling water until tender. Drain, mash with soured cream and seasoning, then stir through chives. Spoon 1-2 tsp of chilli mix into the pastry cases and top with a tsp of mash. Ruffle mash with a fork; return to the oven for 15 mins or until golden.
   15 minutes

Cooking notes

When scaling protein-led dishes, weigh the meat rather than counting pieces, and remember that the pan size limits how much you can sear at once.

For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.

When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.