Friday Pie Day: Chilli Con Carne Pie

Ah, chilli con carne, the old classic. My housemate Anita often cooks it for dinner and I've been pondering over recent weeks over how to turn it into a pie.

A while back, I did make these Mini Chilli Con Carne Pies, which were essentially little tortilla pots, complete with a tortilla 'lattice' pie top.

This time though, I wanted something more substantial, a proper size pie. But I didn't want to just stick chilli con carne filling into a normal shortcrust pastry base.

A potato topping wasn't too appealing either, and would have made it look too much like a shepherd's pie. So I started thinking about what chilli con carne is served with.

Rice? Hm, I tried a kind of rice crust before with this Egg Pied Rice but that felt like a bit too much hard work.

Then, I had it...

Cous cous!

I rather naively thought that if I stuck cooked couscous on top and baked it for long enough, it would somehow merge into a solid yet tasty pie crust top.

Well, it didn't completely fall apart when I came to cut the 'slices' but it was certainly messy! It was in the oven for an hour and it was just starting to crisp around the edges - but I couldn't wait any longer. I had covered it with foil from the start to stop the top from burning but I wonder if next time it should be finished off under the grill to help it set more.

Needless to say, the chilli con carne inside was deliciously piping hot and well worth the wait :-)

Chilli Con Carne Pie For an 8" pie dish (serves 4):

1) Mix together the soy sauce with the oil, cumin and cinnamon in a bowl with the mince. Allow to marinade for at least 15 minutes.

2) Put the couscous in another bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice, and pour in the stock. Cover and set aside.

3) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Add the mince to a hot pan to brown for 4-5 minutes, followed by the onion and garlic.

4) Add the tomatoes, carrot, kidney beans, cayenne pepper and chilli powder, stirring everything well for another 5 minutes.

5) Transfer the mince mixture to a pie dish. Carefully spoon the couscous evenly over the top. Cover with foil, then bake for about an hour until the top starts to crisp.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.