French-Canadian meat pie.
In a large frying pan or sauce pan with a lid, cook the onions in the oil on low heat until translucent. Then add the garlic and stir.
Add the meat to the pan and stir until most of the meat is crumbled, about 10 minutes.
Remove most of the fatty liquid from the pan with a ladle or large spoon. (This step is optional, but I always do it).
Add all of the dry seasoning to the meat and stir.
Add the stock, the bay leaf and cinnamon stick to the pan and stir.
Add the grated potato and carrots and stir.
Cover the pan with the lid and simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Remove the lid from the pan. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Taste for salt. Add more if necessary.
Stir the mixture for a few more minutes or until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the meat mixture.
Transfer the cooked meat to a bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line the pie plate with the pastry. Dock the pastry with a fork.
Pre-bake the bottom layer of the pie for about 12 minutes or until it just starts to turn a golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the pastry to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Add the cool meat mixture to the pie plate. Level the meat mixture so that it's smooth.
Cover the meat with pastry. Seal the edges with a fork or as you like. Make a couple of cuts in the centre of the pastry to allow steam to release while baking.
Bake the pie for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
It's advisable to cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes of baking so that the edges don't burn.