Steak pie with gluten free shortcrust pastry

We had a small amount of stew left over the other day.  More than enough for one person, not quite enough for two (because a certain someone ate so much of it!), so I decided to make a couple of pies with the leftovers.  This is the first time I have forayed into unsweetened gluten free shortcrust pastry, but it turned out brilliantly.  I am really pleased with the result.  The pastry was short, perfectly cooked, and tasted great.  The pie also managed to beat Binks, who couldn't finish all of his (even though I put little love hearts on the top for him).

Ingredients
100g rice flour
100g fine cornmeal
100g potato flour
1 heaped tsp xantham gum
pinch of salt
150g cold butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water

Method
Put the flours, xantham gum and salt in the bowl of the food processor and blitz to mix the flours together.  Add the cubed butter and blitz again until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the food processor still running, add a tablespoon at a time of the egg and water mixture until the pastry just starts to come together.

Tip the pastry into a bowl and work together with your hands, adding a bit more egg mixture if needed.  The amount of egg mixture you need to add will be a bit more if you've put a lot of xantham gum in, and a bit less if you have less gum - don't stress about it too much, it should still turn out fine.

Once you've got your pastry together in a ball, and not too wet, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.  Once you're ready to use it, roll it out to the desired thickness.  I do this between two pieces of greaseproof paper - it saves on drying the pastry out with added flour, and is easy to use off the paper.

Once it's rolled out, cut to fit your pie dish.  It actually doesn't matter too much if it rips, tears or splits as you line your pie tin, just squish it back together with another piece of pastry.  Fill with the desired filling (leftover beef stew, in my case), and pop the lid on, sealing the edges with a bit of water and squashing the pastry together.  Pop a couple of holes in the top to let any steam escape and bake in a moderate oven (about 180C, gas mark 4) for about half an hour or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is piping hot.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.