Chilli pies serve up a Mexican wave of customers

THE Cornish have their pasties and Forfar is renowned for its bridies, but Edinburgh has been missing from the meat pie map.

Now, however, the Capital has its very own entry on the shortcrust shortlist of popular pastries – the Tollcross "Chilli" Pie.

The brainchild of Mexican deli owner Dougie Bell and butcher John Saunderson, the Scotch pie with the chilli filling has been flying off the shelves since its introduction two weeks ago.

The businessmen, members of the local traders' association, hope it will attract food lovers to Tollcross and further cement the area's reputation for gastronomic delights from round the globe.

Mr Bell, owner of Leven Street's Lupe Pintos Mexican Deli, said they came up with the idea after trying to think of a way to market Tollcross to food lovers. He said: "If you look carefully there's a really good ethnic mix here.

"We have African restaurants, Kurdish restaurants and places selling food from two areas of China and four parts of India.

"I run a Mexican deli and I'm four doors down from John, who runs a traditional butcher's shop.

"John did a trial run, cooking up my recipe in the pie and we started noticing people really taking to it. I love chilli and I really love Scotch pies, they're one of the things I really miss when I'm away.

"The response has been amazing, both for the pie and the concept. The local punters think it's cool to have a pie associated with Tollcross.

"Based on the original response, it's definitely here to stay. We want to keep it in Tollcross so that people have to come here to get it."

Based on a chilli con carne recipe invented by Mr Bell, the pie includes Scotch beef alongside South American black beans, chipotle chillies and Spanish chorizo pork sausage.

The pies are being sold in Lupe Pintos, Mr Saunderson's butcher's shop and local restaurant Two Thin Laddies, but it is hoped that other cafes and restaurants in the area will stock them.

Mr Saunderson, who has sold more than 100 of the pies in the past week, recently won a prize for his culinary creation at a national food exhibition in Birmingham.

He said: "We want Tollcross to be associated with good food in the way that Bruntsfield is a place you can go for knick-knacks and Stockbridge is known for its charity shops. We hope to get the pie sold in other delis and restaurants, but people will still have to come into Tollcross to get it."

TOLLCROSS CHILLI PIE
Filling ingredients
Diced beef, diced onions, garlic, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, tinned red peppers, tinned black beans, cumin, oregano, chipotle chillies.

Recipe
Saute the onions and garlic for five minutes before adding the beef and chorizo. Brown well on a high heat for ten to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pureed peppers, spices and chipotle chillies.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the black beans and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Add mixture to pie shells and cook in oven until ready.