Blog Archive

Thursday, February 5, 2015

New Year, new experiences

Happy 2015! 

Ever since my birthday in August, I have been starting new things- whether it's getting on a motorcycle or trying new recipes. 

I've never truly tried to make Aussie/British treats so I attempted to veganize a favorite in the meat pie.
Here's what I came up with that tastes amazing:

Pastry:
8 oz. flour plus extra for rolling and cutting
8 oz. water
4 oz. coconut oil or earth balance buttery spread
Pinch of salt

Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Next, put water and coconut oil in saucepan over medium heat to melt oil and raise to a boil. Once boiled, turn heat off and pour water into flour/salt. Stirring with wooden spoon until incorporated and peels away from bowl. Put dough on a wooden board and knead, appropriately cutting into 24 mini portions (top and bottom for 12 pies) for a muffin tin. Preheat oven to 350*F

Filling (feel free to variate this):

3 oz. dried porcini mushrooms or any other dried mushroom
1 c. Water (reconstitute mushrooms)
1/2 yellow onion
1-2 Tbsps. Canola oil
1/8 Tsp. Sunny Paris spice (Penzey's)
1/8 Tsp. Lemon Pepper spice (Mrs. Dash)
1 Tsp. Dijon mustard

Reconstitute the mushrooms and water in a saucepan. Wait until the water turns a nice dark tan color. Remove from heat and with a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms into a paper towel and blot dry. Roughly chop the mushrooms. Reserve the liquid. 

On medium high heat, put onions into a canola oiled pan. Cook until onions are partially translucent. Add mushrooms and spices as well as salt to taste. Add some reserved liquid and reduce until thick. Stir in Dijon mustard. Cook until thick. Remove from heat. 

With your pre-made pie crust, spoon in equal amounts of filling. Top with the last twelve pie crusts, sealing together. Make sure to make a little hole(s) at the top to vent.* Place in pre-heated oven and wait for about 30-50 mins (depending on your oven), until they're golden brown. Enjoy!


*You can also add a wash on top with water and cornstarch and salt for a rich coating.