With so many people in back to school mode. Whether it’s mums looking again at a whole year of packing lunches, young adults trying to avoid fast food in university, or anyone really who wants to change up the lunch from the traditional sandwich… I thought it’d be fun to share a favorite of mine.
This is one of the most versatile tools in my arsenal. Made with sweet or savory crusts, it can contain just about anything.
Versions I have done:
pizza
stew
apple
cherry
ham and cheese
tuna
chicken
The list goes on and on.
Now, this is obviously more work than just tossing things into a pie plate, chucking it into the oven, and calling it a day. But what’s great about these is that mostly, they freeze up wonderfully. What I will typically do is take a Saturday or Sunday and dedicate it to making up a few batches of these. Bake, cool, then pop into something freezer safe.
Taken out in the morning, they’re usually defrosted by lunch (depends on the contents and how thick you roll the dough, I’d suggest testing for yourself how long they need). And they can be easily reheated in a microwave or toaster oven.
Also, make sure you label which is which if you’re doing a few varieties at a time. Not that I have personal experience or anything.
Method:
Start with your favorite pie recipe. I’m partial to this one because it’s so simple.
Roll it out thin. We’re looking for 1/4″ thick to 1/8″.
The easiest method is fold-over. But it means you’ll need something to cut out circles that are big enough that when they’re folded over, they still have something substantial in them. I like roughly 6″ circles for savory, heck even for sweet. 😛
In a pinch I’ve used a bowl as a cutter. Dip it in flour and go to town!
Once we’ve got all our circles, spoon a bit of the filling into the center. Lightly wet the edges and fold in half, using a fork or something similar to seal the edges.
If you don’t have a cutter big enough, you can cut out two circles, spoon the filling onto one, then top it and seal. Making round pies.
A Note on Fillings
If the ingredients need cooking, do that first. So don’t put raw meat, or hard vegetables in, thinking they’ll cook when you bake the pie. It’s not hot or long enough to ensure it cooks properly! Chicken should be fully cooked, and for beef I usually cook it to rare, med-rare. (if the beef is too well done, the baking of the pie could dry it out)
We also want to avoid anything too wet, as it’ll make the dough mushy. Dry ingredients are definitely the best. When I do this with stew, I will use a slotted spoon to just take the meat and veg, with a hint of the gravy.
Dipping hand pies in sauces is… nummy!
Baking
I like to do an egg wash for these. Take one egg, and a tablespoon or so of water and brush over the pies. Poke a few vent holes.
Refrigerate while you’re preheating the oven to 375F.
Bake for about 35 min (it’ll depend on how thick the dough is).
Let them cool fully before freezing! I find they last 3ish months in the freezer before burn starts being an issue.
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