Hand Pies Pasties Food

HAND PIES (PASTIES)

Steps:

• Bring pie crust out and to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease, spray or use parchment on a large baking sheet.
• Mix vegetables, and pork sausage if using. Don't precook the sausage - it will cook when the pies bake.
• Cut crust into small circles, about 2-3 inches across. You should be able to get five or six circles out of each crust if you re-roll the pastry leftovers.
• Place an equal amount of the filling on half of the circles, and top with another circle.
• Fold the edges over each other towards the top, and crimp together like a traditional pie crust. Make a small slit in the center to vent steam, and brush with an egg wash if you like.
• Place each little pie on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for approximately one hour, checking for over-browning.
• Can be eaten hot or cold.

BEEF & POTATO HAND PIES (CORNISH PASTIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Roll out pie crusts and use a 8-9" tart pan or other pan, inverted, to cut the dough into 4 large circles. You may have to reform and roll the dough between cuttings to get all four circles. Lay 2 dough circles on each parchment lined baking sheet.
• Pile about 1 1/2 cups of the meat and potato mixture (with juices) onto one half of each dough circle. Spread evenly over that half of the dough circle, leaving about 1/2" rim around the edge for crimping. Sprinkle some sea salt and pepper over the meat and potato mixture.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the 1/2" rim of pastry with some of the beaten egg - this will serve as "glue" to seal the pastry edges.
• Gently fold the "blank" side of each dough circle over the meat and potato filling side, matching the edges of the pastry to create a half-circle shaped hand pie. Use your finger to press and seal the edges of the pastry together, fluting them for decoration if desired.
• Once each hand pie is formed, use a very sharp knife to lightly score the top of each pie.
• Use a pastry brush to cover the surface of each hand pie with beaten egg.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crusts are golden and firm to the touch.