After a busy morning of sorting out my craft room, I was hungry and I had nothing more than some vegetables, cheese and basic ingredients in the house. Instead of succumbing to my usual snacking until I bothered to go shopping for a salad or more "conventional" lunch, I decided to make something. After all, vegetables are one of my main food groups anyway.
Last food shop I had bought some free from Puff Pastry, just in case. I enjoy the challenge of making something with the pastry especially without recipes. Also I used to adore Pasties, when we visited our Nan in Devon or took a trip to Winchester with their Pasty shop, I would always have the Vegetarian one even when I wasn't. I loved the Cheese and Onion or the Vegetable Pasty, my favourite part being the flaky pastry around the edges where it was thickest. Recreating that memory is always fun for me!
So today I made a Pasty using some of the leftover vegetables I had, adding some Cannellini beans and Chopped tomatoes. As it turned out pretty well, here is the recipe...
Ingredients: (Makes a decent size Pasty)
1 x Carrot
1/2 Onion
1/2 Bell Pepper (Pick a colour you like, I went for yellow!)
Clove of Garlic
1/2 tin of Cannellini Beans
1/2 tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1/2 pack of Free From Asda Puff Pastry (or pastry of your choice, I don't discriminate)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Cumin (or more if you like)
1 tbsp Dairy Free Margerine/Butter (for sealing pastry)
Method:
1: Preheat the oven on 220c/Fan 200c (or whatever your pastry says)
2: Peel and slice the Carrots, then half the slices. Mine were still a little crunchy, so make the slices quite thin.
3: Cut the Bell Pepper into squares.
4: Peel, cut in half and dice the Onion.
5: Peel, crush and finely chop the Garlic. (or use a Garlic Press... I really need to buy one)
6: Pour some Vegetable Oil in a Frying Pan over a medium heat.
7: When the Oil is heated, put the Onion and Garlic in for a few minutes.
8: Add the Carrots to the Frying Pan for 5 minutes, or if you prefer them to be softer steam/boil for a few minutes prior to adding to the pan.
9: Add the Pepper to the pan and leave for a further few minutes, stir often to prevent sticking and ensure all veg are cooking not burning.
10: Add the half tin of Chopped Tomatoes and drained Cannellini Beans with 1/4 cup of water, stir well and leave to simmer stirring occasionally.
11: Once the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is not too wet, take off the heat. This took about 10 minutes for me.
12: Prepare the Pastry by cutting it in half, placing on a baking sheet and tray, melting some Margarine/Butter then spreading it over the whole piece of Pastry.
13: Add the mix to one side of the Pastry, fill as much as possible but allowing space around the edges to seal.
14: Pull one corner of Pastry over to the other corner covering the mix and press down around the edges, I find pressing down with my thumb first and then with a fork works best. Although I did have a bit which tore, just shows it's homemade with love!
15: Cut some slashes into the top of the Pasty to ensure the steam can escape and doesn't make the Pastry soggy.
16: Spread the remaining Butter over the top of the Pastry and put in the oven for around 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it.
17: Once the Pastry is cooked through take it out of the oven. It can be hard to tell with Gluten Free as it doesn't turn a golden brown colour, so I tap the top and bottom to make sure it is crispy and hard, plus there will be a little flakiness to it.
18: Plate it up and enjoy! You should be able to eat it like a normal Pasty if cooked properly. Mine had a little gap around the edges as I filled it a little too much nevertheless I was still able to eat with my hands like I was back in Cornwall!
One thing I have taken from todays food trial is that I don't season properly. Although the Pasty tasted great and I was pleased with how it turned out, I think it could have done with a little more flavour. Next time I will be a more generous with the Salt and Cumin, I may also try to resurrect my herb plants. Might be easier to have more flavour on hand if, a, the plants were still alive and b, I didn't have to keep buying fresh herbs!
I love a Pasty, I hope you do too. Good luck if you try it out, it's a great treat for lunch or dinner! Happy Veganuary Day 15!