Monday, November 30, 2020

Jerry MacKenzie's Time-Traveling Pasties

Hello Lovelies! 

The Outlander Kitchen Cookbook: To the New World and Back Again has some truly wonderful recipes that I wanted to try out. First being the Time-Traveling Pasties! Filled with chicken, turnip and potatoes they seemed like the perfect little treat.

Starting with the dough I mixed 2tsp of salt and 4 cups of flour together, creating a 'well' in the center. Then I poured in 3/4 cup melted butter, 1 cup warm water and an egg into that 'well'. Mixing by hand I carefully transformed the contents into a thick dough, ready to be kneaded!

For some reason dough always seems complicated to me, but this didn't take any time at all. After I kneaded the dough into a smoother ball, I wrapped it in plastic and placed in the fridge to chill out for about an hour. 

While waiting for the dough, I started preparing my filling. Dicing up a potato and turnip. Shredding a carrot, chopping some fresh parsley and soaking one luscious leek. Which I found out was an important step because a fresh leek is covered in dirt!
After soaking in cold water I halved the leeks and added them to the rest of the filling, along with 1 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. For the meat eaters in the family (I made a few without) I diced up a pound of boneless chicken thighs.
On a floured surface I rolled out my chilled dough and cut out three 7-inch circles. Placed about a 6th of the filling in each center, making sure each pasty had equal parts chicken, potato and turnip he he! Then after wetting the top edge of the pastry I brought the top to meet with the bottom and pinched. Creating a little crescent pocket.
With a sharp knife I made three little cuts on each side, to let them vent while baking. Then I repeated these steps for the remaining dough and filling. Once all my tasty pasties had been filled I wrapped and placed them in the fridge for 30 mins. Again, this helps the dough set and properly bake later on. While you wait, set the oven to 400 degrees and move the rack to the upper-middle rung.
After their fridge time was up I whisked up an egg and 1tsp of water to brush over the pasties. This got a tad messy but I knew they would taste even more delicious!
Once brushed I set them in the oven to bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Checking after about 30 to see their progress and they were already turning golden brown. After giving them an additional 5 minutes I pulled them out to cool. 
Voila! Beautiful golden pasties! Now they did not look as perfect as they do in the cookbook, but they were pretty close! 
These little creations are like rustic hot-pockets...hoooot pooocket! Sorry not sorry!

 These pasties were not exactly decadent, however I really liked the flavor of the leeks and potatoes. The chicken definitely added extra flavor to the pasties. Creating a very earthy rich flavor! Their simplicity really makes them great for a quick bite too. Little handheld snacks, both filling and delicious.

After finishing these up I started to think about what else I could add to them! I bet some bacon would go over very well! 

Thanks!

Bunny

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