Pies, Gluten Free
Gluten‑free Cornish‑pasty Style Pies
(Makes about 8 hand‑sized pasties – 4 ham‑and‑cheese, 4 spinach‑feta)
A. Short‑crust pastry
-
Dry blend – Tip 120 g sorghum flour, 60 g almond flour, 40 g tapioca starch, 1 ½ tsp psyllium husk, ½ tsp fine salt (and, if you keep it, ¼ tsp xanthan gum) into a mixing bowl and whisk.
-
Work in fat – Drop in 110 g fridge‑cold, diced butter and rub until the mix looks like coarse breadcrumbs with a few pea‑sized bits left.
-
Bind – Crack 1 large egg into the bowl and stir. Splash in ½ tsp cider vinegar and then 3 tbsp ice‑cold water, one spoon at a time, just until the dough clumps. Add up to 2 tbsp more water if it still feels floury.
-
Rest – Press the dough into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes so the psyllium hydrates and the butter firms.
B. Ham & Cheese filling (makes 4 pasties)
-
Soften aromatics – Melt a knob of butter in a pan, add 1 small leek, finely sliced, and cook on low for 5 minutes until silky. Let it cool.
-
Mix – In a bowl combine the cooled leek, 150 g diced cooked ham, 120 g grated mature Cheddar (or Emmental), 2 tbsp crème fraîche, plus a pinch of nutmeg and a few twists of black pepper.
C. Spinach‑feta filling (makes 4 pasties)
-
Wilt greens – Drop 250 g fresh spinach into a hot dry pan, toss for 1–2 minutes until collapsed, then tip into a sieve and squeeze hard; you need it almost dry.
-
Combine – Stir the spinach with 150 g feta, crumbled, 1 small onion, finely sautéed and cooled, 1 beaten egg, zest of ½ lemon, ½ tsp dried oregano, and black pepper to taste.
D. Forming the pasties
-
Roll – On a floured sheet of baking paper, roll the chilled dough to 3 mm thick. Cut circles roughly 18 cm across (a soup bowl is a handy guide). Re‑roll scraps once.
-
Fill – Place about ⅓ cup (80 g) of ham mixture on one half of four circles. Repeat with the spinach mix on the remaining circles. Leave a 2 cm clean rim.
-
Seal – Brush the rims with a little beaten egg (borrow from the fridge stash), fold the pastry over, press to seal, and crimp the edge firmly.
-
Vent & glaze – Snip a tiny steam hole in each pasty and brush the tops with more beaten egg.
E. Bake
-
Oven on – Heat to 200 °C (fan 180 °C).
-
Bake – Slide the pasties onto a parchment‑lined tray and bake for 25–30 minutes until deep golden and the bases feel crisp.
Eat hot, or cool and freeze. To cook from frozen, bake at the same temperature for about 40 minutes, covering with foil for the final ten if the crust browns too quickly.