When I decided to turn vegan, one of the things I really missed was the convenience of being able to grab food on the go in just about any shop. I used to like popping into Greggs to pick up a cheese and onion pasty, but now I have to be a bit more creative when I'm out. However, even better than creative is well prepared. Just because I'm making a stance against animal abuse, it doesn't mean I never want to eat a pasty again! Today's post shows you how easy it is to make your own delicious pasties at home, with only a few inexpensive ingredients and about half an hour.
Ingredients
Only a few simple ingredients needed here - why complicate things?
- Ready-made vegan puff pastry
- Soya chicken style pieces
- Curry sauce of your choice
- Chilli sauce/powder/fresh chillies (optional)
- Frozen peas (not pictured)
- A little soya milk (not pictured)
- Vegetable oil (not pictured)
The curry sauce I'm using gives a sort of yellow Chinese-takeaway-style curry sauce, but you could use any kind of indian style sauce if you wanted. I'm also adding a bit of chilli for spice, but if you don't like the hot stuff, just omit it.
The Filling
Put about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan, and fry the chicken until it just starts to brown slightly. Add the frozen peas, and fry until they are hot through. Now add the sauce, following the instructions on the pack - for my sauce, I added a heaped tablespoon to the pan, stirred it around for about 30 seconds, then added half a cup of boiling water. Bear in mind you don't need much sauce. It should just be a coating - too much sauce will make it difficult to contain the curry in a pasty.
Assembly
Roll out the pastry until it's at the required thickness - about 2-4 mm seems about right. Cut the pastry into rectangles - I got 6 out of the packet. Take about two heaped tablespoons of filling, and put it on one half of the rectangle, leaving space around the edges to seal the pastry. Use the back of the spoon to flatten the filling as much as possible. Using a pastry brush or a finger, cover the edges of the pastry in a little soya milk. Now fold over the pastry and press lightly all around the edges to seal. Using a thumb and forefinger, crimp the edges by squeezing the pastry together all oround the edges. You can cover the outside of the pastry in a little soya milk for a shiny finish. Finally, use a sharp knife to cut a couple of slits in the top of the pasty. This lets steam out from the filling.
Now, simply bake the pasties on a lightly floured baking tray for 15-20 mins or until golden brown (these are guidelines - always consult the instructions on your pastry!).
The Result
This really is a dish to warm your soul - oven-fresh pasties, easy to make and not time-consuming. Great to pack when you're going out or to take to work for lunch.
The beauty is that you don't even need to make a bespoke filling, because you can throw almost anything into a pasty. Made a curry and have a few spoonfuls left over? Bake it in a pasty! I've also used leftover mexican-style bean chilli in the past, and it was a roaring success. I also tried sosmix to make a kind of sausage roll, by mixing the powder as per the instructions then putting it in the pastry uncooked - it cooks very well in the pastry. Try it sometime!
I've also frozen some of the pasties uncooked, and I'm hoping they should still cook well after freezing. When I cook them, I'll update you on how they go!
I hope you enjoy giving this a try yourself - I don't miss Greggs at all anymore, what they sell is no substitute for what you can do yourself!
Watch this space for more ideas and recipes soon!
Yours,
Callum
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