To compensate for this greedy lack of pie sharing, I offer to a bumper load of savoury festive pies to set you up for December...
First up, are these Cranberry and Basil Pie Bites.
What, a vegetarian batch of festive pies? Oh, don't look so shocked at me, I'm not always so meat-inclined! Ok, well I am, as truth be told, I made these for a festive get-together I went to last week, along with a batch of turkey mince pie bites. (I'll share the story with you in another Friday Pie Day to come, but in a nutshell, they tasted good, but looked crap.)
Anyway, back to the good pies!
These Cranberry and Basil Pie Bites are really quick to prepare and bake – you don't need to blind-bake or pre-cook the filling. You just build the pies and stick them in the oven. Easy!
Cranberry and Basil Pie Bites (v)
Makes 24 (using a mini muffin tray):
125g flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp oregano
50g cold butter, diced
Some ice cold water
OR 200g normal shortcrust pastry
150g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped
50g dried cranberries
Makes 24 (using a mini muffin tray):
125g flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp oregano
50g cold butter, diced
Some ice cold water
OR 200g normal shortcrust pastry
150g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped
50g dried cranberries
If using premade pastry, go straight to step 3
1. Mix the flour, salt and oregano into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter to a breadcrumb mixture.
2. Gradually add a tablespoon of water at a time to knead the mixture into a dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Cut the pastry in half and roll out one half onto a lightly floured surface. Use a 2.5” round cutter to stamp out 12 circles. Lightly press them into a non-stick mini-muffin. Repeat with the remaining pastry half.
4. Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and mix in the lemon juice and basil. Carefully mix in the cranberries. Spoon the mixture into each of the 24 pie shells.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden and the filling is slightly springy.
As you may (or may not) be able to tell, this is a kind of sandwich style pie – a layer of sausage stuffing, a turkey mixture 'filling' and then topped with another layer of sausage stuffing. All encased in mighty shortcrust pastry of course. What more do you want?
The story behind these wee pastries is pretty ridiculous, but the outcome when you dis-count that is party pastry awesomeness. These cute pastry stamps have a topping of sweet potato, chickpeas, parsnip and spinach. Fiddly yes, but well worth the effort.
Finally, something that actually looks the festive part, hurrah! These need some careful attention paid to them to get them looking as pretty as possible. But you can play around with how you want to present them, depending on how much filling and pastry you have – little ribbons of cranberry tinsel anyone?And so there you have it – four festive savoury pies to light your Christmas fire. Get your apron and jingle hat on, and start baking!
Pie out.
Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.
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