For this meal, we decided to blend our culinary experience from two of our favourite vacations. We took the idea of a Pasty from the United Kingdom (we had quite a variety of them in both Wales and England) and filled it with a medley of ingredients highlighted by Swiss Gruyere and Kaltbach cheeses (and undertones of the Swiss Mushroom and Cauliflower Pie we made at our Air BnB in Zermatt, CH).
For the rest of the filling, we tried a flavour mixture we had never made before. We had some broccoli stalks left over from a steamed broccoli side dish the other day, so we shredded them and mixed them with roasted garlic and diced cremini (baby bella) mushrooms. One word of caution…if you like garlic but don’t necessarily want a lifetime of vampire protection from one meal, you will want to cut the garlic quantity noted in the ingredients list below in half!
Time: 75 Minutes
Ingredients: (Makes 2 Pasties)
- For the Dough:
- 1 Cup of All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tablespoons of Butter
- Roughly 4 ounces of Cold Water
- For the Filling:
- 2-3 Broccoli Stalks
- 5-6 Cremini Mushrooms (Baby Bellas)
- 2 Heads of Garlic (Okay…you can use less if you don’t want to “overgarlic” yourself, if that’s such a thing)
- Cheese. We used Gruyere and Kaltbach.
- One Egg
Method:
- Begin heating your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel the outermost shell layers off your garlic, and then cut the very top of the bulb off. Wrap your garlic in foil, stash it in the oven, and allow to roast for about 25-30 minutes until soft and amazing smelling.
- While your garlic roasts, turn your attention to your dough:
- Put your flour and butter in a food processor, and pulse until everything is nicely mixed together.
- Working one ounce at a time, add your cold water, and pulse to incorporate. Keep adding water until your dough clumps into a bunch of pea sized pieces.
- Remove your dough from the food processor, and shape it into a ball.
- Wrap in plastic cling wrap, and set aside.
- As your garlic is finishing up, cut the ends off your broccoli stalks, and peel the skin with a potato peeler. Then, using the thin shredding plate of your food processor or a box grater, shred your broccoli, and put your shreddings into a mixing bowl.
- Wash and dice your mushrooms, and add them to the mixing bowl.
- Shred or dice your cheese, and add it to the same mixing bowl.
- When your garlic is done and has cooled off slightly, remove the cloves from the bulb by either peeling the skin off of each and extricating or by squeezing the now soft cloves out of the skins. Add garlic to the big mixing bowl.
- With your hands, mix your broccoli, mushrooms, cheese, and garlic together.
- Line a baking sheet with a little foil, and give it a quick oil spray
- Back to your dough:
- Remove from your plastic wrap, and cut into two pieces.
- Working one at a time, roll into a large circle, and then add some broccoli mixture atop half of the dough.
- Fold the other half over the top of your broccoli mixture, and pinch the sides together. Then, roll the sides up towards the filled pocket, and place on your baking sheet.
- Repeat until all of your pasties are formed.
- Beat an egg, and brush it atop each pasty.
- With a small knife, poke “ventilation holes” in the tops of your pasties. Otherwise, steam will accumulate as it cooks, and you’ll end up with an air bubble creating a dome over your filling. (This doughy architecture may or may not have afflicted one of our pasties).
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until your dough starts to turn a nice golden brown on top.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
