Inspired Chef Sean Brock's episode in Mind of a Chef (season two) when he and his pastry chef at Husk make hand pies. I've included an affiliate link for the Mind of a Chef DVD at the bottom of this post ih case you're interested.The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I decided to make hand pies for ourselves. But we opted to make a savory version with some goodies - delicata squash and lacinto kale - from our High Ground Organics CSA.
I ordered some borage blossoms last week from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals along with some shisho blossoms. And I thought they would add the perfect flavor component to these hand pies. Borage are a little bit grassy and a little bit citrusy. I was right...they were a fantastic addition to this dish.
Ingredients
Hand Pie Dough
- 1 C butter, chilled and cubed
- 2 C flour
- 2-3 T water
- 2-3 T vodka
Filling
- 2 C roasted delicata puree
- 1 C whole milk ricotta
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced
- 2 C chopped kale
- 3 T borage blossoms
- 2 T freshly chopped parsley
- freshly ground salt
- freshly ground pepper
To Finish
- 1 egg, beaten
- chopped parsley
- freshly ground salt
- freshly ground pepper
- borage blossoms for garnishing
Procedure
Filling
Caramelize the onions and kale in a large, flat-bottom pan. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until well-combined.
Hand Pie Dough
Place flour and cubed butter in a large mixing bowl. Pinch the butter into the flour, pressing the butter flat. Once all the butter is pressed, add the liquids in one tablespoon at a time until it comes together into a ball. Press the dough into a disc and wrap it in plastic. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
When the dough is chilled, roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut into circles; we used a small plate as our template. Place filling on one half and fold the dough in half.
Crimp the edges of the hand pie together. Place the pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the pies with an egg wash. Sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve warm, garnished with some fresh borage blossoms. The Enthusiastic Elf was excited about the hand pies. He did ask, however, that next time we make sweet hand pies...just like Chef Brock. Okay.
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