Vegetarian 'Chicken' & Leek Mini Pies

Crispy vegetarian mini pies featuring shortcrust pastry with a creamy herb filled, leeks and a meat substitute

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword Pie

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 293kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the pastry

350 g Plain flour (all purpose flour)
170 g Butter or baking spread cold, unsalted
2 Eggs large
A pinch of salt

For the filling

½ tbsp Vegetable oil
200 g Leeks
2 cloves Garlic
200 g Quorn pieces
1 tsp Dried rosemary
2 tsp Dried thyme
½ tsp Salt
1 Vegetable stock cube I used Oxo
200 ml Double cream

Other

1 Egg beaten, for sealing and glazing the pies

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the pastry, in a large bowl rub together the plain flour, salt and butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. You can also use a fork, a pastry blender or make the pastry in a food processor
Add the eggs and form it into a dough, being careful not to knead it or over work it, shape it into a flattened disc shape, then wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
To make the filling heat up the vegetable oil in a pan on a low-medium heat, fry the leeks and garlic until soft
Add the Quorn pieces, and let them cook for 2-3 minutes
Pour in the double cream, dried thyme, dried rosemary and salt, crumble in the vegetable stock cube too, mix everything together and let it cook for 5 minutes
Take the mixture off the heat and set aside
Pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7, grease a cupcake tin lightly with butter and line with strips of baking paper
Roll about two thirds of the pastry out onto a floured surface to a thickness of around 2mm, and cut out the pie bases using a 10cm round cutter. You will need to re-roll the off cuts to get enough bases
Place the pastry bases into the muffin tray, use your fingers to press them against the bottom and sides
Roll out the remaining dough and cut out the pid lids using a 7.5cm round cutter. You will need to re-roll the off cuts to get enough lids
Fill the pastry bases with the filling, then brush the beaten egg around the edge and stick the lids on, pressing them around the sides to seal the edges, and using a fork to crimp the edges. Then use a knife to cut two small slits in the top
Brush more beaten egg over the tops of all of the pies
Bake them for 20-25 minutes until they are golden and bubbling. Remove them from the tray using the strips of baking paper to help you, and either serve immediately or let them cool and serve them cold
Store leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months

Video

Notes

You can use butter, or a baking spread like Stork, to make the pastry.
If you don't want to use the Quorn Pieces, you could use another brands meat free 'chicken' alternative, mushrooms or some extra firm tofu instead.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition