This delicious combination of mushrooms and lentils provide a meaty pasty filling, which hits the spot for an autumn picnic. The Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan has shown that mushrooms require very little space, water and energy for production, and also release only 0.7 pounds of CO2 emissions per pound of mushrooms.
Makes 4
Ingredients:
Pastry
200g plain white flour
50ml vegetable oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
Filling
1 white onion
2 leeks
250g chestnut mushrooms
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 stalk fresh rosemary
1 large clove garlic
1 vegetable stock cube/pot
1 tsp miso paste
250g cooked puy lentils
2 large handfuls curly kale
2 tsbp olive oil
Method;
To make the pastry, in a bowl, mix together the flour, baking power and a pinch of salt.
Add the oil, and with a spoon, mix well to form a breadcrumb like consistency.
Add cold water, a tbsp at a time, to form a flaky dough. Add just enough water to bring together all of the flour into a ball, but be careful to not add too much so that it is sticky, and do not over mix the dough.
Wrap the dough in protective wrap and leave to chill in the fridge.
For the filling, finely dice the onion, and slice the leeks in half length ways, then into thin semicircles.
Heat a tbsp olive oil in a large pan, and add the onion and leek. Cook on a low heat for 5-10 minutes, until soft and caramelized.
Trim and finely chop the thyme, rosemary and garlic. Add to the pan, and continue to cook on a low heat.
Clean and dice the mushrooms and add to the pan.
After a further 10 minutes, add the stock cube or pot, miso paste and lentils. Mix together well.
In a blender, add a large spoonful of the mix with 4 tbsp water. Blend until smooth, then add back to the pan. (This creates a sauce to hold the mix together).
Add the kale, and cook for a few minutes, just to wilt down the leaves. Take the mix off the heat and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius.
Take the pastry out of the fridge, and cut into 4 pieces. In your hands, roll the pieces into balls. Dust a clean surface with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll the balls into circles with diameter 20cm.
Divide the filling mix into four, and spoon onto the pastry onto 1 half of the circles.
Use your fingers or a pastry brush, to brush a little water onto the edge of the pastry, on the half that you have placed the filling. Then, fold the opposite side of the pastry over the filling and seal the edge to the wet edge.
Start at one end of the semicircle edge, and roll the excess pastry inwards towards the filling to create a small classic pasty edge.
Carefully lift the pasties onto a baking tray, and brush with a tbsp olive oil. Place in the oven, and cook for 30-40 minutes until golden all over.
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