Savoury mince pies

A show stopping start to your Christmas meal, savoury mince pies filled with tasty mushroom, cranberry and sage.

Makes 6 pies

Ingredients

• 1 pack ready made puff pastry, gluten free if needed
• 200g portobello mushroom or king oyster
• 1tbsp tamari
• 2tsp sunflower oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Salt, to taste
• 1tsp fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 2tbsp cranberry sauce
• 1/2tsp stock powder
• 12 mint leaves
• 6 fresh cranberries

Equipment

• Bowl
• Rolling pin
• Muffin tray with 6 holes or mini muffin tray and serve two or three small pies per person
• Cookie cutters (you can use a mug or glass instead)
• Baking tray

Method

1. Heat your oven to 200c/gas mark 6 (fan oven 180c).
2. Roll out the pastry making it thinner with a rolling pin.
3. Cut 6 wide circles out of the pastry, wide enough to go into the muffin holes and up the sides to form a base for the pies. Cut 6 smaller circles that will be the tops of the pies.
4. Shred the mushroom. If you are using portobello you can do this with a fork by scraping into the mushroom flesh. If you are using king oyster mushrooms you can tear it with your fingers.
5. Put the shredded mushrooms into a bowl with the tamari and mix well. Spread on a baking tray, bake for 15 minutes until the mushroom has browned well.
6. Heat 2tsp sunflower oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, when hot add the red onion, cook for 10-15 minutes until the onion is soft. If the oil dries out add splashes of water so the onion doesn’t burn.
7. Add salt, sage, cranberry sauce, stock powder and mushrooms to the pan. Mix well.
8. Put the wider pastry circles in the muffin tin making sure the pastry comes all the way up the sides. Fill the pastry with the mushroom cranberry filling. Top with the smaller pastry circles and seal around the edges using your thumb and forefinger to press together.
9. Bake for around 20 minutes until golden. Add a couple of mint leaves and a cranberry just before serving.

Recipe by Justine Lewin student at theveganchefschool