Squash these hand pies into your life

A recipe lovechild of two of our favourite cooks

Before we started making the podcast (some OG listeners may remember), we started out with a cookbook club. The mission was not to buy new cookbooks - something we stand by with the podcast, unless they’re really worth it - but to better use the ones you had at home. So, we set a theme and encouraged friends, and friends of friends, to dust off their cookbooks and make something to bring along.

One of those themes was ‘comfort food’, and while those of us in the northern hemisphere may not be in that particular mood, we know our many friends in Australia might be ready to get cosy. For this event, I made a Nigel Slater pie that was characteristically simple and delicious - a sweet potato and harissa pie, using puff pastry, which proved to be a big ol’ crowd pleaser.

Fast forward to the podcast’s second season, reviewing (and I don’t think Victoria would protest this statement) one of our favourite books to date: Meera Sodha’s East. We both ended up making Meera’s truly excellent Bombay Rolls, a recipe which has become a firm favourite in both our households (and one you should try too, if you haven’t!)

And so, when we were ever-so-kindly invited to develop recipes for our pals at Stolen Stitches, our first idea was a mash-up - pun intended (but aren’t they always?!) - of these two recipes. And thus, the spicy squash hand-pie was born. An individual pie, because nobody needs to share. Sweetness and earthiness from the roasted squash, the variety of which you could definitely experiment with, but we used butternut; herbiness and spice from the chutney; richness from the cheese; all encased in flaky puff pastry, as all things should be. They are a wonderful savoury snack, and in the spirit of Nigel, a crowd pleaser that’s more than meets the eye.

Ingredients

For the roasted squash 

Medium butternut squash, 1, peeled and seeds removed, cut into 1 inch pieces

Olive oil,  2-3 tbsp

Smoked paprika, 1 tbsp

Ground coriander, 1 tbsp 

Salt 

For the chutney 

60g/1½ cups roughly chopped coriander/cilantro

10g/⅓  cup roughly chopped mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon 

2 red chillies, roughly chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1¼ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. vegetable/canola oil

Pre-rolled puff pastry, 2 sheets

Cheddar cheese, 130g/4.5 oz (or less if you don’t love cheese!)

Black sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional - they do look pretty, though)

Egg, 1 beaten

Method: 

• Preheat the oven to 200/180C fan/360F 

• Place the cut-up squash in a single layer on a baking tray. Sprinkle the squash with the coriander, paprika and a sprinkle of salt, drizzle the oil over and give the tray a shake to distribute the oil evenly 

• Cover the tray loosely with foil and bake for around an hour or until the squash is soft. If a fork easily pierces the squash all the way through, it’s ready! Remove from the oven - you may want to turn off the oven while you wait for the squash to cool before you make up the pies. 

• Whilst the squash is cooking, make the chutney. Add the coriander, mint, chilli, cumin, lemon juice, salt and oil to a blender and blend to a thick paste. Taste the chutney and amend to your own taste. It should have a spicy, tangy and herby taste. 

• Add the cooked squash to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork until it’s smooth. Taste for seasoning - it may need more salt at this point.

• Preheat the oven to 220/200C fan/390 F - having the oven hot at the start helps the pastry to puff up right from the beginning. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and pop in the oven to heat up - this helps to ensure the bases of your pies are crispy. 

• Lay out the two sheets of puff pastry and using a sharp knife, cut the pastry in half horizontally and then make three more vertical cuts so that each sheet is split into 8 even rectangles.

• On one of the sheets, add 1 tbsp of the chutney to each rectangle, spreading it out across the middle of the pastry, leaving a border of around 1cm. 

• On top of the chutney, add 3-4 tablespoons of the mashed squash, then sprinkle grated cheese over the filling of each hand pie - as much or as little as you like! 

• Brush the border around your filling with beaten egg and top each hand pie with a pastry rectangle from the second sheet of pastry. Use a fork along the sides of the pies to push the pastry together.

• Brush each pie top with the beaten egg and if using, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Carefully remove the hot tray from the oven and place the pies on. Lower the heat to 200/180C fan/360F.

• Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. 

• The pies can be served warm or cold. Reheat by warming in the oven for 5-7 minutes. The hand pies will keep in an airtight container for 3 days. 

Notes:

• You can make the pies in advance and freeze them post-assembly and pre-baking. If baking from frozen, allow an extra 5-1o mins baking time. 

• This recipe also works well if you make the pies and refrigerate until you need to bake them. Just wait until you’re ready to bake them to add the egg wash and sesame seeds

• Adjust the chutney and cheese to your taste! Love cheese but hate spice? Remove the chilli from the chutney! 

• You can very easily make the pies vegan by ensuring the brand of puff pastry you’re using is vegan, using your favourite vegan cheese (or omitting the cheese) and using plant-based milk instead of the egg.

Love a savoury bake, like us? Let us know if you make these - we would LOVE to hear what you think x