A woodlander's vegetable pasty

Edit (10/2/11): This post, and all of the ones before it, were written prior to my diagnoses of having food intolerance/allergies. This and many of the other recipes do contain gluten and dairy. Be careful when browsing the other entries

This is the second post in a series. See this entry for an explanation behind these recipes.

A pasty is made up of a filling of meat and/or vegetables, enclosed in a case of pastry. They are a good way to make food more portable, but are also quite delicious as a feature of a sit-down meal. Pasties also are mentioned often in the Redwall books.

From The Outcast of Redwall:

“I'd like a beaker of strawberry cordial and a big pastie, a mushroom, potato, and onion one; after that I think I'd go for some hot apple-and-blackberry crumble, with sweet white arrowroot sauce poured all over it.”

Vegetable pasties also make frequent appearances at feasts, or in heroes' haversacks when going on quests.

This is what I think a Woodlander's vegetable pasty might be like.

-->

Woodland Vegetable Pasties

¼ c lentils

1 chopped yellow onion

2 minced garlic cloves

2 Tbs olive oil

1 chopped carrot

1 chopped stalk of celery

1 chopped portabella mushroom

½ tsp salt

2 Tbs water

2 tsp flour or cornstarch

sprig of parsley, minced

sprig of rosemary, minced

Pie dough (can purchase, but I used ½ of this recipe, and Deb's recipe and methods are foolproof)

Cook lentils in about ¾ cup of water for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the chopped onion and minced garlic in 2 Tbs of olive oil, until the onions are translucent.

Chop the carrot and celery in the meantime. Add these to the frying pan and sautee for 5-10 minutes. Add the chopped mushroom and salt to the pan. Sautee for another five minutes, then turn off the heat.

Combine the lentils and vegetable mix into a bowl. Once the mixture has cooled somewhat, add 2 Tbs water, 2 tsp flour, parsley and rosemary and mix together thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll the pie dough into four or six circles, depending on how large you want your pasty. Place the filling on one side of the circle (2-4 Tbs of filling), then fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges together. Flatten the edges of the pasty with the tines of a fork to seal. Prick the dough several times with fork tines in order to allow steam to escape.

Cook the pasties for 20-25 minutes, the crust should be golden brown.

I had enough dough for four pasties, but enough leftover filling that I probably could have made six. One of these with salad was enough for my dinner.

Chop a carrot and some celery into small pieces

Sautee onions and garlic in oil until translucent.

Add carrot and celery and cook for an other 5-10 minutes.

Add the chopped portabella mushroom to the pan and sautee another 5 minutes.

These are cooked lentils

Mix your cooked lentils with the vegetable mix, along with a little water, the herbs, and some flour to thicken the mixture.

Put some filling on the circle of dough. My circles were not perfect.

Fold the circle over and crimp the edges together to seal in the filling.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 F. Some egg wash would have made these prettier, but I didn't think of it until later.

Dinner!