Chicken and Pecan Pasty
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1 lb All-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Water – Ice cold
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 8 oz Shortening (Crisco or similar) – Cold
For the filling
- 12 oz Boneless thighs – boneless
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 4 oz Yellow onion
- 4 oz Rutabaga – Peeled and in chunks
- 4 oz Pecan halves
- 1 lb Potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 ea Eggs – large beaten
Instructions
- Chop the chicken thighs into small pieces, about 1/4 inch.
- Finely chop the onion, rutabaga, potato and pecans.
- Beat the egg and set aside.
- For the pastry, blend the flour, salt, and lard in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Turn the mixture into a stand mixer and with the motor running, gradually add the water in a thin stream until the mixture comes together as a dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer go to the old fashioned way and place in a bowl, add the water a tablespoon at a time stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together as a dough. It can also be done in the food processor, drizzling the cold water in the chute with the motor running. Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- After about 10 minutes of "fridge" time preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- For the filling, place the chopped chicken and flour in a large bowl and mix until the meat is coated in the flour. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Season the vegetables with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- When the pastry has chilled, divide it into 4 pieces of equal weight. Roll out each piece of pastry onto a lightly floured work surface until it is just larger than the diameter of a dinner plate.
- Spoon 1/4 of the chopped potato onto one half of each pastry disc, leaving ¾in free at the edges. Repeat with the other vegetables and the nuts. Make the last layer 1/4 of the chicken for each pasty.
- Brush the edges of the pastry lightly all the way around with a little of the beaten egg.
- Fold the empty half of the pastry disc over the filled half and either press the edges together with a fork, or twist the edges to seal in traditional pasty style. See this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjiBu6oTabA) for a quick tutorial. Alternatively do a vertical crimp as shown in the photo.
- Brush the top of each pasty with more beaten egg. Using a sharp knife, cut a small slit in the top of the pasties to allow steam to escape.
- Place the pasties onto a silpat lined baking tray and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown and the filling is cooked through .
- When fully cooked, remove the pasty's from the oven and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.