Rich hand pies or pastys filled with mashed kabocha squash, ground lamb or goat, and goat cheese. Recipe makes about 10 pies depending on the amount of filling you put in them.
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Goat cheese, Ground lamb, Squash
Servings: 10servings
Calories: 853kcal
Cost: 20
Equipment
1 Baking sheet
1 Rolling Pin
1 Circular cutter, ring mold or glass
Ingredients
Filling
1lbground lamb or goat
1small kabocha or buttercup squash
¾teaspoonkosher saltor to taste
2Tablespoonsquick harissa pasteoptional, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and ½ teaspoon cayenne can be substituted
1small white onion (4-5 oz) minced
1large clove garlicminced or grated
2tablespoonslamb fat
1teaspoonchopped fresh thymeor another herb you like, such as mint
4ozfresh chevre
Pasty dough (or your favorite pie dough)
2.5cupsall purpose flour
1cupunsalted butter
½teaspoonkosher salt
4Tablespoonscold water
2large eggs beaten with a splash of creamfor baking
Instructions
Dough
In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, and salt. Pulse the mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then gradually pulse in the cold water until a dough forms and the mixture is nearly smooth. A little visible butter here and there is fine and will help make an airy, flaky dough. Wrap the dough in cling film until ready to use.
Squash
Preheat an oven to 350F. Using a heavy, large chef’s knife, cut the squash in half vertically, scoop out the seeds, then wrap in foil, putting the cut sides back together. Roast the squash for 30 minutes, remove, cool, then trim off the skin. To trim off the skin, I find it helpful to cut the halves into 1/8’s so they lay flat, then I trim the skin off with a paring knife.
Weigh out 8 oz of cooked squash, reserving the rest for another purpose. Take 2 oz of squash and mash it into a paste with the back of a knife on a cutting board. Coarsely chop the remaining 6 oz of the squash.
Lamb
Sweat the lamb in the fat until cooked on medium high heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 10 minutes until the onion is translucent and cooked. Transfer the lamb-onion mixture to a mixing bowl, along with the harissa, salt, thyme the chopped and mashed squash, mix well, then crumble the chevre into the mixture and fold in. You are looking for small pockets of cheese here-it should not be evenly distributed.
Assembling
Roll out the pie dough (working in batches if needed) to ¼ inch. Using a dessert plate or another round object with a diameter of 6-7 inches, cut out rounds of dough. We the edge of each dough round lightly with water, spoon on 4 oz of filling (½ cup) then fold the dough over to make small hand pies.
Using a fork, crimp the edges of each pie, then poke the top of each pasty once to allow air to escape, brush each pasty with the egg wash and bake in an oven preheated to 375-400 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned. Allow the pies to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Leftover pulled or braised lamb is a great substitute for ground.