What's not to love about hand pies? Especially when they are stuffed with a delicious filling of cabbage and potato and smoky tempeh. And encased in a crispy, flaky, whole wheat crust?
I love hand pies, as you may have noticed from the number I've posted on this blog -- from savory baked samosas with chickpea filling to chickpea mushroom turnovers to my naan-calzones and pita packets. Part of the reason hand pies are so popular around here is because I have fast discovered that it's easy to feed a kid something -- almost anything -- when you encase it in an attractive cover, or in this case, a crust.
Not that Jay doesn't like cabbage or potatoes-- he loves both. And the crust is so flaky and tender that he doesn't mind-- doesn't care-- that all of it is actually good for him.
I usually share a vegan Irish recipe or two for St. Patrick's Day, and these Irish Hand Pies just screamed out "make me, I'm special!" So I did. Hope you do the same!
Related recipes
Vegan Irish Hand Pies Recipe
Vegan Irish Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the hand pie wrapper
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup coconut oil solid but scoopable
- ½ tsp salt
- Ice cold water
For the filling
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups green cabbage (finely shredded)
- 2 medium potatoes (either red or yellow are fine. Cut a ¼-inch dice)
- 6 oz tempeh (Use a smoky-flavored tempeh. Chop finely. (You can also sub with beans or chickpeas or crumbled tofu)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp thyme cut down to 1 tsp if using dry
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a bowl, whisk the flours with salt. Cut in the coconut oil using a fork or a pastry cutter.
- Drizzle the ice-cold water into the flour, a little at a time, while mixing with a fork, until the dough comes together.
- Pat the dough into a disc, wrap tightly with cling wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can make the dough a day or two in advance and refrigerate.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
- Add the garlic, saute for a minute, then add the potatoes followed by the cabbage.
- Cook the mixture for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until he cabbage has wilted and starts to change color.
- Add the thyme, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar and tamari. Stir well to mix.
- Add ¾ cup of water and give it all a good stir. Cover the saucepan and cook about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and really tender.
- Add the smoked tempeh and stir well to mix. Make sure all of the water in the mixture has evaporated.
- Roll out the dough to about ⅛th of an inch thickness. Using a three-inch cookie cutter, or a bowl, cut rounds from the dough. Roll up remaining scraps, roll out, and cut more rounds. You should have 20 when you're done.
- Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of a round. Place a second round on top and pinch the edges together. You can crimp with a fork for a pretty look.
- Repeat for remaining nine pies. Place all the pies on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the hand pies in the lowest rack of the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Remove, cool slightly on a rack, serve.
I made these last night for my book club - none of whom are vegans - and they were a big hit. Very tasty! I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because the filling quantity is so far off. I interpreted "2 in medium" potatoes to mean "2 medium," and I used Yukon Gold potatoes. Like Amanda, I ended up with WAY too much filling -- more than twice what I could use. I also found a 3" round wasn't big enough to hold 2 heaping Tbsps. of filling, so I made the rounds a little bigger; even then, I could only fit about 1 heaping Tbsp on each round. I heaped the filling into a high mound so as not to touch the edges, and rolled the top round a little bigger so that it would fit over the mound and allow me to crimp the edges closed with a fork. The crimping also added to the visual appeal of the pies. Finally, though the written directions don't mention it, I cut a cross-slash into the top of the pie before baking, as shown in the photo. I would definitely make these again, and will also enjoy experimenting with different fillings, both savory and sweet, to use with the very tasty crust.
I made the hand pies tonight. There was no quantity listed for the potatoes so I diced 1 lb. (which is 4 servings, the cabbage was 4 servings so that is why I picked that serving size) I had way, way too much filling left over, easily more than half. I will probably freeze the filling and make them again or using the filling for something else. The hand pies are in the over right now so I am not sure how they will turn out. Thanks for the idea!
Yum, these look perfect for St. Patty's Day! I'm always down to eat something encased in bread or crust :).
I know what I'm making this weekend! Yum.
Hope you try! 🙂
Hi there! How much water am I supposed to add to the dough?