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Baking expert Edd Kimber says... 'I have a soft spot for American hand pies – they’re like a fancy version of Pop-Tarts. You can fill them with whatever you want. For my version I wanted to do something you could take on a journey or throw in a lunch box, so they’re filled with a simple fennel, sausage, tomato and mozzarella mixture.'

Ingredients

  • 1 quantity flaky pie dough, link to recipe below
  • plain flour, for dusting
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • fennel seeds, for sprinkling

FILLING

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 4 pork sausages, skinned
  • 200ml passata
  • 150g grated mozzarella, (see cook's notes)

Method

  • STEP 1

    Make the pastry following the flaky pie dough recipe here.

  • STEP 2

    Line a baking tray with baking paper. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion with the garlic and fennel seeds for 5-10 minutes, until translucent. Crumble the sausages into the pan, break up with a wooden spoon and fry the meat until it starts to brown. Pour in the passata and simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced. Cool to room temperature.

  • STEP 3

    On a lightly floured worksurface, roll the first disc of pastry into a large rectangle about 30cm x 50cm. Cut the dough in two, vertically, to make 2 long rectangles and cut each horizontally into 3 small rectangles. Put these pieces of dough onto the baking tray lined with baking paper. Divide the filling between the pieces of dough, leaving a border of 1cm around the edges and top with the mozzarella. Roll out the second disc, as before. Brush the edge of each hand pie with a little water and place a second piece of dough onto the filling, gently pressing the edges together with a fork to seal. Chill for 30 minutes until firm.

  • STEP 4

    Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Remove the pies from the fridge, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with a few fennel seeds. Using a sharp paring knife, press a couple of holes into each pie. Put the pies into the oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving. These are wonderful still slightly warm, but I prefer them at room temperature.

This is one of the occasions where the ready-grated dry bagged mozzarella is preferable as it has much less moisture than fresh mozzarella and the pies stay crisp.

Edd Kimber’s ultimate flaky pie dough recipe...

Chicken, leek, tarragon and bacon pie

Authors

Three photos of Edd Kimber, his One Tin Bakes book and a brownie in a tin
Edd KimberBaking columnist
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