Baharat Mushroom and Swiss Chard Hand Pies with Green Sauce

Even though I love making everything from scratch (lol!), but there are several occasions when I rely (rather prefer) on taking shortcuts and just buy. For example, the frozen Garlic Naans or Malabar Parathas from Trader Joe’s - they are as good as it gets so I have never really invested any time to make them from scratch. Similar story with good quality Puff Pastry - although I do feel the homemade one is better, (marginally though) the skill and effort required to get it anywhere close is a lot for an enthusiastic home chef. So, for untimely or timely pie cravings, here I have some posh little hand pies that come together quickly and hits the spot - especially if you are a pot pie lover! Baharat - the warm spice mix from the Middle East Region adds a wonderful depth to the umami notes from Mushrooms, vegetal earthiness from the chard and the creamy tang from yoghurt. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, then it’s quite easy to make your own blend at home - even though the ingredients vary across regions, here’s a fantastic blend that’s a good starting point and will quickly become your go to spice for marinades, soup & stew base, etc.

*Can be easily turned Vegan by following the substitution notes

Ingredients (makes 8-10)
18 oz or 520g Frozen Puff Pastry (I highly recommend all butter puff such Trader Joe’s or Dufour). To keep it Vegan, substitute with a vegan puff-pastry

Filling
335 Mixed Mushrooms of your choice, thinly sliced
2 tbsp Salted Butter (substitute with oil or vegan butter)
120g Red Onion, finely chopped
40g Scallions, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, smashed & chopped
110g Swiss Chard, stems and leaves separated. Stems thinly sliced into bits
1 tsp Ground Coriander Seeds
1.5 tbsp Baharat Spice Mix
165g Greek Yoghurt (substitute with Vegan Yoghurt)
40g Water
1.5 tbsp Cornstarch / Cornflour
1-1.5 tsp crushed black pepper
1-1.5 tsp Salt
Sesame seeds (optional)

Egg Wash
1 large Egg, Beaten
1 tsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Soy Sauce

*for vegan alternative whisk 4 tbsp Plant Based Milk + 1 tbsp Maple Syrup and a dash of Soy Sauce)

Sauce
25g Cilantro including stems, cleaned and roughly chopped
25g Garlic Chives (otherwise known as Chinese chives), roughly chopped (substitute with regular chives or scallions)
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1 tbsp Lime Zest
3 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 tbsp Tahini
2 tbsp Water

Directions
🥧 Thaw the pastry overnight (move from freezer to fridge). Roll out each pastry sheet and cut into 8-10 equal rectangles (16-20 rectangles in total and each being roughly 10” x 8”). Arrange them on two lined baking sheets and refrigerate

🥧 In a deep bottomed pan, add butter, onions and scallions. Fry on medium flame for 5-6 mins or until translucent. Then add chopped chard stems & garlic, fry for 2 mins. Now add all mushrooms and fry for 5 mins or until they start releasing water and reducing in quantity

🥧 Whisk Yogurt, cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Add 3/4 of this slurry into the pan along with chard leaves. Cook for 2 mins then add remaining slurry. Mix everything really well and turn off the heat. Let it cool to Room temperature (the texture should be slightly pasty not liquidy at all - if it’s too wet then cook for 2-3 mins and let it cool again)

🥧 Pre-heat oven to 425F / 210C and bring out the pastry rectangles from fridge. Now spoon 2-3 tablespoons of filling in the middle of half of the rectangles (8-10 of those), cover it with another pastry rectangle. Press the two seams between fingers to seal the edges, then using the tip of a fork make indents to crimp and seal properly. Repeat this with remaining pastry rectangles to get 8-10 hand pies. Chill in the fridge for 10-15 mins

🥧 Whisk all egg wash ingredients & brush each pie with it. Sprinkle sesame seeds (if using), bake for 17-18 mins (may vary if using vegan pastry) or until very golden brown. While it’s baking, dump all sauce ingredients in a blender and blitz until a smooth sauce is achieved. Adjust seasoning and consistency with salt & water

🥧 Serve the pies along with sauce and a refreshing crunchy salad or the Slaw (in the picture). Enjoy!