To celebrate the arrival of spring, we got a little herb garden for our patio. I have never really plant and grow anything. I am not the gardening type. I don’t love plants and flowers. To me, they are always associated with bugs (which I hate and scare of). The only flower I am cool with is orchids, because they don’t have a smell and don’t attract bugs. So you may ask… Why would I get a herb garden? I use fresh herbs all the time, but sometimes, it is a waste just to use a couple leaves when buying a whole package. That is when I have the idea of growing my own. That way, I can pick them when I need them. Cheap and easy. Let’s hope the herbs will be growing (fingers crossed).
This week, I am inspired by chef Tal Ronnen’s vegan menu that are created for The Wynn Resort Las Vegas restaurants. Vegan menu? I know, right? Chef Ronnen’s Pot Pie sounds really GOOD when I looked at the menu. Gardein chicken, carrots, green beans, potatoes and puff pastry. That makes me hungry! Love the idea of using puff pastry for pot pie. I wish I could go to Vegas and have it right now. But it is not possible! So… Why not try making my own version? Since Bryan and I are the meat eaters, I snuck in some real dark chicken meat. Although my recipe isn’t vegetarian, it can be easily turn into one just by omitting the chicken! I got you covered, my vegetarian friends! 😉
My mushroom and chicken hand pies are no regular pot pies. They are in the shapes of hand pies. They are made with puff pastry, instead of pie crusts. For the filling, there are the basic, like onion, carrots, and peas, but earthy mushrooms are also added. They are savory and rich. To bring these pies to another level, I have a little secret. Brush a little honey water on the puff pastry when almost finished baking. That brings just enough sweetness to balance out the flavors. These pies are to die for and easy to make! They can be appetizer or main course with side salads. Simply AMAZING!!!
Mushroom and Chicken Hand Pies
9 (3½-inch) hand pies
Ingredients:
Filling:
– ½ pound boneless and skinless chicken thighs (cut into ½-inch cubes)
– ¼ cup carrot (cut into ¼-inch dices)
– 4 cremini mushrooms (about 3½ ounces)
– ¼ cup frozen peas
– 1 large garlic clove (minced)
– 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
– ½ medium onion (cut into small dices)
– 2 tablespoons flour
– ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
– 3 tablespoons milk
– ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
– olive oil
– salt
– ground black pepper
Puff Pastry:
– 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry (thawed)
– all-purpose flour
– 1 egg
– water
– ½ tablespoon honey
Directions:
- For the mushrooms, rub and wipe off any dirt with paper towels. Remove the stems and cut into ½-inch cubes. Set aside.
- In a large pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until no longer pink on the outside, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and saute for 2 more minutes. Add frozen peas and mix. Finally, toss in the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Season again. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until transparent and tender. Add flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth and milk. Stir and cook for 1 – 2 minute. Add the chicken mixture back to the pan. Add the mustard. Combine everything well. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C). Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment papers.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and 1 teaspoon water together. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured working surface, unfold 1 puff pastry and roll into 12×12-inches squares with a rolling-pin. Use a 3½ round cutter to cut out 9 rounds. Remove the scrapes. Repeat with the other pastry, making 18 rounds in total.
- Brush the edges of 9 rounds with egg mixture. Place about 3 tablespoons filling in the center of each of those rounds. Place the remaining rounds over the filling. Press the edges firmly to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Transfer the pies to the baking sheets. Brush the pies with the egg mixture. Using a sharp knife to cut small slits in the tops of the pies. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- In another small bowl, whisk ½ tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon water together.
- Bake the pies in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush the pies with honey mixture and continue to bake for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips:
- Don’t feel like meat? No problem. Just skip the chicken and use more mushrooms.
- Don’t feel like cutting the puff pastry into rounds? Cut them into 3½-inch squares.
- To thaw puff pastry, leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes or in the fridge overnight.
- If you are serving these pies as main course, 3-4 pies per adults and 1-2 pies per kids.
I love your spring herb garden! So much easier (and cheaper) to get fresh herbs. Your pies look delicious 🙂 I can see them in my picnic basket, for sure. I cannot wait to try your honey water trick next time I am using puff pastry.
YES, having a herb garden will be so much cheaper! Yesterday, I saw that they are selling each pack of herbs for US$2.50! Insane!
You will love the honey on puff pastry! My husband and I did a taste test. We both love the honey ones a whole lot more!
These look so good! I love how you’ve added a bit of Dijon to the creamy chicken filling. I bet the sharpness makes them just perfect. Yummmm!! 🙂
Thanks so much, Bonnie! I learned the Dijon trick from Melissa d’Arabian on Food Network. It helps to give the chicken filling a little more depth and flavors. Definitely worth trying!
Lokness, I keep forgetting to drop by to see what you’ve been cooking up! I’ve added you to my feed now because I don’t want to miss a recipe. Gosh I love your stuff! I found you via the feature Kayiu did on you. I LOVE these handheld pies! And thank you so much for making these with store bought puff pastry. Because I have never and will never make my own puff pastry!! It makes me happy to know we have the same “bar” of what is accept to use “store bought” and what is not!
High five, girl! There is just something we should never make from scratch at home. It is all about whether it worths the effort or not. Store bought puff pastry all the way! 🙂
Thanks to Kayiu that we discover each other blogs! It is always nice to find new blogger friends. I love your recipes too! Your food is really creative and inspiring.
you have sheer talent when it comes to the kitchen. these handpies are incredible!
This is a huge compliment! Thanks so much Kelsey! All I do is just learn and practice a lot. I hope you will enjoy the hand pies! 😉
Yay for a herb gardent! I can’t wait until the weather warms up here too so I can start planing more herbs again this year. These hand pies are so cute! Love that you used puff pastry, the mushroom, Dijon and chicken filling sound so good!
Thank you Kelly! Hope the winter will be over soon for you guys! It has been too much snow this year on the east coast. These are some tasty pies! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Oh man, those look so golden and delicious, my friend (pretty much like everything you make but still)! I’m eyeing that herb box with envy. I, too, don’t like gardening but I really like having my own herbs on hand to use. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to even keep herbs alive for long. Planning to try again this summer but I don’t know… Back to the hand pies…looks so good!!
I don’t know if my herbs will grow or not too. It seems like my patio only gets about 4 hours of sun a day. I wonder if that would be enough. We will see. But it doesn’t hurt to try again! Good luck on your next garden!
These hand pies remind me of the small chicken pies in HK bakery. If you know what I am talking about, I think you will really enjoy these hand pies!
I totally know what you mean! I was thinking that but couldn’t articulate it! I gotta try it.
Nothing like a little dijon to kick the flavour into overdrive. These look soooo GOOD!! And yes – home-grown herbs and veggies are THE best!
Yes, the dijon was a nice touch. And these pies were so awesome! I can’t wait to start picking from my mini garden. 😉
Love your herb garden and it’ll be one of the first things I’ll do after going to the US! I use fresh herbs whenever I can, but they just don’t last very long in the fridge.
Combination of mushroom and chicken is my favorite, and the hand pies is a perfect party snack!
Yea, herbs don’t last long in fridge. It is just too much to buy them all the time. I look forward to seeing your home and garden! 🙂
I can’t wait to try these hand pies. Look so delicious and I bet they taste just as good as they look. 😉
I just planted some herbs and veggies outside too. I agree, I don’t like plants/bugs indoor 😛 But the herbs outside is so convenience when it comes to cooking. Save lots of $ on fresh herbs too as you only cut off what you needed.
Thank so much Amy! The flavors of these pies are a bit like 雞批 in HK. I think you will really like them.
I am really excited about my garden. Can’t wait to pick them! 😀
I made these today and they were a huge hit!!! I was worried because I prepared them at home and then transported them to Mom’s assisted living facility and put them in the oven there. I don’t think they suffered one little bit!!
Still flakey and yummy!!!!
Thanks for the recipe Lokness! I found you via a pic on Tastespotting and so glad I did!!
YEAH! It is very nice to hear that you guys really enjoyed these pies! It is good to know that they can actually travel. Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment. Totally made my day! 😀
Yesterday, I realized I forgot the mustard! So today (yes they’re all gone and yes, I’m making them again) I made sure to measure it out so I wouldn’t forget again. Then I discovered that you never say when to add the mustard!!
I just added it when I stirred in the chicken broth and milk and assumed that would be okay… but just thought I’d come back and mention it.
Thank again for the great recipe!
Oops! Haha, totally miss that! Thanks so much for pointing that out! I now added the step to the recipe. I want to make them again soon too!