Super tasty and elegant pies, perfect to pack into a picnic hamper. The miso adds great underlying saltiness and depth, but if you can’t get hold of it you can use 500ml strong vegetable stock instead of the miso water.
These mini veggie pies make for the perfect addition to any picnic! We think they's work particularly well over the Coronation weekend. Mushrooms are cooked in miso and crème fraîche and encased in a buttery pastry, truly delightful, even if we do say so ourselves!
Step 1For the pastry, using a food processor, pulse the flour, butter and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flour and salt using your fingers. Add the egg, mustard and 2tbsp ice-cold water. Pulse/mix until pastry just comes together (add a little more water if the pastry seems dry). Tip on to a work surface, shape into a disc, wrap and chill for 30min.
Step 2Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over low-medium heat and cook the onion for 10min, stirring occasionally, until softened. Increase the heat to high, add the mushrooms and fry, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and there is no moisture left in the pan. Stir in the garlic, thyme and flour and cook for 1min.
Step 3In a jug, mix the miso paste with 500ml just-boiled water until the miso dissolves. Slowly pour into the mushroom pan, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil, stirring, then bubble for 10-15min, until thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the mustard, crème fraîche and some seasoning. Leave to cool completely.
Step 4Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out pastry to 3mm thick. Using pastry cutters, stamp out 12 x 9cm rounds and 12 x 7cm rounds, rerolling trimmings as needed.
Step 5Press the larger rounds into the holes of a muffin tin, working the pastry so that it comes just above the edges of the holes. Divide the cooled mushroom mixture between the pastry cases. Brush the edges of the pastry cases with egg, lay on the smaller rounds and press edges to seal.
Step 6Using a skewer, pierce a hole into the centre of each lid to allow steam to escape. If you like, reroll any trimmings and stamp out shapes to decorate the pies. Brush the top of each pie with egg.
Step 7Cook in the oven for 30-35min, or until deep golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for 10min, then transfer to a serving plate or board. Serve warm or at room temperature.
GET AHEAD:
Make up to 2 days ahead. Once cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge. To serve, allow to come to room temperature. Alternatively, arrange pies on a baking tray and reheat in an oven preheated to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6 for 10min.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
