Hey there everyone...coming to you from Zambia during COVID-19 lockdown.
This is a tough time for us all, and this is a time to take the most important things in life seriously: our health, our families, how we spend our time...this disease has been a reminder that nothing in life is certain, so we better make our time count! I hope I will have time throughout this period--while I'm not able to cook for my catering clients--to reach out to you more through this blog. I have never posted as much as I would like; my excuse being life and work and kids. Because of this, I hopped over to Instagram (find me @ChefAlaina on IG) where I can post "quick" snapshots of what's coming out of The Global Fork kitchen and connect with you there. But here I can explain to you a bit more of what's going on over here, and let you get to know me better.
You probably know about me that that one of the ways I express myself is through food, and indeed it's one of the ways I show love. As my mom taught me to do and always says, "Dispense love through the kitchen..." I think this rings true with a lot of people, and why cooking--while wholly necessary--has also become an escape for people during this difficult period. And while many out there are trying their hand at baking bread for the first time, or testing themselves with difficult dishes they've never had time to try (which is great!), many of us are also trying to bring families together over food.
And this means, of course, that we can't neglect the kiddos!Those that cook often for the younger set know very well...the constant challenge is getting them to eat balanced meals. Not only are kids notoriously picky, but it seems like their preferences change daily...one day they like meat, one day they don't. All of a sudden you're getting them to eat vegetables, and in a week nothing green can touch their plate! I was trying to think of a technique and recipe that might help you guys overcome this, and I thought of one of my favorite little kiddos in the world, Micah, who LOVES Jamaican Beef Patties (which are actually spiced ground beef, tucked into turmeric-flavored dough). Now that sort of dish may not be up every kid's alley, but it reminded me of this simply fact:
Kids LOVE hand pies! And the best thing about it is, if you have pre-made puff pastry or are able to get one pastry recipe down, you can make any type of hand pie you like, even sweet versions!
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| I LOVE that my daughter wanted to help! |
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| She did an amazing job! |
I took
the lead for this recipe from a Cook's Country recipe for
Bierocks...the recipe you see below is very close to the Cook's Country
recipe, with just a few notes of my own and suggestions for your own
substitutions.
My kids absolutely ate these up...you can tell from the pictures! I served them alongside simple roasted Brussels sprouts--another kid favorite! I'll admit that three out of the four of us also added a bit of mustard...oh man the acidity of the mustard paired with the richness of the filling was exactly what these needed!
Ground Beef and Cabbage Hand Pies
Yield: 12 hand pies, approx. 6 svgs
Hand pies of all sorts are hugely popular with kiddos--and for good reason! Delicious filling surrounded by soft, flavorful dough is super enticing and also fun to eat.
Ingredients:
Filling
- 4 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- salt/pepper
- up to 3 Tbsp of your favorite salt-free seasoning mix
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded (about 4 Cups)
- 1 C chicken broth
- 8 oz (2 C) shredded cheddar or gouda cheese
Dough
- 1/2 C whole milk
- 1/2 C water
- 6 Tbsp (3 oz) unsalted butter
- 1/4 Cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar
- 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 C (17 1/2 - 18 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Egg Wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water
Instructions:
How to cook Ground Beef and Cabbage Hand Pies
For the Dough
- Preheat oven to 200F; turn oven off once it reaches temperature.
- Grease a large bowl.
- Combine milk, water, butter, and sugar in a 2 C measuring cup.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix 3 1/2 C of the flour, yeast, and salt on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, slowly add milk mixture and single beaten egg until incorporated and dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and continue to mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, about 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes the dough still looks wet and sticky, add 1 Tbsp more flour at a time until the dough clears sides of bowl. (It's ok if it still sticks to the bottom.) Transfer dough to greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in still-warm oven (with hot pads under bowl and door cracked) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
For the Filling
- While the dough is rising, make your filling.
- Heat 2 tsp oil in Dutch oven over med-high heat until just smoking. Add beef plus salt and pepper to taste, and/or 1 Tbsp your favorite salt-free seasoning mix. Break up pieces with a spoon and cooking until liquid is mostly evaporated and meat begins to sizzle, 10-15 minutes. Drain meat in colander and set aside.
- Add 2 more tsp of oil to empty Dutch oven and heat over med-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in drained beef, cabbage, and chicken broth. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover, stir, and add 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce. Taste the mixture, adding 1-2 more Tbsp seasoning mix, if desired, and/or more salt/pepper. Continue to cook uncovered until liquid is completely evaporated and the mixture begins to sizzle, 5-7 more minutes.
- Transfer cooked mixture to bowl and let cool, stirring occasionally, until no longer piping hot, about 15 minutes. Stir in shredded cheese and continue to cool. (Once room temp, can be transferred to refrigerator until ready to assemble hand pies.)
Assemble and Bake:
- Line 2 sheet trays with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and divide into 12 equal (2 3/4 oz) portions using a knife or bench scraper. Form dough pieces into balls, cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rest 5 minutes.
- Working with 1 ball at a time, roll out into 5 1/2" rounds with a rolling pin. Transfer 1/2 C (3 oz) of filling to center of round, and use hands to compact filling. Stretch the edges of the dough up over the filling and pinch/twist together to form a bun. Arrange 6 hand pies, seam side down, on each prepared sheet tray, about 2" apart. Cover again and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. While rising, adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375F.
- Brush hand pies with egg wash and bake both trays at once, 22 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets half way through baking. Hand pies should be a lovely golden brown. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving, or serve at room temperature.
Notes:
This recipe can absolutely be modified to suit your family's needs--or what's in your refrigerator! Mince your chosen protein and vegetables and saute them with your chosen seasoning--just be sure that you don't have a lot of liquid left in your mixture as this will affect the end product. If using vegetables with high water content like summer squashes, chop them fine and saute until browned with little liquid left.
