You want a pasty? I want a pasty. Corned tempeh pasties! Flakey layered pastry dough filled with a zesty corned tempeh and mashed potato filling that is peppered with scallions, which provide an oniony bite. A riff on your typical meat and potatoes pasty, but with healthy tempeh, which provides a great meaty texture without all the heaviness. To make this, I used rough puff pastry dough, which is a version of laminated pastry dough that is much simpler and quicker to make than puff pastry while still having a nice flakey result. By making your own laminated dough, you can use your vegan butter of choice and guarantee a short ingredient list, free of high fructose corn syrup and other undesirable ingredients.
I have a small confession to make. These were supposed to be for a St Patrick’s day themed post, but that didn’t happen (another case of too much to eat, not enough time). I actually had made the first version of them awhile back, and they were good, but it was a fussy recipe and I knew I could do better, and then, before I knew it, a couple of weeks had passed (oops). But I finally did revisit them, and came up with a more streamlined recipe, and oh boy, they were so good! I had to share them immediately and not wait for another Irish or UK themed holiday (are there others?). These steamy pockets, (or pasties, pastries, turnovers, hand pies, whatever you want to call them) are an easy and mostly complete meal (you might want to think of adding some green veggies. maybe. if you want. laziness can win out, I won’t judge). They make a great lunch (even if you are not a miner), or a filling dinner. The pasties would also make a great party hors d’oeuvre , or an afternoon snack, if you make them half sized.
To make the corned tempeh, a marinade is quickly whipped together in the blender, then poured over the tempeh to soak in the flavor for at least a half and hour. Beets provide the red color, and a blend of pickling spices and splash of red wine vinegar bring the corned flavor. The tempeh is crumbled and given a quick sauté in a skillet, soaking in extra marinade and browning a little. Then mashed potatoes and a handful of green onions are folded into the mixture. The rough puff pastry is made somewhat similarly to biscuits but without any rising agent. You just add some salt to flour, then grate super cold vegan butter (ideally a bit frozen, if you plan ahead or happen to store extra buttery sticks in the freezer) into the dry mixture, and mix it in with a wooden spoon until it looks nice and pebbly. Then you splash in some ice cold water and work the dough only until it’s clumping (it doesn’t need to be one unified mass at this point, that will happen as you continue). Then turn out the dough on a clean lightly floured surface. Roll the dough with a floured rolling pin into a large rectangle, then fold it into thirds like an letter (with the assistance of a bench scraper, if needed). Repeat this rolling and folding steps 3 more times for a total of four folds. Pat the final folded shape into a nice even cube(ish) shape and wrap in plastic. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using it. Similar to pie dough, you want to give the gluten a chance to relax and the dough a chance to fully hydrate with water before the next step.
To make the pasties, roll out a large, thin rectangle of dough and trim the edges (resulting rectangle is ~14 x 20″). Divide and cut the dough in a 3 x 4 grid. This will make 6 pasties, and if you roll out the extra dough scraps into a square & cut it in half this is your 7th pasty. Place a good 1/4 cup of filling on every other piece of dough, shaping to leave about 1/4-1/2″ around the edges. Set a second piece of dough on top of the corned tempeh filling and press to seal it together with your fingers, using a little water if necessary. Then crimp it tight with a fork. Place your sealed pasties on a parchment covered baking sheet and brush with a little soy milk before baking. This helps it brown! Bake the pasties in a pre-heated 425 ºF oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden. The corned tempeh pasties are great dipped in a grainy mustard or with some thousand island dressing (see note below recipe) and served with an ice cold beer. Let me know in the comments if you make this dish, or tag me on Instagram!
Notes:
If you don’t want to make your own pastry dough, you could purchase vegan puff pastry at the grocery store, or use prepared pie dough for a slightly different effect. For the marinade, if you are missing a spice or two don’t sweat it. But if you are missing mustard seed (and don’t have ground mustard to substitute), add a little squeeze of prepared mustard instead. The corned tempeh and potato mixture also makes a great sandwich filling, and I imagine would make a great wrap.
*If you plan ahead, stick your vegan butter in the freezer for at least a half and hour before using *If you tend to find tempeh bitter, try steaming it for 10 minutes before marinating[ *Thousand Island dressing: mix together 1/2 cup mayo, 2 tbsp ketchup, and 1/4 cup diced dill pickles
