Description
It’s time to hop on the Hogwart’s Express and grab yourself some delicious vegan pumpkin pasties for the trip! These pasties are savory, packed full of flavor, and wrapped in a flakey crust. Perfect to take on the go, a quick meal or snack, or even an appetizer. What are you waiting for? Bring the world of Harry Potter into your home with this delicious treat!
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry Dough*:
- 170g (1 1/2 sticks) – cold vegan butter, diced into squares
- 300g (2 ½ cups) – all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned, and leveled, see notes
- 20g (1 tablespoon) – granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon – salt
- 75ml (1/3 cup) – ice-cold water
*Don’t want to make the pastry dough? Buy the pre-made ones. You’ll need 2 sheets! I like this brand. (They’re accidentally vegan!) Make sure to thaw the sheets according to the package instructions before you start.
Pumpkin Filling:
- 60g (⅓ cup) – sweet potato, diced
- 65g (⅓ cup) – Yukon Gold potato, diced
- 20g (¼ cup) – medium-sized onion, finely diced
- 2–3 – garlic cloves, minced
- 15g (1 tbsp) – olive oil
- 60g (1/4 cup) – of water
- ¼ tsp – chili flakes
- 60ml (¼ cup) – vegetable broth
- 2 tsp – cornstarch
- 180g (¾ cup) – pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp – tomato paste
- 6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp – dried sage)
- 3 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp – dried basil)
- ½ tsp – salt
- ¼ tsp – black pepper
- ½ tsp – paprika
- 80g (⅓ cup) – vegan mozzarella
Vegan “Egg Wash”
- 1 tablespoon – non-dairy milk, I used soy
- 1 tablespoon – agave
Garlic Butter Herb, optional:
- 3 tablespoons (42g) – vegan butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 sprig – fresh rosemary
Equipment:
- Food scale https://amzn.to/3N36paF
- Food processor https://amzn.to/3N1YCKf or pastry blender https://amzn.to/3zy4e9V
- Vegetable peeler
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Medium saucepan
- Heatproof spatula
- Multiple mixing bowls
- Rolling pin
- 5-inch cookie cutter https://amzn.to/3D4k3FX
- Pairing knife
- Parchment paper or Silpat mat https://amzn.to/3sqZ4bE
- Baking sheet
- Small saucepan
- Pastry brush https://amzn.to/3sqYpH4
- Wire cooling rack
Instructions
Pastry Dough:
- Before starting, cut the butter into cubes and set it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then, in a measuring cup combine some ice and cold water. You’ll need enough ice water so you can measure out ⅓ cup from it later on.
- In the bowl of the food processor, add flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to combine.
- When the butter is frozen, add it to the food processor with the dry ingredients. Pulse until you get a sand-like texture.
- Next, while the food processor is running on low, slowly pour in ⅓ cup of water.
- Once the dough starts to clump together, stop there. Transfer the dough to a work surface, and knead with your hands until you get a smooth and cohesive dough.
- Shape the dough into a 1-inch disk and wrap it in saran wrap or place it into a reusable zip bag. Place it in the fridge to chill for 2 hours, or overnight.
Filling:
- Start by peeling the skin from both the sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes. Diced into ½-inch cubes. Then finely dice the onions and mince the garlic. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a small bowl add the vegetable broth and cornstarch, and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan, over medium heat. Add the sage leaves, and chili flakes (if using), and fry until fragrant and lightly golden. Then add in the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Next, add in the diced sweet and Yukon gold potatoes, and 1/4 cup of water, and allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes until the potatoes soften. Then add in the pumpkin puree, tomato paste, fresh basil, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Mix until well combined.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and cornstarch mixture, and mix until well incorporated. Cook until you get a thick paste-like consistency.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before folding in the vegan mozzarella. Allow the filling to cool completely before you assemble it.
Assembly:
- Have a small bowl of water prepared and your cooled filling ready on the side. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and make space in your fridge to fit it in.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a ¼-inch thick.
- With a 5-inch round cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can. Take the dough scraps and knead it back together. Wrap it up and place it back in the fridge.
If using pre-made puff pastry: Working with one sheet at a time, place it over a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough, starting from the center and out. Continue to roll out the dough until you confidently cut out 4-5 rounds from 1 sheet. Repeat for the rest. - Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of filling and place it in the center of the dough circle. Spread it down a little so it’s not a big lump in the middle. Careful not to overfill and not to have the filling touch the edges of the dough.
- Brush the edges of half of the circle with water, and fold the other half over. Pressing the edges lightly with your finger. Take a fork and crimp the edges to completely seal them together. If you find the fork sticking too much to the dough, cover it in flour as you crimp.
- With a sharp paring knife, carefully score 3 vents at the top of the pasties and place them on the prepared baking tray. Repeat for the rest.
- When you’re done assembling the first batch of your pumpkin pasties, place them in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- While you wait, take the remaining dough and make your second batch of pasties. I made 10 pasties in total, and I used all the pastry dough!
Baking:
- In another small bowl, mix the agave and non-dairy milk, this is your “wash”.
- After your pasties are chilled, brush them with the agave milk wash and place them in the oven. Bake the pasties for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat for the second batch. Serve and enjoy!
Garlic Herb Butter (Optional):
- In a small saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Then add in your crushed garlic and fresh rosemary, and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Brush your baked pumpkin pasties with garlic herb butter. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Plan ahead. I like making the process easy in the kitchen. For example, make the pastry dough a couple of days ahead, and make the filling the night before. Then on bake day, all you need to do is assemble and bake.
- Measure your flour properly. My recipes are 100% tested in grams. A common reason baked goods fail is incorrectly measured flour. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you’re measuring by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. This tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Keep in mind though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Don’t want to make pastry dough? BUY IT! Let’s make it even easier, if you don’t want to make the pastry dough, just buy the pre-made ones! For this recipe, it’s the filling you’re after. There’s no pressure for you to have to make it.
- Make sure your filling has completely cooled before assembly! A hot filling will melt the butter in the raw pastry, and it’ll make it hard to work with once that happens.
- Chill your filled pasties. After you’ve finished assembling the pasties, place them in the fridge to allow the pastry dough to chill. Chilling hardens the butter in the dough, which will help the dough maintain its structure as it bakes, and also creates beautiful flakey layers. Do not skip this step, otherwise, you’ll get a greasy mess.
- Can I freeze these vegan pumpkin pasties? If you’re not ready to bake them, place the unbaked pasties on a baking sheet or plate and freeze them for 3 hours. Once they are frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container. They’ll keep in the freezer for a few months. Defrost them on a plate, and bake them according to the recipe instructions.
Keywords: vegan, vegan pasty recipe, vegan pumpkin pasties, Harry Potter snack, pumpkin pasties, vegan Harry Potter food, vegan food in literature, food in literature
