Leek, Mushroom and Feta Hand Pies

Instructions

Pie Dough

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.
2. Add the cubed cold butter and work into the flour. You can either use a pastry cutter or work with your hands. If you're using your hands, you have to work fast so as not to melt the butter. Rub in all the butter in the flour until you have a coarse mixture with small pebbles of butter. This process can be also done in a food processor.
3. Slowly start adding a tablespoon at a time of cold water, while forming a smooth dough. Your dough might require less or more water.
4. Once the dough is ready, wrap into some cling film and store in the fridge for at least an hour or two.

Filling

1. While the dough is resting in the fridge, prepare your filling. *
2. Clean the leeks and discard the dark green part. Keep the dark green part in the freezer and save it to make some vegetable stock. Chop the white and light green parts of the leek into small pieces.
3. With a paper towel clean the mushrooms and remove any excess soil left. Dice the mushrooms into small pieces.
4. Once you have everything prepared, melt half the butter and the olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the leeks and let them cook for about 5 minutes until they are nice and soft.
5. Add the mushrooms to the pan, making sure not to over crowd the pan. If you don't have a large enough pan you can do this step in batches.
6. As soon as the mushrooms start taking colour, add the remaining butter to the pan and mix everything well. Season with salt and pepper, and add the fresh thyme leaves to the mixture.
7. Let the mushroom and leeks mixture cook for about 10 minutes, until all the ingredients are all nicely cooked. Let the mixture cool completely and drain from any excess juices.
8. Crumble the feta cheese and set aside. Mix the egg and water together for the egg wash, set aside.

Assembly

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. On a floured surface open the pie dough into a large circle of about 5mm thickness. From the circle cut equal sized rectangles. The recommended size of each rectangle should be 15cm x 9cm.
3. Fill half of the rectangle with the leek and mushroom mixture and sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese on top. Make sure to leave space around the edges of the filling.
4. With a pastry brush, paint the edges of the dough around the filling with the egg wash. This will help you achieve a secure closing of the pies. Fold over the other half of the dough and press the ends together around the filling with your finger. You can either leave them as such or else press them down further with a fork. On the top part of the pies, slit two small cuts with a sharp knife.
5. Place the pies on the lined baking tray and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This step helps the dough to remain closed while baking, although no worries if some of the juices ooze out while baking.
6. Preheat the oven to 220°C or 430°**
7. Once ready to bake, brush the top and sides of the pies with the egg wash, and sprinkle with some seeds of your choice. I sprinkled some of mine with nigella seeds and some others with za'atar.
8. Bake the pies for about 20 minutes or until they have a nice golden brown colour.
9. Let the pies cool slightly before serving and enjoy!