These cute Soujouk, Pumpkin and Caramelized Onion Mini-Pies are not only so easy to make and addicting to eat but they are the perfect bites to prepare in advance for your coming holidays feasts.
500g pumpkin or squashpeeled and diced into 2 cm cubes
¼cupextra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4mediumonionsthinly sliced
½cup mozzarella cheesegrated
¼cup halloumi cheesegrated
¼cupkashkaval cheesegrated
⅓ cup(80ml) white wine (see notes for non-alcoholic)
⅓ cup(75g) honey (see notes)
400gfresh Soujoukskin removed and roughly chopped
2tspsmoked paprika
For the pastry:
1largeegglightly beaten
5pack puff pastry dough enough for 48 sheet
For the tahini dipping sauce:
¼cuptahini
3tbsp.Labanor Greek yoghurt
2tbsp.lemon juice
½tbsp.chili pastemore or less to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
¼cupwarm water maybe more to loosen up the dressing
Instructions
For the filling:
STEP 01: Preheat oven or air fryer to 200°C.
STEP 02: in a deep bowl toss the pumpkin cube with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
STEP 03: Roast for until golden in air fryer for 10 minutes or in oven for 40 minutes. Set aside to cool.
STEP 04: While the pumpkin is roasting, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20–30 minutes or until soft and golden.
STEP 05: Add the vinegar and honey, stir to combine and cook for a further 5 minutes or until caramelized.
STEP 06: Add the Soujouk, paprika and a sprinkle of salt and black pepper, cook, stirring and breaking the Soujouk into smaller piece with your wooden spatula, for a further 6–8 minutes or until the Soujouk is cooked through.
STEP 07: Turn off the heat. Add the pumpkin and fold to combine. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes before assembly.
STEP 08: While the filling is cooling, remove the readymade pastry sheets from freezer to defrost (or prepare the pastry dough if you are preparing at home). Grate and mix the cheeses in a bowl. Whisk your egg wash to brush the top.
STEP 09: Place 1 tablespoon of the filling onto each of 24 of the sheets. Top it with some of the cheese mixture and Brush the edges with egg and top with the remaining rounds, pressing the edges with a perforated cookie cutter or fork to seal.
STEP 10: Using a sharp knife, make a small incision in the top of each pie. Brush the pie tops with egg.
STEP 11: Preheat your air fryer on 200°C. place your pies inside the preheated air fryer and bake for 7 to 8 minutes until golden and crispy (see notes for oven baking time)
For the tahini dipping sauce:
STEP 01: Blend all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce blender or by hand. Loosen up with water as need to have a sauce consistency
Serving:
Serve the hand pies with the sauce aside and some side salads if you like. Or check notes for freezing option.
Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Cheese: you can use any kind of cheeses combination you like. I found these 3 choices works well with everything else in the recipe and you can also skip the whole cheese part. Pumpkin: pumpkin I s a beautiful festive colorful pop of color adding to this recipe but skipping it also is possible for simpler recipe steps. Nonalcoholic substitute for wine: wine adds a beautiful taste to this filling and the alcohol in it will evaporated in cooking, but if you still prefer not to use it, you can substitute it with some white grape or red grape vinegar or any vinegar you have in your pantry. Honey: you can use brown sugar, white sugar or maple syrup or agave syrup instead of the honey if you don’t happen to have it in hand. Oven version: you can bake your pumpkin in oven instead of air fryer as mentioned above in the instructions. And for the pies you can also bake them in the oven. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 15 minutes or until golden in a 200° C preheated oven. Storing: you can prepare those pies and freeze on a tray in one layer before baking. And then store in zip lock bags in the freezer for up to 3 months. Leftovers: you can still enjoy any leftovers cooked pie and dipping sauce for up to 3 days after cooking. Store in well closed container in the fridge and preheat when you want to eat. The pastry won’t be as flaky and crunchy as the first day but they will still be delicious.