mini pumpkin feta pies

Mini pumpkin & feta pies

Throw a Halloween party and serve these fearsome pumpkin and feta pies. Perfect for little hands, kids will enjoy helping to make them in the kitchen

Ingredient

Ingredients

• 450g butternut squash or pumpkin peeled and cut into 2cm chunks (prepared weight)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 125g cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for the tin
• 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg, beaten
• grating of nutmeg
• ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 200g feta, crumbled

Direction

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the squash and unpeeled garlic into a roasting tin, drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, season and toss to coat. Roast for 30 mins, stirring halfway through, until soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

    

2. Meanwhile, cook the onion in a frying pan over a medium heat with the remaining 1 tbsp oil for 8-10 mins until tender and slightly golden. Leave to cool.

    

3. Tip the flour, turmeric and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolks and 2 tsp cold water, and blitz again until the mixture starts to clump together. Squeeze it between your fingers – if it sticks together, tip the mixture onto a work surface. If it’s too dry, add more water, 1 tsp at a time. Knead the pastry a few times just to bring it together, but don’t overwork it. Shape into two circles, one slightly smaller than the other, then wrap in baking parchment and chill in the fridge for at least 20 mins.

    

4. Squeeze the garlic from its skins into the roasted squash and mash together. Add the fried onion, grate over some nutmeg, tip in the chilli flakes, if using, and feta, and mix.

    

5. Butter six holes of a muffin tin and line each with a strip of baking parchment that overhangs the top. Roll the larger circle of pastry out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use a 10cm cutter to stamp out six circles (you may need to re-roll the pastry to get all six). Press the pastry circles into the prepared muffin tin, patching any cracks with the pastry offcuts. Spoon in the squash filling.

    

6. Roll the remaining pastry circle out as you did the large one, but use an 8cm cutter to cut out six lids. Cut spooky pumpkin faces into the lids using a small, sharp knife. Press the lids over the pies in the tin and brush with the beaten egg. Bake for 40 mins until golden brown, then leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin before lifting out. Eat hot or leave to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days or the freezer for up to two months. Reheat in a low oven for 10 mins, if you like

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