Handpies 101: Let Aviva Wittenberg teach you how to package all your favourite fillings in puff pastry

The thing about packed lunches is that they can get very monotonous very quickly. But there’s nothing boring about these handpies from Aviva Wittenberg’s new cookbook, Lunchbox: 75+ easy and delicious recipes for lunch on the go. Their beauty comes from their versatility: encase your favorite fillings in puff pastry for a portable breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or, as Wittenberg recommends to readers, use last night’s leftovers as a filling and voilà, a fancy packed lunch! If you’re not sure which filling to start with, we draw your attention to her recipe for French Onion Soup Handpies.

Below is her step-by-step guide to making these pastry packets – and how to properly freeze a batch for later reference.

hand pie 101

By Aviva Wittenberg

The queen of the kitchen (aka puff pastry) is available in the frozen section of your supermarket and needs to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before use. Warm puff pastry is tricky to work with – it gets sticky and frustrating – so be sure to take it out of the fridge just before you use it (and put it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to cool if it sticks to itself) . To make vegan hand pies, use kosher puff pastry — it doesn’t contain butter — and substitute either a vegan egg substitute or some non-dairy milk for the eggs called for in the recipe. They won’t get quite the same shine on your cakes, but they’ll still taste delicious.

progress: Hand pies definitely taste best the day they’re baked, but you can pre-bake them (and crisp them up again later) if you’d like. Here are a few options to do the heavy lifting ahead of time:

• Prepare but do not bake (I would recommend this): store in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To prevent unbaked hand pies from sticking together in the freezer, freeze them first on a parchment-lined baking sheet; When frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. Bake unbaked frozen hand pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425°F for 20 minutes.

• pre-bake: Store tightly wrapped in foil in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bake your pre-baked pies at 200°F for 10 minutes if you can before enjoying them for lunch.

ingredients

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted but still cool
• 1 recipe handpie filling
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut it in quarters so you have four squares, then cut each square into a set of two rectangles. One rectangle forms the bottom of each hand pie and the other serves as the top.

2. Place 1/4 of the filling mixture on each of the bottom rectangles and spread evenly with the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula, leaving a 1⁄4 inch border around all edges.

3. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut a few small holes in each of the top rectangles to allow steam to escape while baking. Feel free to get creative with the air vent style!

4. Using a pastry brush, paint some of the beaten egg around the 1⁄4 inch edge of the bottom rectangles. Carefully cover each filled lower rectangle with the corresponding upper “lid” rectangle. Use your fingers or a fork to gently press down and seal all edges. Transfer the cakes to the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops liberally with the remaining beaten egg.

5. Bake 20 minutes (or 20 minutes at 425F if baking from frozen) until puffed and golden brown (patties will be crispy and you’ll see the nice layers of dough are puffed up around the edges). Allow the hand pies to cool before wrapping, as the dough will become mushy if wrapped while warm.

Packing tip: Rich and hearty hand pies go well with fresh and light green salads or raw vegetables.

For 4 hand pies (serves 2 for a filling meal or 4 for a light lunch).

excerpt from lunch box by Aviva Wittenberg. Copyright © 2022 Aviva Wittenberg. Photography © 2022 Aviva Wittenberg. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Duplication after consultation with the publisher. All rights reserved.