Sundried Tomato and Feta Hand Pies

At first I wasn't sure about the lentils and olives, but they are mighty tasty!

These flaky little pockets stuffed with tasty feta, sundried tomatoes, olives, and lentils make a great snack or appetizer. I admit, at first I wasn't sure about the filling but in the pie it totally works.   You could even tuck them into a lunch box for the kids!  Don’t let pastry scare you off-I’m still learning how to work with pastry and found them surprisingly easy. The thing is, they are so good that you will have a very hard time not scarfing them down before they hit the lunch box!

Adapted from Spill the Beans

2 ½ cups flour

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

¾ cup cold butter

5 tbsp ice water, plus more as required

Filling:

¼ cup dry green lentils (or ¾ cup canned lentils, drained and rinsed)

¼ cup kalamata olives (about 8-10), chopped finely

¼ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped finely

¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled finely

1 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped finely

freshly cracked pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt with a fork.  Using the coarse side of a grater, grate the butter into the bowl.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles crumbs.  Add the water tablespoon by tablespoon, stirring with a fork until it begins to clump together, adding as little water as you have to.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and bring it together into two disks.  Handle the dough as little as possible.  Too much handling makes pastry tough, and you don’t want the warmth of your hands to melt the butter in your dough either.  Cover the disks with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Make the filling:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

In a small saucepan, cook the lentils in 1 ¼ cups of water with the lid on for about 30 minutes.  Take them off the heat and allow to cool.  In a bowl, combine the olives, sundried tomatoes, lentils, feta, parsley, and pepper.

Roll the dough out on a floured counter to less that 1/8^th of an inch thick.  Cut into 4 inch round circles-fill each with a scant 1 tbsp of filling, then crimp closed with a fork.  Re-roll the scraps of pastry only once before re-cutting out.  Place the filled pockets 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.  Brush with the beaten egg and cut three tiny slits in the top before baking for about 10-14 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

If you have leftovers, these are easily re-heated.  Just pop them into a 350 F oven for a few minutes until hot, and serve.

Makes 12-15 pies

After taking this photo I ate FOUR.  Yes, four.