Root vegetable pasties (gluten free)

I love a pasty, but it only recently occurred to me to try making a free-from version using the pre-prepared gluten free puff pastry I had sitting in my fridge edging towards it’s expiry date. The pastry I buy is by Jus Rol, and as well as being gluten free it is also free from dairy, egg and soy (as is their standard puff pastry if you don’t need gluten free).

These pasties are made with a mix of root vegetables, so they are very satisfying and filling. I have suggested proportions of sweet potato, normal potato and carrots below, but you can use a mix of whatever root veg you have in – it would also work well with some parsnip or butternut squash added in

The ingredients below make five small pasties, which in my house feeds two adults and one child. These proportions allow quite a bit of leftover filling, which I roast at the same time as the pasties are cooking and serve it alongside , which makes a more substantial lunch. If you don’t want to do this then freeze the extra filling for another time, or make up a smaller quantity.

The pasties can be served hot or cold so they are quite handy for taking out and about, or adding to a lunchbox. 

For babies:  Pasties make good finger food, and the filling is nice and soft. However, the ready made puff pastry does have quite a long ingredients list, so if you are dealing with multiple allergies then I wouldn’t suggest using it during early weaning – my son seemed to react to these types of processed foods until he was a bit over 1, but it was always difficult to pinpoint what was causing the reaction. 

Ingredients and method:

Makes 5 small pasties:

• 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry sheet (always check ingredients – Jus-rol and GF jus-rol are free from dairy, eggs and soy)
• Small amount of plain or GF flour, to stop the pastry sticking
• 1 tablespoon of dairy free milk of your choice to glaze the pastry
• Filling:
• 30g dairy and soy free butter alternative (I use Pure)
• 1 small onion
• 400g root veg – I use:
  • 200g sweet potato
  • 100g potato
  • 100g carrot
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• Freshly ground black pepper and up to salt (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc / 160ºc fan. Peel and dice the root veg and onion, aiming for small chunks, about 5mm thick. Melt the butter alternative over a low heat on the hob, or in the microwave. Mix together with all the filling ingredients in a large bowl, adding the melted butter alternative last. 

Remove the pastry from the fridge – check the instructions on the packet, but Jus Rol suggests letting it sit for 5 minutes before unrolling. On a well floured surface (using gluten free flour if needed) unroll the pastry and use a rolling pin to roll it out and thin it very slightly – you’re aiming for about 3mm thickness. 

Use the rim of a cereal bowl (mine was 16.5cm diameter) to cut out circles of pastry (I manage to get five out of my pack of pastry by gathering up the off cuts and rolling it out again). In each, spoon filling onto one half, avoiding the edges. Fold the pastry over and press down around the edges to seal the pasty, using a small amount of water if necessary. I found that the filling broke through the pastry in places, so I used the pastry off cuts like plasters to patch them up! It doesn’t look very professional but works fine. 

Lay the pasties out on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Lightly glaze with the dairy free milk. Add the leftover filling to an oven proof dish and roast it alongside the pasties.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until the pastry has started to brown.

You may also be interested in these other light lunch ideas:

• Dairy free lunchbox ideas
• 10 dairy recipes containing vegetables for picky eaters
• Quick and easy vegan avocado pasta
• Kidney bean and red pepper soup