Small Pastels

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Small Pastels

By Juvy S. Iliwiliw

Bake these small chicken pies in disposable aluminum pans. These are good for busy single people who have the option to heat just one dish at a time. You can also bake your pastel in one large pan instead of many small ones. For a really special gift, use a ceramic baking dish and the container itself becomes a more permanent gift.

I think the best way to give this as a gift is to give it frozen and unbaked. The recipient bakes the pastel only as needed so the pastry stays fresh and flaky.

In this recipe, the flavor really depends on the quality of the chorizo de Bilbao. To make it easier for you, I recommend only the homemade ones from Mrs. Francisco at 18 Magdalena Circle, Magallanes Village, Makati, Philippines.

SMALL PASTELS

You will need:

Pie crust:
1½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter (or half butter and half shortening)

2-3 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ kilo boneless chicken breast or thighs,

cut into bite-size pieces

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms

or 1 cup sliced canned mushrooms, drained

1 cup sliced chorizo de Bilbao

¼ cup flour blended with 2 tablespoons melted butter to make a paste

1½ cups water

¼ teaspoon each salt, pepper and dried basil or marjoram

2/3 cup sliced green olives

1 egg beaten

Here's how:

To prepare the pie crust, mix together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter or butter/shortening combination into the flour until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the cold water and mix with a fork, using only enough cold water to bind the dough together. Set aside.

To prepare the filling, heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil in a large heavy saucepan and brown the chicken pieces over medium high heat. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan and cook until lightly browned also (making them brown adds greatly to the flavor). Add the chorizo de Bilbao and cook until heated through. Remove the onions, mushrooms and chorizo from the pan. Add the flour blended with butter to the pan and heat until bubbling. Add the water, salt, pepper and dried basil or marjoram and cook, stirring, until thickened: Return the chicken, onion, mushrooms, chorizo to the saucepan and add the green olives. Mix well, remove from the heat and pour into baking dishes (four 4-inch or one 8-inch disposable aluminum pans or baking dishes).

Roll the dough out between sheets of waxed paper and cut to fit the tops of the baking dishes to be used. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake at 350^oF for 1 hour or until tops are golden. Alternatively, cover the pastels when cool with aluminum foil and freeze. To bake, thaw uncovered for 30 minutes then bake at 350^oF for 1 hour.