BLENDITARIAN CHALLENGE SERIES
Meat pies and turnovers are almost a religion in some parts of the world – the Australian Meat Pie is a very delicious example. My Blenditarian Meat Turnovers in Shortcrust Pastry is a meat-filled pastry, which is similar to the Australian Meat Pies. This recipe for meat turnover has been given a Blenditarian makeover with the addition of minced mushrooms and vegetables.
My favourite choice for the pastry is shortcrust dough because of its sturdy, crispy and buttery characteristics. When a pastry is eaten out of hand, a sturdier, lean pastry is most suitable. In this post, I will guide you through how to make a Blenditarian Meat Blend and a shortcrust pastry, which includes a gluten-free option. The tips and techniques provided will simplify the overall process to inspire the chef in you.
Jump to Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
Blenditarian Meat Turnovers in Shortcrust Pastry
CHEF TALK: This Blenditarian Meat Blend has a slightly different spice and vegetable ratio that makes it a perfect filling for hand pies (small pastries that can be eaten out of hand or packed along in a picnic lunch. A food processor makes the job of mincing the vegetables much easier. I use Cremini or Portobello mushrooms because of their darker colour and ‘meatier’ taste. You will find other Blenditarian Meat and Vegetable Blends on the Urb’n’Spice website under The Blenditarian Challenge Series.
Yield: 1 kg. Blenditarian Meat Blend (enough for approximately 20 turnovers)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 recipe Shortcrust Pastry (recipe follows)
- 1 ½ lb. (680 g) lean ground beef
- ¾ lb (340 g) ground pork
- 1 large onion
- ½ lb. (226 g) mushrooms
- 2 medium-sized carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 beef stock cubes or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) bouillon paste
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) onion salt
- ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml) ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) celery salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) mustard powder
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar - 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) soy sauce
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- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ (60 ml) cup water
METHOD:
- Place the ground beef and pork into a large Dutch oven and cook over low to medium heat, breaking up the meat with a fork.
- Meanwhile, mince the vegetables (onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic) finely either by hand or with a food processor. Add to the meat mixture. Stir through the meat mixture thoroughly.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except for the flour and ¼ water. Continue cooking over low-medium heat for 40 -60 minutes, or until the meat and the vegetables are a similar texture. If the mixture starts to stick, add a little water or beef stock (I didn’t have to add any water or broth to my mixture).
- Combine the flour and the ¼ cup water. Mix into the meat-vegetable mixture and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary with additional salt and pepper. The mixture should be highly flavoured. Drain any excess liquid if necessary. Refrigerate the liquid to use for other purposes (soup, sauces, gravy). Remove the layer of fat after the liquid has chilled.
- Pour the mixture on a baking tray to cool quickly. Refrigerate until needed.
The Shortcrust Pastry:
Yield: Makes approximately 770 grams dough or enough for 1 dozen turnovers
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb. (454 g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- Pinch of salt
- 8 oz. (226 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
- 90 – 120 ml cold water
METHOD:
- Using a food processor put the flour, butter and salt in the food processor.
- Pulse until the butter is worked into the flour (they will look like coarse crumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining).
- With the motor running, gradually add the water through the feed tube of the food processor until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the water. Only add as much water as needed for the dough to bind together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
Here is your visual step-by-step in photographs:
Blenditarian Meat Turnovers in Shortcrust Pastry
The Turnovers (Using Wheat Flour Dough):
Roll out the shortcrust dough to 1/16th-inch thickness using wheat flour dough (gluten-free dough requires a special approach – this explanation follows below). Cut 5” squares. Place a scoop (50 g) into the bottom section of the square as shown in the photographs. Brush the bottom edges with egg wash. Turn the top of the pastry over to the other side, forming a triangle. Cut two slits into the top of the turnover to allow steam to escape. Bake at 375oF/350oF if using convection setting for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately, or cool on a rack and then refrigerate or freeze.

Blenditarian Turnover Ingredients

Cooked Blenditarian Blend

Assembly of Blenditarian turnovers

Ready to eat or freeze
The Round Pockets (Using Gluten Free Flour Blend Dough):
The gluten-free dough needs a different treatment given its characteristic tendency to crack. For the gluten-free version, use a round 3.5” cutter for the bottoms of the meat pockets. For the tops, use a round 3.75” cutter and cut an ‘X’ in the centre of each of the top rounds as shown in the photographs. Brush around the outside of the bottom round pastry cutout with egg wash. Place a scoop (30 g) onto the centre of the pastry round. Fit the round top with the ‘X’ cut out onto the top of the filling and press the edges firmly to seal around the edges. The opening of the ‘X’ will open slightly over the filling as shown in the photograph. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Bake at 375oF/350oF if using convection setting for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown. Note: Gluten Free Flour Blends do not brown like conventional pastry. Serve immediately, or cool on a rack and then refrigerate or freeze.

Gluten Free Blenditarian Pockets are treated a little differently because of a gluten-free crust characteristic tendency to crack. Small rounds of pastry are rolled out and cut with round cutters of different sizes, the top slightly larger than the bottom round. Cut an ‘X’ into the top round to accommodate the Blenditarian filling.

The top pastry round has an ‘X’ cut into the top

Egg wash helps the gluten-free crust to turn a golden brown.
Blenditarian Meat Turnovers
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 20 turnovers
Meat pies and turnovers are almost a religion in some parts of the world – the Australian Meat Pie is a very delicious example. My Blenditarian Meat Turnover in Shortcrust Pastry is a meat-filled pastry, which is similar to the Australian Meat Pies. This recipe for meat turnover has been given a Blenditarian makeover with the addition of minced mushrooms and vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Shortcrust Pastry (recipe follows)
- 1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
- ¾ lb ground pork
- 1 large onion
- ½ lb. mushrooms
- 2 medium-sized carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 beef stock cubes or 2 teaspoon bouillon paste
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce_______________________
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Place the ground beef and pork into a large Dutch oven and cook over low to medium heat, breaking up the meat with a fork.
- Meanwhile, mince the vegetables (onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic) finely either by hand or with a food processor. Add to the meat mixture. Stir through the meat mixture thoroughly.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except for the flour and ¼ water. Continue cooking over low-medium heat for 40 -60 minutes, or until the meat and the vegetables are a similar texture. If the mixture starts to stick, add a little water or beef stock (I didn’t have to add any water or broth to my mixture).
- Combine the flour and the ¼ cup water. Mix into the meat-vegetable mixture and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary with additional salt and pepper. The mixture should be highly flavoured. Drain any excess liquid if necessary. Refrigerate the liquid to use for other purposes (soup, sauces, gravy). Remove the layer of fat after the liquid has chilled.
- Pour the mixture on a baking tray to cool quickly. Refrigerate until needed.
Notes
For further details, including photographs and a recipe for Shortcrust Pastry, please refer to my original post: Blenditarian Meat Turnovers on www.urbnspice.com
Courses Lunch
Shortcrust Pastry
Prep
Inactive
Total
Yield 770 g dough
My favourite choice for certain pastries such as Blenditarian Meat Turnovers is shortcrust dough because of its sturdy, crispy and buttery characteristics. When a pastry is eaten out of hand, a sturdier, lean pastry is most suitable.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- Pinch of salt
- 8 oz. (226 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
- 90 – 120 ml cold water
Instructions
- Using a food processor put the flour, butter and salt in the food processor.
- Pulse until the butter is worked into the flour (they will look like coarse crumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining).
- With the motor running, gradually add the water through the feed tube of the food processor until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the water. Only add as much water as needed for the dough to bind together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
Notes
For further details, including photographs, chef tips and techniques, and a recipe for meat turnovers, please refer to my original post: Blenditarian Meat Turnovers on www.urbnspice.com
You Might Also Enjoy:
Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend – A Blenditarian Series Post
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Basic Tools – Scoops for Portioning
- Gluten-Free Flour Blends
- Oven Temperature Accuracy
- Tweaking
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If you try my recipe for Blenditarian Meat Turnovers in Shortcrust Pastry, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.
You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!
Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
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Denise, I love hand pies and yours sounds yummy. I really like your filling recipe and will be giving your pies a try.
Thanks, Ron! I am quite fond of hand pies too. They are such a wonderful thing to take on a picnic or road trip. Many thanks for your comment – I appreciate it very much.
Hi Denise, I am now craving these meat pies. I love that you can eat them on the go, and they sound absolutely yummy. I’ll be trying this recipe for sure.
Thanks, Colleen! We love these little hand pies. I make quite a bit of filling and freeze in vacuum sealed pouches so that I can make up a new batch of these meat pies often – the little ones love them in their lunches. I hope you enjoy them.
I love all your tips and tricks for making the gf crust work, that is really helpful! I’ll have to try these soon since they would be great in the lunchbox.
Corinna | Friendly Pantry
Hi, Corinna: Yes, they are definitely great in lunchboxes – our grandchildren love them! (and the big people like them for their lunches and day trips). Many thanks for your comments.
Yes! These are going on my list of make ahead treats for the holidays. They look amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much, Jo! I think that you will love these little pies as much as we do. 🙂
Denise, these look great. I absolutely love meat pies of any sort and so does my fiancé – I’ll have to make these over the weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you very much for your sweet comments, Kristen. I hope that you and your fiance enjoy these Meat Turnovers as much as we do! Let me know how you like them if you make them. 🙂
I love meat turnovers and you don’t see enough of them! This blenditarian one looks so delicious and I love the homemade crust- yummy! I need to try it 🙂
These are one of our family favourite meat turnovers. The littles really love them in their lunches. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do, Terri! As always, I appreciate your comments so very much! 🙂