Ham & Spinach Pasty

I woke up the other morning & realized I had forgotten to make bread dough for sandwiches for lunch. So I started rummaging through the fridge to see what I could come up with. I had an uncooked pie crust leftover from the French Sorrel Tart, half a bag of spinach, a little leftover goat cheese & some deli ham so I decided a ham & spinach pasty would be just thing. I know a pasty is usually filled with meat, potatoes & onion but I really think of it as more of a technique that you can use with any filling. I used to buy two unbaked pie crusts at the store & make four of these at a time, freezing them after cooking, then I would take them to work & warm them up in the toaster oven for a really great lunch.


1 unbaked pie crust (I use store-bought but homemade would be great)
4 c spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1/4 c toasted pine nuts
1 egg
2 T goat cheese, crumbled (any cheese will work, feta is really good)
1 T grated Parmesan
2 sliced deli ham, chopped
salt & pepper
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion & garlic & sauté until the onion is tender. Add the spinach to the skillet & cook until completely wilted. Put spinach mixture in a medium bowl & allow to cool slightly. Mix in pine nuts, egg, ham and cheeses. Season with salt, pepper & a few pinch of nutmeg.
Cut the pie crust into two half circles. Put half of the spinach filling on one side of each half circle.

Fold the other half of the half circle over the filling. Fold the edges in & pinch them to seal shut. Poke a few hole in the top with a fork. Place the pasties on a baking sheet lined with a silicone pad or parchment paper. Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until golden brown.


Makes 2