Meat & Veggie Pockets

… Tasty Holiday Hors d”Oeuvres

These delicious little pouches of meat, potatoes, and veggies make perfect gluten-free appetizers or finger food for any holiday party. They’re even a fun brunch dish. Each pocket has all the flavors of a complete meal packed into bite-size packets of fluffy, tender crust. A broth of wine, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce keep these pockets moist and brimming with rich flavor. Though these require a little extra time to prepare because they are individual crust pouches, they can be made ahead and rewarmed in the oven on a low heat to make last minute party prep easier to manage. Serve these with our Mini Quiche Tarts, some creamy and full-flavored hummus (perfect for cracker dipping) from our Hummus Among Us recipes, and kicked up It’s the B.O.M. Smoothie cocktails, and you’re on your way to a complete Christmas or New Year’s gluten-free, dairy-free tapas (loosely interpreted, perhaps) party, making celebrating the holidays with friends and family fun, safe, and palate-pleasing.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Meat & Veggie Pockets

Prep time: about 50 minutes total (15 minutes to chop veggies + 5 minutes to make crust dough + about 30 minutes to roll out and form pockets)

Cooking time: about 20 minutes for filling

Baking time: 15 – 20 minutes to bake pockets

Baking temp: 425ºF

Rest time: about 20 minutes, or until completely cooled

Makes about 18 pockets

Ingredients for gluten-free pie crust:

2 9-inch pie crust recipes – Daily Forage Homemade Gluten-Free Pie Crust (you’ll need to double recipe) OR your favorite pie crust recipe

1 egg yolk + 1 Tablespoon water OR 3 Tablespoons coconut or almond milk, for wash on crust

Ingredients for Broth:

1 1/2 cups chicken broth – I use Swanson’s All-Natural Low-Sodium, Fat Free Broth

1/4 cup marsala wine

1/2 teaspoon aged Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the filling:

1 pound lean ground beef

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and diced

15 or so Fingerling potatoes, sliced thinly to make thin potato discs

8 mini sweet peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

about 2 cups snap peas, sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen baby peas, I don’t prefer canned peas for this recipe

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Make pie crust dough, enough for two crusts, according to directions, then wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap, and chill while making filling.

In a measuring cup, combine chicken broth, wine, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Set aside.

In a large skillet, I like to use my cast iron Dutch oven, add ground beef and cook until well browned, about 7 minutes.

Set meat aside in a bowl. In same skillet, add 1 Tablespoon oil. Over medium-low heat, add onions, peppers, and celery. Cook until tender but not soft.

Remove from pan and add to meat.

To same skillet, add 1 Tablespoon oil. Over medium-low heat, add carrots and snap peas. Cook about 3 minutes. Add potatoes. Cook another 4 to 5 minutes. Veggies should be tender but not soft. Stir regularly to cook evenly. Add onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Return all cooked ingredients to skillet. Add peas. Turn heat to low.

Add broth mixture to skillet. Stir to coat meat and veggies. Let simmer on very low heat to allow broth to be absorbed. Turn off heat and let cool while rolling out pie dough.

Place a baking sheet in freezer. Preheat oven to 425ºF.

On a well-floured sheet of wax paper, roll out half of the dough into a large circle, about 1/8” thick. Using a 2 1/4” round cookie cutter, dipped in flour, cut 18 rounds.
Trim extra dough from rounds and form into a ball. Wrap in wax paper and chill for another use. Remove chilled baking sheet from freezer and place on flat surface upside down. Transfer wax paper with rounds on bottom of baking sheet. This will keep the rounds cold while they’re being filled and topped with second crust.

Using about 1 Tablespoonful of filling, more if able, place a dollop of filling in center of each of the 18 rounds of pie dough, leaving an open edge all the way around.

Roll out second pie dough as before, creating 18 more rounds. With a little bit of water in a bowl, dab a tiny bit of water onto the open edge of each filled round. This will create a “glue” for the top crust round to adhere to and make the pocket sealed. Cover with a dough round and pinch edges. With gentle pressure, form the crust into a sealed pocket and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining dough rounds.

With a pastry brush, gently brush the egg wash, or milk, over each pocket.

Bake at 425ºF for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown fully cooked.

Remove from oven and transfer parchment paper with pockets onto a cooling rack. Let rest for about 3-5 minutes then, very carefully, use a spatula to transfer pockets to an un-lined cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Serve and enjoy.

If you are making these ahead, store pockets on a flat surface in the refrigerator until ready to use, about 3 days maximum. To reheat, place pockets on a parchment-lined baking sheet and warm in a 325ºF oven until hot in center, probably about 25 to 30 minutes. Continue with the cooling rack step.

For longer storage, freeze flat, for up to 3 months. To reheat, either defrost in refrigerator first, then proceed as directed above, OR, place frozen pockets on parchment-lined baking sheet and heat in 325ºF oven for about 40-45 minutes. Check after about 20 minutes and cover with foil if necessary if you think the pockets are beginning to brown to much before they will be fully heated. Continue with the cooling rack step.

Safe food is a journey … Thrive!™