French Onion and Gruyere Mini Pies
Golden hot water pastry filled with sweet caramelised French onion and nutty Gruyère for the ultimate bite-sized savoury pie.
Hot water pastry was traditionally used for creating hand raised pies, that don’t require a dish or loaf pan. They are the OG lunchbox in fact, before lunchboxes were invented, the cook of the household would bake the lunch into the pie which was sturdy enough to carry just wrapped in cloth to the office (well, actually the fields back then! hahaha) In this case, we are lining a muffin tin with hot water pastry dough and then removing them once baked. The goal is to have a free standing pie with a firm crust.
These prove that hot water pastry isn't just for traditional pork pies. Crisp, buttery and wonderfully sturdy, the pastry perfectly cradles a rich filling of roasted pumpkin, deeply caramelised onions and nutty Gruyère cheese. They're elegant enough for entertaining, yet comforting enough to serve warm on a cool evening. Best of all, they're ideal for making ahead and reheating just before serving, making them a brilliant addition to any party table or lunch spread. Our cooking class attendees loved this recipe the most during tastings...so enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm with a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine for effortless entertaining.
Pair with a crisp green salad dressed in Dijon vinaigrette for a light lunch.
Add to a grazing table alongside charcuterie, olives and cornichons.
Pack into picnic baskets, they travel beautifully thanks to the sturdy hot water pastry.
Serve as part of a French-inspired dinner with soup, cheese and crusty bread.
Include on festive platters or holiday entertaining menus.
Enjoy with a spoonful of onion relish or wholegrain mustard on the side.
Make mini versions for cocktail parties or larger versions for a satisfying lunch with salad.
Need
- 1 Batch Caramelised Onion Relish Recipe
- 1 Batch Hot Water Pastry ready to use Recipe
- 1/2 large butternut pumpkin, peeled and cubed
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) as needed BUY
- pink salt flakes to taste BUY
- black pepper to taste
- fresh thyme as needed
- 200 Grams Swiss cheese, gruyere is preferable as it has a lot of flavour
- egg wash to finish
- sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Do
- 1
Premake the Caramelised Onion early as it has to be cold before adding to the pies.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 180°C and toss the cubed pumpkin with EVOO, salt, pepper and thyme leaves. Roast until softened and golden, slightly undercooked is OK. Cool.
- 3
Make the pastry and once ready to roll, cut into rounds and line either ramekins or muffin tin holes with pastry. Make sure the pastry comes above the top of the tin so you can encase the filling once you add the pastry lids.
- 4
Place the cheese into the Thermomix bowl and mill 8 sec/speed 8.
- 5
Starting with the pumpkin, divide between the pie shells, top with a decent tablespoon of the caramelised onion, a sprig of thyme and then the cheese.
- 6
Cut smaller rounds from the remaining pastry and seal the pies, folding the sides of the pastry over the top of the lid. This can be as tricky or intricate as you wish. Make some decorations and have fun!
- 7
Brush with egg wash and bake for up to 60 minutes. Timing varied according to which oven I used. It will also slightly vary based on the size of the pie and whether you bake in a tin or a ramekin.
- 8
These should lift quite easily out of the tins or ramekins once cooled. I returned mine to the oven to reheat, out of the tin so that the bases became a little more crispy.
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
