Baby got snacks...

 We have been busy working on a few projects over here at teach O'Tuama so to keep my creative husband fed and watered I took the opportunity to try some of the snacks I've had pinned on my Pinterest board for some time. I started with some spicy roasted chickpeas which I came across here 

 

 

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

 

15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed + drained

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes 

 ½ tsp salt

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and drain the tin of chick peas.

Grease a baking pan, make sure your pan has a rim of some sort or your peas may go awry.

Toss chickpeas with the olive oil, chili powder, salt and red pepper flakes together in a bowl and mix well. Spread chickpeas into baking pan. 

Bake chickpeas for 10 minutes turning throughout and then bake for an additional 10 minutes. Check at this time for doneness. If you prefer a crisper chickpea bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container once completely cool.

 

A tasty alternative to chips and dare I say it just as tasty!!

 

After the chickpeas I started on something more substantial and made up some pasties with a combination of recipes from here and here. As always I use what I have to hand, the filling recipe calls for chicken thighs and fresh herbs, I don't like brown meat so I used chicken breast and as for the fresh herbs, I cant seem to keep those babies alive so I use dried herbs instead. I also doubled the pasty recipe because I wanted to freeze extra portions.

 

 To make the pasty you will need

 

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 1/2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder 

1/4 tsp. salt

6 tsp. xanthan gum

10 Tablespoons butter, cold, cut into pieces

2/3 cup shortening, frozen

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup plain yogurt 

4 tbsp.  water

potato starch for dusting

1 egg white for brushing

To make the dough combine all dry ingredients together and whisk thoroughly.

Add butter, shortening, vinegar and yogurt. Cut the wet ingredients into the dry using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, until you can form it into a ball with your hands.

 Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

 

 

 

 

 

For the filling you will need

1 onion, diced

olive oil

2 skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces

1 carrot, diced

1 medium potato, diced

1/2 tsp. of dried thyme

1/2 tsp. chili flakes

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Salt and Pepper

1 1/4 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. plain flour

 

Fry your onion in the olive oil until softened about 8-10 minutes. Add the diced chicken and fry for 5 minutes until brown, then add the chopped carrot, potatoes, garlic, thyme, chili, paprika and nutmeg. Fry for another 5 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, then pour in the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the flour and simmer on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the stock has cooked away and you’ve a nice thick gravy. Allow to cool.

 

 

 

After the pasty has been in the fridge for at least an hour its time to get rolling. Divide your dough in half. And return half to the fridge. Then divide the remaining dough in four equal pieces.

Taking one piece at a time kneed your dough on a potato floured surface and flatten into a patty. Between two pieces of parchment paper roll out the dough to about an 1/8 of an inch. I used my Wilton rolling pin guide for this but you can eyeball it. Make sure you use plenty of potato starch for dusting to ensure no sticking.

 

Cut the dough to your desired size. I wanted ours quite big so I used a bowl, but if you wanted to make smaller ones use a glass or a pasty cutter, whatever suits yourself.

 

 

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and or line a baking sheet  Lightly coat the edge of half your pasty circle with egg white and place 2 tbsp. of the chicken mixture into the centre of the pasty. Fold the pasty over and press to seal the edges.

 

 

 

Place patties on the baking sheet and brush top of the pasty with some egg white. Bake for 12 minutes then increase temperature to 375 degrees and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes depending on how brown you like them.

 

I got 6 patties out of a half ball of pasty as I added any cut offs back and I had half the chicken mixture left also which I froze for use another time. I considered going ahead and making up all the patties and freezing them that way but I was concerned how they would hold up. If anyone tries it that way please let me know how it goes. 

 

 

 

 

 So there you have it some tasty snacks to keep you going. I will get on to sharing the actual projects real soon. In the meantime you can catch up on Instagram or Facebook.

 

 Hope you have a great week. Happy Hump Day!!

 

Michelle xxx