Pizza Pockets
Gluten and grain free
*Can be paleo + dairy free if you omit the organic goats cheese
Note; this recipe makes 12 pizza pockets. I froze half of them to save for quick, easy meals for those days where you don’t feel like cooking, or have enough ingredients to make a proper meal.
The grass-fed ghee I use is 99% casein and lactose free, which is fantastic for those of you who can’t tolerate butter, or if you are on a strict Paleo diet, or if you want to taste something other than coconut oil.
Makes 12
Gluten Free Pastry Ingredients
2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
1 cup almond flour/ meal
4 Tbsp grass-fed ghee (or you can use butter)
3 eggs + 2 egg yolks
2 tsp adobo seasoning
2-4 Tbsp water (as needed)
Pizza Filling Ingredients
500g Organic lamb or beef mince (I use Cleaver’s brand from Coles or Woolworths)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
1 cup mixed veggies (I used grated broccoli stem, carrot and zucchini)
4 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves or 1-2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1-2 tsp dried thyme
1-2 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional; 1 Tbsp bone broth concentrate or powder
1-1.5 cups organic, hard goats cheese, grated
Butter, ghee or coconut oil for frying
Egg Wash
1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
Add all of the pastry ingredients (except the water) into a food processor or thermomix and blend to combine. Blend in 1 Tbsp of water at a time until you reach a dough consistency, it shouldn’t be crumbly, it should come together perfectly.
Wrap the dough or place it into a container and place in the fridge for a few hours. (I usually make the dough the day before for ease).
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line 2x baking trays with baking paper.
Add the diced onion to a large frying pan with some of your chosen oil. Fry until golden brown.
Add the grated veggies and garlic and fry for a few minutes. Then add the mince and cook until it has browned.
Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the grated cheese) and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken up. Taste the mixture and adjust any of the herbs or seasoning if desired.
Remove the frying pan from the heat and allow to cool down until warm.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and slice the dough into four pieces.
Roll one of the pastry pieces out in between two pieces of baking paper evenly. Place a bowl (I used a bowl with a 12cm circumference) on top of the pastry and cut around it so you have a circle of pastry. Gently roll the circle out a little bit more until you reach an even thickness.
Repeat this process until you have 12x circles of pastry, or used up all of the pastry.
Place some of the filling inside of each pastry circle and some of the grated cheese on top of the meat filling. Fold the dough over the filling by bringing bottom edge of dough over top edge and press the edges together using your fingers and press a fork all around the edge to create a pattern. If there’s any cracks in the pastry, try to fuse the dough together gently with your fingers.
Place the pizza pockets onto the lined baking trays spaced evenly apart. Glaze each turnover with the egg wash, this helps to seal up any small cracks that may have appeared in the pastry. Optional; sprinkle with a few sesame seeds.
Place into the oven and bake until golden brown all over. Roughly 20-22 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place onto a wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!
I haven’t tried a nut free version yet, however I am working on it, so stay tuned for that one!
