Jackfruit Half-Moon Pies

It's Veganuary, which means some of you might be eager to adopt a vegan diet this month but are afraid of ending up craving for meat. Well, if that is your case then these jackfruit half-moon pies are perfect for you, as jackfruit has meaty texture. Ready to try them?

Ingredients for the dough:

50 gr of vegetable butter

20 gr of olive oil

100 gr of water

270 gr of unleavened wheat flour

a bit of salt

Ingredients for the filling:

2 Tbsp of olive oil

1 leek stalk

1 garlic clove

1 celery stalk

1/4 red pepper

5 gr of ginger

2 Tbsp of tomato sauce

2 Tbsp of soy sauce

250 gr of jackfruit

1 tsp of cumin

1 Tbsp of paprika

black pepper and salt to taste

Instructions for the dough:

- In a small pan melt the vegetable butter, together with the olive oil.

- In a bowl mix well the water, the flour and the salt. Then, add the melted butter and the olive oil and knead everything very well to obtain an homogeneous dough.

- Let it rest for two hours.

Instructions for the filling:

- Chop finely the leek stalk, the celery stalk, the garlic and the ginger.

- Dice the red pepper and cut roughly the jackfruit.

- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the leek and the garlic. When the leek is translucent and soft, add the celery, the red pepper, the ginger, the tomato sauce and the soy sauce. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

- Add the jackfruit to the frying pan, as well as the cumin, the paprika, the black pepper and the salt. Let it cook for 10 more minutes.

Putting the dough and the filling together:

- Preheat the oven to 160ºC (320ºF).

- Roll out the dough (on a sparsely floured surface) with a rolling pin (dusted with flour) until it is thin (but not too much, otherwise it will start to break).

- About 2 cm away from a border of the dough, put small amounts (about 1 Tbsp) of the filling (as in the photo above).Then, fold the dough to cover the filling and press slightly the two surfaces of the dough, so that they stick together. Cut in half-moons.

- Roll out the remaining dough and repeat the process. You should get about 9 jackfruit half-moon pies.

- Arrange the pies on a tray lined with parchment paper.

- Brush the top of each pie with a bit of olive oil, so they get golden.

- Place the tray in the oven and let it cook for 30 minutes at 160ºC (320ºF). Then increase the temperature to 180ºC (356ºF) and let the pies cook for another 15 minutes or until the pies are golden.

Suggestion: Serve alongside a salad to get a light yet satisfying meal.

Enjoy! :)