NATCHITOCHES BEET PIES

Natchitoches Beet Pies image

Provided by Food Network

Time 1h35m

Yield 16 pies

Number Of Ingredients 18

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1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, small dice
2 green bell peppers, small dice
4 celery stalks, small dice
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium-to-large roasted red beets, peeled and medium dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons beet puree (see Cook's Note)
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Vegetable oil, for frying

Steps:

For the beet filling: Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers, celery and jalapenos and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the beets, garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour to thicken, then transfer to a bowl and cool completely.
For the pie dough: Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Beat together the milk, egg and beet puree in a separate bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture until pea-size crumbs appear. Put both the flour mixture and the wet mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed until a soft dough is formed. Roll out the dough nice and thin on a floured surface, then cut into 5-inch circles.
Fill each circle with a heaping tablespoon of the beet filling, then fold into a half moon and crimp shut with a fork.
Fill a Dutch oven halfway up with vegetable oil and heat to 360 degrees F.
Fry pies in batches until crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with salt.