savory hand pies

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• salt
• black pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 1 pound ground beef (85/15 ratio lean to fat)
• 1 ½ teaspoons italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 3 level tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups beef stock or broth
• 1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced into ¼ -½ inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• ¼ cup green peas
• 2 (17.3 ounce) packages puff pastry sheets, frozen
• 1 egg, whisked for egg wash
• flaky salt, optional garnish

Instructions

1. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter then add chopped onions. Sauté 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden. Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant.
2. Add crushed tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, chopped basil, sugar (or add sugar to taste), and black pepper. Stir together and bring to a boil then reduce heat, partially cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. You can leave your soup with a chunky consistency, but if you like a blended/creamy soup, use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot to desired consistency or transfer to a blender in batches and blend until smooth (being careful not to over-fill the blender with hot liquid and pulse a few times initially to get it started), then return blended soup to the pot over medium heat.
4. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and return to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and turn off the heat.*
5. Ladle into warm bowls and top with more parmesan and chopped fresh basil.