Background:
While planning our weekly meals recently, there were several leftover ingredients available like roasted chicken, rice, grilled corn, and homemade chicken stock. I had been thinking of trying out some type of pastry enclosed dish, since we’ve been experimenting with pastry and “short” doughs lately, so I decided to try out some chicken and rice hand pies with a fajita twist and include some beautiful okra we found while shopping.

Ingredients:
Okra Rice:
2 cups left-over cooked rice
12 oz. okra sliced
1 large leftover grilled corn (or 2 small) kernels off the cob
1 large shallot chopped

Hand Pies:
20 oz. “short crust” /puff pastry dough homemade (recommended) or store bought
1 large jalapeno cored and sliced
½ large yellow (or 1 medium) onion sliced
1 red bell pepper cored and sliced
3 tbsp. fresh chorizo
4 oz. tsp. sour cream
4 oz. chicken stock (homemade if possible)
12 oz chicken (equivalent 2 legs and thighs)

Steps:  

Okra Rice

  1. Preheat the oven to 425, place the okra on a sheet tray and roast for about 40 minutes. Remove when crispy but not burnt and set aside.
  2. Heat up a deep oiled nonstick pan, add shallots then add the corn and cook for a few minutes. Next add the rice, lower the heat and cover- stirring every couple minutes (about 8 minutes) add stock if required. Once the rice warms up and softens add the okra and mix to combine then remove from the heat.

Hand Pies

  1. While the okra is roasting, on a flowered surface, roll the dough into a “log” 10 inches long, then cut into 1” pieces (about 2 oz. each). Roll each piece out until about 1/8”-thick turning often so they don’t stick to the surface.
  2. In a heated and oiled cast iron pan start the chorizo and once it starts to brown add jalapeno, onion, red pepper and cook till the vegetables just start to soften, then add the chicken and cook until it starts to brown, then remove from the heat.
  3. Spoon one heavy tablespoon of the chicken mixture on each dough disk, then top with one heavy tablespoon of okra corn rice, next add one teaspoon stock to each it, and finally top off with one teaspoon of sour cream.
  4. Adjust the oven to 450F and crimp the pies by holding the pie in one hand, wet the inside edges with water, then push in the ends and fold over working to “crimp” the entire edge. Using a fork make several holes on each pie to allow the steam to escape. Place on a sheet tray lined with compostable parchment paper and place in the 425-degree oven for about 12-16 minutes (rotating several times) or until golden brown.

We usually serve this with our avocado corn tomato salsa, or homemade chimichurri.