Brazilian Chicken Pies

Before starting keto, I made a very tasty chicken pie that we had for tea on a regular basis. We’ve missed it since starting keto, and so I was excited when I came across this recipe. The pies looked so good in the photos!

Once again my attempt turned out to be a disaster. Appearance-wise, my crust was a horrible colour and there was not enough of it to completely hold the filling. Taste-wise, the crust was quite unpleasant.

I wonder whether the problem was with the flaxseed I used – I can only seem to get one type, and it looks like golden flaxseed may have been used in the original recipe to achieve the nice light colour in the crust (but I’m not sure of this, or whether this would impact on the flavour). We ended up eating the pie filling but couldn’t struggle through the crust!

Ingredients:

For the filling:
• 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
• 80 g (2.8 oz) of onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp of chopped jalapeno or other chili
• 400 g (1 lb) of raw chicken breast, diced
• 1 Tbsp of coconut flour
• 1/4 cup of coconut cream (or coconut milk)
• 1 tsp of ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup (40 g or 1.5 oz) of artichoke hearts (or hearts of palm per the original recipe)
• 1 Tbsp of lime juice
• 3 Tbsp of cilantro (coriander), chopped

For the crust:
• 85 g (3 oz) of cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp of coconut oil or butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of ground flaxseed
• 3 Tbsp of coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).
2. Heat the coconut oil for the filling in a medium saute pan.
3. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for an additional minute.
5. Add the chopped chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the coconut flour and let it toast for about a minute, then add the coconut cream or milk and mix until all of the flour is absorbed.
7. Add the coriander, pepper flakes, and artichoke hearts and let it simmer for about 3 more minutes.
8. Finally, remove from the heat and add the cilantro and lime juice.
9. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
10. Set the filling aside to cool while you make your crust.
11. Combine the cream cheese and the coconut oil for the crust, and blend until smooth.
12. Add the egg and blend until fully combined.
13. Stir in the ground flaxseed, coconut flour and salt until a stiff dough forms.
14. Chill in the fridge for 5 minutes.
15. To make the mini pies, divide the dough into four equal balls.
16. The easiest way to roll them out is to do it between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll into a circle and place about half a cup of filling onto half the circle.
17. Use a thin spatula slid under the crust to release it from the parchment and fold it over.
18. Pinch the edges and place on a greased cookie sheet.



19. Make a few slashes in the top to let the steam out.
20. Repeat with the remaining pies.
21. Bake for 30 minutes.

Nutritional Info: