Quick & Easy Cheese and Onion Pasties

Cheese and onion pasties are a huge favorite of ours. Most days we have bread, cheese and fruit for lunch but on occasion we prefer to have a cooked meal, especially when the weather is a little cooler.

These pasties are very quick and easy to prepare and satisfy our pastry cravings! The preparation time is only a few minutes and then these take about 15 - 20 minutes to bake.

I use a ready-made dough because I never have time to make my own in the middle of the day. The other ingredients are those that I always tend to have in the fridge so as long as I remember to keep stocked up with dough, I can make these at any time.

Because we love pasties so much, we used to buy frozen versions at one time but with a half hour baking time, they took longer to cook than the ones I make myself. The homemade ones are tastier too!

These ingredients served the two of us for a satisfying lunch.

• 1 tube butter crescent dough
• 6oz. (approximately) cheese. This was a sharp Cheddar
• 2 medium onions
• Black pepper
• A little olive oil

CHOP THE ONIONS

Chop the onions quite finely. If you find that they tend to make your eyes water, I find that this is reduced, if not completely eliminated, if you cut the root end from the onion before the top or the skin.

COOK THE ONIONS

Heat the oil in a frying pan / skillet. When it's warmed through, add the onions, stir them well, and turn the heat to medium. You can then leave them to cook whilst you prepare the cheese and the dough.

PREHEAT THE OVEN

Set the oven to the temperature shown on the pack of dough. This can vary between brands.

GRATE THE CHEESE

My cheese grater has two different grating sizes. I use the finer of the two when I'm grating the cheese for these pasties.

ROLL THE DOUGH

Lay out the dough on a floured board or work surface. Separate it into squares. These are pre-scored.

ADD THE GRATED CHEESE

Onto half of each square spread grated cheese and add freshly-ground black pepper.

TOP WITH ONIONS

By now, the onions will be soft so using a spoon, add the onion on top of the cheese. Then fold over so that the cheese and onions are contained in dough parcels.

BAKE

Place the parcels onto a lightly floured baking tin and bake until they are golden.

We enjoy these pasties with salad leaves sprinkled with sunflower seeds and a little olive oil. For colder days, they make a delicious lunch served with baked beans!

Here you can see the step-by-step photographs showing you how to make these delicious pies easily and quickly.

I always have cheese in the fridge - you can use the variety of your choice - and there's usually an onion lurking somewhere. By keeping a tube of pastry instock, I can quickly prepare these delicious pasties.

They are perfect for a meat-free family dinner or lunch. This is an adaptable dish that is enjoyed by everyone. These can be served at a dinner party as a main course for non meat eaters. They make a wonderful appetizer too.

I have served them for brunch and they are even delicious cold as part of a buffet.