Friday at last and looking forward to the weekend, but its not all rest and play, we have a  busy week ahead of us, so as I’m getting prepped for next weeks classes i thought i would get you in the mood for the Pie and Tarts class. Hope you enjoy

Spiced Sweet Potato and Tomato pasties

The pastry for these patties is so simple to prepare and the result is a delicous crispy light pastry perfect with the spiced filling.

Makes 6

Prep 25 minutes
Cook 40 minutes

For the pastry

• 175g butter
• 300g plain flour

For the filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1tsp ground turmeric
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1/2tsp cayenne pepper
• 250g sweet potato, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
• 1tbsp tomato puree
• 300g tomatoes, chopped roughly
• small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• 4tbsp ricotta
• 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
• 2tsp Black onion seeds

1 For the pastry place the butter in the freezer for about 20 minutes until it is very hard. Sift the flour and a pinch of  salt into a mixing bowl. Hold the butter using a piece of parchment paper and coarsley grate it into the flour working quickly. Stir the butter and flour together , sprinkle with about 6 tablespoons of very cold water and mix to make a dough adding a little more water if needed. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Make the filling by heating the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion for about 6 – 8 minutes until really softened . Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer.  Stir in the spices and stir well then tip in the sweet potato.

3 Add the tomato puree and cook for a minute before adding the chopped tomatoes and about 150ml of water  and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the sweet potatoes are softened but still holding there shape. Set aside to cool.

4 When ready to make the pasties roll out half of the pastry (easier to handle if you do it half at a time) and using a  saucer cut out a disc measuring 18cm. Repeat with the remaining pastry until you have 6 discs.

5 Stir the coriander into the sweet potato mixture. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the mixture onto one side of the pastry disc and top with a tablespoon of the ricotta cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg and then fold over the pastry to make a half moon shape sealing the edges either with a fork or pinching the pastry with your finger and thumb. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

6 Brush the tops of each pastie with a little more beaten egg and sprinkle withonion seeds. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and crispy.