Stranger Foods

Harissa chicken, tomato and olive pasties

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 2 hr 15 mins

It’s a sad day when there’s not a jar of harissa in my fridge; it’s such a versatile seasoning. Here, it really brings the filling ingredients together and when I bake these I love the sight of its bright red oil escaping from any tiny crack in the pastry – it’s a sign of promising things to come.

Source: River Cottage Great Pies, Pasties, Puds and more

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

750 g shortcrust pastry, made with half butter, half lard
Flour, to dust
Egg wash (beaten egg)

For the filling

4 organic or free-range chicken thighs (bone in)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes, or 1 large
100 g sun-dried tomatoes
75 g kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
small bunch dill, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 generous tbsp rose harissa (more if you like it hot!)
Sea salt and black pepper, freshly cracked

Instructions

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Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 4.
For the filling, put the chicken thighs into a roasting tray, trickle over 1 tbsp olive oil, season and roast for until very tender. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Turn the oven up to 180°C/Gas 6. Add the sweet potatoes to the (now empty) roasting tray. Trickle over the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, season and roast for until tender.
Pick the chicken from the bones and chop it, keeping any skin and juices. Finely chop the skin. Put all the chicken and juices into a large bowl with the sweet potatoes and remaining filling ingredients. Mix well, breaking up some of the potatoes to bind the mix. Check the seasoning.
Turn the oven up to 200°C/Gas 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Divide the pastry into 4 portions. Roll each out to a rough circle, 3 mm thick, and trim to a 22 cm round, using an upturned plate or loose-bottomed cake/flan tin base as a guide.
Pile a quarter of the filling onto one side of each pastry round, leaving a 3 cm clear border. Brush this border with egg wash, then fold the other side of the pastry over the filling and bring the edges together. Press the pastry edges firmly to seal and crimp them. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash.
Lay the pasties on the baking tray and bake for then lower the oven setting to 180°C/Gas 6 and cook for another until golden brown.

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