Ingredients
Units
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- For the pastry:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp water (may need more)
- ***
- For the filling:
- 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely minced bacon
- 1/2 top-quality anchovy fillet (I prefer Ortiz brand), finely minced
- 2 tbsp leeks (white part only) finely chopped
- 2 Swiss chard leaves (green parts only), shredded and chopped
- 3/4 cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano, rubbed between the palms
- 2 1/2 tbsp Ricotta Cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg white, beaten
- vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Prepare the pastry:
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl
- Add the olive oil and 2 tbsp egg and blend with a fork. Reserve the rest of the egg for the filling.
- Add just enough water to bring the pastry together as a firm dough.
- Turn this out onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 min)
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the filling:
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat and add the finely minced anchovy – cook until anchovy dissolves in oil. Add bacon, cook until rendered – remove. Add onion and leek and fry until golden (about 5 minutes)
- Add the chard, spinach and oregano and fry until the chard is very tender (about 10 minutes).
- Transfer the contents of the skillet to a bowl and then mix in the bacon, cheeses and the leftover egg from the pastry.
- Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
- Roll the dough on a lightly l-floured work surface to about 2mm/ 1/16th inch thick.
- Use a floured 6cm/2 ½ inch pastry cutter and cut into as many rounds as you can.
- Gather the scraps, re-roll out and cut again. You should end up with about 20 circles.
- Place 1 tsp of the filling in the center of each pastry round and brush the edges with the egg white.
- Fold the dough over to form a semi-circle and press the edges with the ends of a fork to seal.
- As you complete each pastry, transfer to a baking tray lined with foil. Note: at this stage you can freeze the pastries and then thaw before cooking, or you can cook them right away.
- Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer or large work (you need at least 1 ½ inches / 4cm) and heat to 190C/375F.
- Working in batches, add the pastries to the oil and fry until brown and crisp (about 5 minutes).
- Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towels using a slotted spoon.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
