It’s that time of year where everything that comes out of my kitchen has a tinge or side of green & everything smells like garlic (breath included). We’re in one of my favourite times of the year, wild garlic season. I love the flavour of these pungent leaves so much, so I do tend to go a bit garlic mad & add it into almost everything right now.
But as with everything that’s foraged & free, they’re one of the best things to get creative with & have a little fun experimenting in the kitchen with, because if something goes wrong I’ll simply go out & pick some more. Where wild garlic grows there’s rarely a shortage, it spreads easily & can found carpeting woods all over the country right now, simply follow your nose.
Once the usual culprits have been made (pesto & butter), the fun can start, luckily most things can be easily improved with the addition of wild garlic. These little wild garlic & cheese pasties though we’re a stroke of genius I created a few years ago. A crisp, flaky, golden pastry housing an oozy, cheesy, garlicky filling, tell me that doesn’t sound good!
These have taken some tweaking over the years, past me would alway be over eager & make way too much filling or add in just a touch too much cheese (I rarely make things too small or with not enough of anything though). Giant or small, we were hooked on these from the first bite. Last year, I made so many in my attempt to perfect the recipe though, that I think there may be some lurking at the back of the freezer somewhere! These are the perfect thing to pack away for a picnic as the brighter & warmer days of spring arrive.
WILD GARLIC & CHEESE PASTIES
(makes 12 small pasties)
Ingredients:
For the rough puff pastry (or you can use 2 packets of ready made puff pastry) :
- 450g plain flour
- 100g unsalted butter, well chilled
- 110g lard, well chilled
- 175ml cold water
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg, beaten (for brushing)
For the filling:
- 200g white potatoes, cut into small dice (there’s no need to peel)
- 120g strong cheddar cheese, grated
- 70g wild garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp flour
- 4 tbsp double cream
- A good crack of salt & pepper
Method:
To make the pastry:
- To make the pastry, sift together the salt & flour into a large enough bowl
- Take 1/4 of the lard (roughly 26g), cut into small cubes & use your fingers to rub this into the flour
- Take the rest of the lard & the butter & use a grater to grate all of the fats into the bowl
- Use your hands to stir through & separate the grated fats so that everything covered in flour & evenly distributed
- Make a small well in the middle of the mixture & pour in the cold water
- Use a blunt knife to stir & bring the dough together (you may need to add a little more water, add it in a little spoonful at a time if you do)
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface & use a rolling pin to roll it out & shape into a long rectangle shape
- Take the top (short side) of the pastry & fold this down two thirds of the way down the length of the pastry
- Take the bottom (short side) of the pastry & fold this over the top of the piece you just folded downwards
- Cover the pasty in cling film & place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
- After the pastry has chilled, re-roll it out to a long rectangular shape & repeat the same folding method as before
- Re-cover the pastry & chill for at least 30 minutes before using
To make the filling & pasties:
- In a large bowl, add potato, cheese, wild garlic, flour, cream & seasoning & give everything a good mix together
- Next, roll out the pastry to approximately the same thickness as a £1 coin
- Use a 13cm cutter (or use a sharp knife), to cut out 12 large circles of pastry
- Divide the filling up between the circles, adding one spoonful into the centre of each one
- Carefully fold the pastry over the filling, encasing it & creating a semi-circle shape
- Press the pastry edges together to seal (you may need to use a little of the egg wash if using ready made pastry) & use your fingers to crimp the excess pastry edge (or use a fork or spoon to create a crimping effect)
- Place the shapes pasties onto a baking sheet lined with parchment & pop them into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
- Once chilled, remove from the fridge & brush the tops of each pasty with the beaten egg
- Use a sharp knife to pierce two small slits in the top of each pasty to let any any steam escape when cooking
- Bake the pasties in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden & crisp
