Curry Puff Pasties

Perfect for the days when you can't be bothered to cook, these pasties are sure to make for a great snack or as the centre of a packed lunch! Fill with my curry recipe (below) or use any leftover curry you might have lying around :-)

Ingredients (makes 8)

Chopped onion 100g

Sliced mushrooms 60g

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2-3 heaped tsp medium curry powder (to personal preference)

1 heaped tsp chilli powder

1 chicken breast (diced)

Tinned tomatoes (140g or half a can)

Half a cup of water

2 tbsp tomato puree

Half a chicken stock pot or cube

3 squares dark chocolate

A splash of balsamic vinegar

125 ml creme fraiche

Coriander

750g puff pastry (2 of the ready made roll out sheets or feel free to make your own)

Method

1. Preheat an oven to the temperature listed on your puff pastry packed or recipe and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

2. Add onion, mushroom, curry powder, garlic and chilli powder to a pan with a little oil and fry for 10-15 minutes until browned and combined with the spices to become almost caramelised or jammy.

3. Add in your diced chicken breast and cook for 10-15 minutes until browned and until it has fully taken on the colour of the spices.

4. Add in your chopped tomato and water and stir around until fully mixed with the other ingredients. Then add the stock cube/pot, dark chocolate, tomato puree and balsamic vinegar and mix.

5. Leave the mix to simmer for 20-30 minutes until reduced by around half and thickened (an easy way to tell is if the sauce falls off a spoon in one drop/blob as opposed to a stream).

6. Add creme fraiche and coriander and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes until they both fully combine.

7. Cut your pre-rolled puff pastry, or made puff pastry into around 16 rectangles, each around 20cm long by 10cm wide.

8. Place 4 rectangles equally spaced on each of your baking trays leaving room between themselves and the edge of the baking tray.

9. Spoon 2-3 tsp of the curry into the centre of each rectangle leaving a couple of cm between the curry and each edge.

10. Stretch the other 8 rectangles until they are slightly larger than the base rectangles, in order to fit over the curry, and then lay them over the top of the curry, lining up the edges with the bottom piece of pastry. Press down lightly with fingers and then go over with a fork, pressing gently together. Put a small hole in the top of the pasties to allow steam to escape and then place in the oven for the recommended cooking time of your pastry, usually between 15 and 25 minutes, or until risen and golden.

11. Enjoy! This is one of my favourite things to make, both for fun and with leftovers! Also, as long as the chicken is not completely cooled when it goes into the pasties, they are safe to be reheated once so feel free to have them the day after hot!

Signed A Shipwrecked Coffee (and curry) Addict