Belyashi

So I made these little lamb pies the other night. I got the recipe out of this cool book and I wanted to try something.

The recipe called for fresh or ground lamb and caramelized onions for the filling. Well…I didn’t have the fresh lamb, but as luck would have it, I had 1/2 a lamb roast from a gift that a buddy at work had given us for Christmas. Tracy had cooked it with a cranberry ginger sauce and it was so delicious, so I minced up about 1/2lb of the leftovers in the fridge for this recipe, including generous portions of the sauce. I also used shallots instead of onions (again, left from a previous recipe and not standard fare in the pantry) and added some minced dates and a pinch of Garam Masala at the end…just for a little zing.

The pastry dough is rolled out in little squares, very thin. You put a scoop of the lamb filling in the center and fold/crimp the pastry around it, leaving a small open area at the top, then flatten with your palm. Then you fry them in a small amount of peanut oil, first the open face, then the bottom, At the end, you add water to cover the bottom of the pan and cover for 30 seconds to steam

I haven't made a lot of pastries, so they didn’t come out pretty. They DID however taste fantastic! I wasn’t sure if the kids would eat them….they both gave the plate “the look.” One bite though, and it was a feeding frenzy.

My first pastry experiment and it was a success. I’m sure with more practice, they will also LOOK delicious too. How something looks is such a big secret to how it ends up satisfying the palate. (and really, the choice of an aquamarine dinner plate was NOT key)

I’m not much a sweets person (except for chocolate, which I DO love). I’m more of a savory and spicy cook, I like to cook things that excite the senses. I’ll be making more of these in the future and experimenting with other little pies as well.

Take care