Bridies

My adaptation of another of Huey's recipes. He describes a Bridie as "a South African pasty filled with spiced minced lamb... well, kind of..." Minced lamb is what Americans call "ground lamb". As I don't like my foods hot and spicy, when I make these I shall be omitting the sambel oelek (or any other chilli paste) and increasing the garlic. They looked so delicious that I'm really looking forward to making these. I'm also interested to learn from South Africans how well-known this dish is in South Africa and the degree to which this version has varied from the standard Bridie. If you are planning to make this recipe, please check the NOTE below the directions about a problem I had in posting one ingredient. For yield, I also tried to write, again unsuccessfully, "2 large or 4 small Bridies". Whether you consider this recipe appropriate to serving 2 or 4 will, of course, depend on the appetites of the eaters, and whether the Bridies are being served with other side dishes or on their own!

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 2-4 Bridies

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  onion, chopped
• 1  leek, chopped (coarse outer stalks discarded, use both white and inner green stalks)
• 3  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon allspice
• 1 -2  teaspoon sambal oelek (or any other chilli paste)
•  sea salt, to taste
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 600  g lean ground lamb (a little over 19 ounces)
• 1 (250 g) can diced tomatoes, drained a little (reserve liquid as you may want to add some later, 250g is 8 ounces)
• 1 -2  cup  beef stock or 1 -2  cup  vegetable stock, such as Vegetable Stock
• 1  tablespoon sultana
• 1  tablespoon pine nuts
• 3 -4  tablespoons  chopped fresh coriander
• 2  puff pastry sheets
• 1  egg
• 1⁄4 cup milk
•  olive oil flavored cooking spray
• 3  tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1⁄2 lemon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°-190°C fan forced (200°-210°C normal)/350°-375°F/4-5 gas mark.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed – preferably non-stick - pan and gently sauté the onion, leek and 2 garlic cloves, stirring occasionally, until they have softened.
3. Add the cinnamon, allspice, sambel, a little salt and a decent grinding of pepper; stir well to cover the onion, leek and garlic with the spices and briefly cook until the spices are toasted and have begun to release their aromas; add the ground/minced and cook, continually mashing to break up the lamb, until the lamb is lightly browned.
4. Add 1 can of tomatoes with 1 cup stock, the sultanas and the pine nuts; mix well and gently cook until the contents of the pan are thick and fragrant, adding more tomatoes and/or stock if needed; set aside to cool.
5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of coriander and mix in well. If you have no coriander, you could use mint instead.
6. Place the pastry sheets on a workbench and cut a large round in each one.
7. Mix together the egg and milk; brush the pastry edges with the egg wash and place a mound of the mince/ground lamb mixture on one side of each round, being careful not to use too much so that the filling bursts out once the pastry is sealed; fold over the pastry, press down and crimp the edges with a fork. If you seem to have too much mixture for two Bridies, cut out and fill a third pastry round.
8. Brush the pastries with the egg/milk wash; place the pastries on 1-2 lightly oiled baking trays and cook in the oven until golden brown. Remember all the ingredients are cooked so you are only needing to cook and brown the pastry. I've estimated 20 minutes, but cooking times will vary with different ovens.
9. Combine the remaining garlic with the yoghurt, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a little coriander.
10. Serve the Bridies with the yoghurt sauce in a bowl on the side.
11. NOTE: You can also make and fill smaller pastry rounds can be used, if you prefer. In posting the ingredients, I tried posting TWO cans of tomatoes - you may only need or choose to use the one can but may need the second can. I tried lots of times and lots of different wordings but inexplicably - to me anyway - it kept failing to post, so I settled for the ONE can. When adding the tomatoes and the stock, you can vary the ratio of the two according to your taste preferences.