Roasted Carrot, Leek and Goat's Cheese Pasties

I made these pasties a little while ago and then froze them. I had the first one last week and loved it. I used the basic recipe from The Sweets Life but was lazy basically! I couldn't be bothered to get the food processor out to smush up the filling and I cheated and bought shortcrust pastry instead of making my own but they were still delicious and I actually liked the chunkier filling.

Roasted Carrot, Leek and Goat's Cheese Pasties (inspired by The Sweets Life)
(Serves 6)

1 medium-large leek, sliced in half lengthways and chopped
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp oil
60ml cup water
1 kg carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
90g pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
130g soft fresh goat cheese
1 1/2 sheets ready rolled shortcrust pastry dough
milk

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped leek and saute until limp, stirring as needed, for about 3 minutes. Add the water to the pan, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the leeks are soft, stirring occasionally (10-15 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside, uncovered.

To roast the carrots, put them in a bowl, add 2 tbsp of oil and the pepper. Sprinkle with salt and mix all together to toss evenly. Spread in a roasting tin and roast for about 30 minutes until the carrots are soft, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the carrots with the thyme and garlic and roast for an additional 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the garlic and herbs are fragrant,. Once cooked add the carrots to the leeks with the olives and stir to combine.

Lay out the shortcrust pastry dough and divide into 6 pieces. To shape the pasties, put a rectangle on the work surface with the short edge of the dough facing you.

Place about 6 tbsp of the carrot-leek filling on the rectangle of dough, closer to one of the shorter edges of the dough. Slightly flatten the filling and sprinkle with some of the goat cheese. Brush around the mixture with milk.

Bring up the other short edge of the dough and fold it over the filling, covering the filling completely. Crimp the edges of the dough with a fork or your fingers and seal them well. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling. Place the pasties on baking sheets and brush the tops of the pies with milk. Then use a small sharp knife to cut a few slits in each one.

Bake the pasties for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is hot and the dough is golden brown. Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool on wire racks.

Serve warm with a green salad.