Ham, Pea and Mint Pasties

These pasties are so good, I cannot tell you how tasty they are! Well I can try, that, surely, is partly the point of a food blog! Just the combination of all the ingredients works so well together and I even thought the shortcrust pastry was probably better than puff pastry would have been and I love puff pastry! I made a batch of these a few weeks ago and froze them and this is the first one I've tried. I used shredded ham hock as I couldn't find any thickly sliced ham, not even the deli counter had anything other than honey roast ham which I hate. I will definitely be making them again. I served it with a lovely green salad, using lettuce from my Mum's garden.

Ham Pea and Mint Pasties (adapted from Good Food Magazine May 2010
(Serves 2)

1/2 sheet ready rolled light shortcrust pastry
25g low fat spread
1/2 onion, finely chopped
100g peas, frozen or cooked fresh
50g thickly sliced ham, chopped into small chunks
small bunch mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
125g pack ricotta

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion and gently sweat for 10-15 mins until really soft, but not very coloured. Stir in the peas for 1 min, then turn off the heat and stir in the ham, mint and ricotta with plenty of seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 180C and divide the pastry into 2 equal pieces. Brush the edges with a little of the beaten egg, spoon half the filling on half of the pastry, then bring over the opposite side of the pastry and seal. Crimp to make a pasty shape. Carefully lift onto a baking sheet. Brush the finished pasties all over with egg. Bake for 30-40 mins until golden and crisp. Leave to cool slightly, then serve either warm or cold.