3 cups flour
100 grams butter
¾ cup unsweetened plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons oil
500 grams minced lamb or beef
1 tablespoon harissa, see recipe on my website
12 sundried tomatoes, sliced
½ cup chopped olives
½ cup toasted pinenuts
¾ cup red wine
1 tablespoon cornflour
1½ cups beef stock
chopped parsley, optional
1. Place the flour in a food processor. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add almost all the yoghurt and pulse until the mixture forms a soft dough. You may need to add the remaining yoghurt.
2. Remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap or baking paper and leave to rest for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and when really hot, add the minced lamb or beef and brown it, breaking it up with a fork as you go.
2. Add the harissa and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomatoes, olives, pinenuts and red wine and cook untill the wine has almost evaporated.
3. Sprinkle over the cornflour and stir in. Add the beef stock and stir, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the parsley and season well with salt and pepper. Allow to cool while you get the pastry ready.
5. Roll the pastry out to about 2mm thickness and cut 5cm circles from it. Place a spoonful of mixture in the centre of a circle and then press the edges together firmly, pinching to close. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
6. Deep fry or fry in hot oil until golden and crispy. Do not have the oil too hot as it will burn the samosas before they have a chance to cook and heat through. Serve warm.
This recipe is a mix of cuisines - incorporating flavours of the Middle East with samosa pastry from India. These samosas are scrummy and are ideal as a started, served with a little yoghurt raita. Alternatively, you can serve them in a large basket and enjoy as a nibble with a drink. Because the pastry is made with yoghurt, it's particularly delicious. Light in texture, it bubbles when cooking, giving a moonlike surface texture to the samosas.