Pastizzi or torta tal-piżelli
Use this recipe to make 15 pastizzi or a 16-18cm diameter pie.
You will need:
500g of plain flour, two teaspoonfuls of sea salt, 250g of dried green split peas (soaked overnight), one medium onion (finely chopped), a quarter of a teaspoonful of allspice, one teaspoonful of kunserva (tomato puree), black pepper, 150g-200g of lard.
First make the dough. Put the flour and one teaspoonful of sea salt into a large bowl. Add 250ml of cold water and mix until you have a doughy consistency. Gradually add another 50ml of cold water. Carry on mixing. Now turn the dough out of the bowl onto a clean, even and floured surface, and knead it for two minutes, until all is even and combined. Wrap it in a damp dish-cloth and chill it in the fridge for at least two hours before you use it.
While the dough is chilling, make the pea mixture. In a heavy-bottomed deep pan, fry the onion with the allspice in a little olive oil. Drain the peas. Add the kunserva to the pan, followed by the peas, 300ml of boiling water, one teaspoonful of sea salt, and some black pepper. Cover the pan and cook the pea mixture for around 50 minutes over a low heat. Stir it regularly or it will stick to the bottom and spoil. When the 50 minutes are up, add another 200ml of boiling water and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook the peas for a further 25 minutes. Carry on stirring to avoid sticking. The cooked peas should be mushy but still moist. They will absorb the remaining water as they cool, so make sure that they are not too dry when you turn off the heat. Leave the pea mixture to cool before you use it.
To prepare the dough for pastizzi, the best surface to use is a marble table-top – but if you don’t have one, then use any clean and smooth kitchen surface that is well away from the heat. Smother this surface and your rolling-pin with normal cooking-oil – no flour, just the oil. Leave the lard out at room temperature for an hour before you use it. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, until it is so fine that you can see the table-top through it (see picture). It doesn’t matter if it tears in parts. Smooth a thin film of lard over the dough, using your hands. Now cut it into five strips of equal width. Roll up one strip from end to end, place it on another strip, and roll that over it in the same way. Place that on another strip, and roll. Carry on until all strips are rolled over each other. Oil the inside of a plastic bag and place this roll of dough inside it. Chill it in the fridge for two hours. If you are not going to use it that day, you can freeze it for future use.
After the dough roll has been chilled, you can use it to make up a pie in the normal way, or to make pastizzi. Oil a clean surface and rolling-pin, with normal cooking-oil. Cut the chilled dough roll across the width into slices 1cm thick. Place each piece flat on the surface, and roll it out, putting a spoonful of pea mixture into the middle. Fold the dough over the pea mixture to form a semi-circle. Pat the edges together to seal them. Place the pastizzi on a non-stick baking-sheet. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/220C. Put the pastizzi in to cook, and immediately turn the heat down to between gas mark 6 and 7/210C. Cook them for around 25 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden-brown.
Pumpkin and apricot chutney
While the dough is chilling, make the pea mixture. In a heavy-bottomed deep pan, fry the onion with the allspice in a little olive oil. Drain the peas. Add the kunserva to the pan, followed by the peas, 300ml of boiling water, one teaspoonful of sea salt, and some black pepper. Cover the pan and cook the pea mixture for around 50 minutes over a low heat. Stir it regularly or it will stick to the bottom and spoil. When the 50 minutes are up, add another 200ml of boiling water and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook the peas for a further 25 minutes. Carry on stirring to avoid sticking. The cooked peas should be mushy but still moist. They will absorb the remaining water as they cool, so make sure that they are not too dry when you turn off the heat. Leave the pea mixture to cool before you use it.
To prepare the dough for pastizzi, the best surface to use is a marble table-top – but if you don’t have one, then use any clean and smooth kitchen surface that is well away from the heat. Smother this surface and your rolling-pin with normal cooking-oil – no flour, just the oil. Leave the lard out at room temperature for an hour before you use it. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, until it is so fine that you can see the table-top through it (see picture). It doesn’t matter if it tears in parts. Smooth a thin film of lard over the dough, using your hands. Now cut it into five strips of equal width. Roll up one strip from end to end, place it on another strip, and roll that over it in the same way. Place that on another strip, and roll. Carry on until all strips are rolled over each other. Oil the inside of a plastic bag and place this roll of dough inside it. Chill it in the fridge for two hours. If you are not going to use it that day, you can freeze it for future use.
After the dough roll has been chilled, you can use it to make up a pie in the normal way, or to make pastizzi. Oil a clean surface and rolling-pin, with normal cooking-oil. Cut the chilled dough roll across the width into slices 1cm thick. Place each piece flat on the surface, and roll it out, putting a spoonful of pea mixture into the middle. Fold the dough over the pea mixture to form a semi-circle. Pat the edges together to seal them. Place the pastizzi on a non-stick baking-sheet. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/220C. Put the pastizzi in to cook, and immediately turn the heat down to between gas mark 6 and 7/210C. Cook them for around 25 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden-brown.
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