Recipe of the week: Spicy Scotch Lamb pastries

You can prepare the pies uncooked up to two days in advance of serving. Simply keep them covered in the fridge until ready to cook and serve.

Toast pine nuts easily by heating a dry frying pan until hot, then adding the nuts and allowing them to toast in the pan for two to three minutes, stirring. Cool on kitchen paper.

Filo pastry dries out quickly, so keep the sheets you are waiting to use covered with damp kitchen paper in order to keep them pliable.

Ingredients (makes 12)

300g minced Scotch Lamb PGI

40 pine nuts, toasted

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1½ tsp ground cumin

1½ tsp ground coriander

A pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp concentrated mint sauce

4 filo pastry sheets (30 x 35cm sheets)

3 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil

2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Method

Put the lamb, all but one tablespoon of pine nuts, garlic and spices into a bowl. Mix well and season lightly. Mix in the mint sauce. Divide into 12 portions and form each into a 5cm patty. Leave to the side.

Work with one filo sheet of pastry at a time, brushing each one lightly with oil all over.

From one of the shorter sides, fold up the bottom third of the pastry and then fold the top third down. Brush with oil and cut into three even-sized pieces. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets.

Place a lamb patty into the centre of each, bring up the sides and scrunch to make a rough case around the filling, leaving the top open. Cover and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan oven/gas 6. Arrange the pies on a large lined baking tray. Brush the pastry with any remaining oil and bake for 25 minutes until golden – the meat juices will run clear when the lamb is cooked through.

Serve the pastries hot or warm, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, the remaining pine nuts and fresh mint.

• For more recipes go to www.makeitscotch.com

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