Mediterranean Corn Pockets

Methods

• To make the pastry, take flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add sufficient cold water, 1 tsp at a time, mixing between additions with a table knife, until the mixture comes together into a soft dough (the dough will take anything between 3-6 tbsps water). Roll the dough into a ball and wrap well in cling film, leave to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• To make béchamel (white) sauce, heat milk in a non-stick pan with onion, peppercorns, bay leaf, mace and parsley stalks. Once it begins to boil, remove from heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the milk into a jug and discard the flavorings.
• Melt butter in another non-stick pan. Remove from heat and add flour and mix well. Return this pan to heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, constantly stirring.
• Remove from heat, and add the infused milk bit by bit, stirring well after each addition.
• Return this pan to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer the béchamel sauce for 2 minutes and take the pan off heat.
• To make sweetcorn filling, melt butter in yet another non-stick pan, add spring onions and saute for 1 minute. Add green capsicum, sweetcorn and enough béchamel sauce to bind everything together.
• Cook the mixture on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and add parsley, parmesan cheese, chilli powder, salt, freshly ground black peppercorns and sugar. Mix well and set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 180º C. Grease a baking tray.
• To assemble, remove the pastry from the refrigerator, and roll out to 3 mm thickness. Cut into squares. Place 2 tsps of filling on one half of each pastry square. Dampen the edges of the dough squares, fold the other half of the pastry over the filling and either crimp the edges together to seal or press a fork on the edges to seal the edges.
• Keep these pastries on the baking tray, keep the tray in the preheated oven and bake till the pastry turns a lovely golden.
• Arrange the corn pockets on a serving platter and serve hot with a sauce of your choice.