Pumpkin & Feta Puffs
Inspired by….our beloved curry puff of course!
If you’re a pastry lover like me, this recipe for the crust is perfect and incredibly easy. It’s light in texture, yet sturdy enough to hold your favourite fillings. This time I’m using pumpkin and feta, but feel free to play around with what you have at home!
Some alternative combinations:
Spinach, mushroom, cheese
Roasted peppers, anchovies
Cauliflower, onion, cheese
Sweet potato, lentils
…let me know what others you get down to trying! Leftover curry chicken goes really well in this too (the options are endless!).
THE RECIPE
SERVES 8-10 PUFFS
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup olive oil
2.5 tbsp cold water
Filling
420g pumpkin, cut into small, even cubes
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 chilli padi, minced
4 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g feta cheese, cut into small cubes
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Eggwash
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Place the pumpkin pieces onto a sheet tray and season with thyme, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Toss well and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through (not mushy).
Meanwhile, prepare the dough! Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and knead until a dough forms. If required, you may add more cold water to it. Cover and chill for 10 minutes.
For the rest of the filling, sautée the onion in a heated and oiled pan until soft and fragrant. Set aside in a large bowl.
Once the pumpkin is cooked and cooled, add it to the sautéed onions. Into the same bowl, add the chili, cream of balsamic vinegar, lime juice, and feta. Season if needed. Set aside.
Before removing the dough from the fridge, prepare a small bowl of egg wash by combining a beaten egg with a teaspoon of water.
To make the puff, roll out a portion of the dough and cut a circle out using a round cutter. Roll it out slightly to expand it’s size if needed. Place 1 tbsp of filling into each dough, seal, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Once they’re all ready, place them on a baking tray, bush with egg wash, and bake for 20 minutes.
Notes
Adjust the season according to how sweet your pumpkin is. For this recipe, I’ve only used tried it with the Japanese pumpkin, otherwise known as Kabocha; and from my experience, those coming from Australia are much sweeter than those grown in Malaysia. Probably due to the weather. So if your pumpkins aren’t on the sweeter side, you may want to add some sugar for sweetness.