Lemon Olive Tagine Hand Pies

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Keep the puff pastry in the fridge until you need it.

   oven

2. Cut the chicken into 1 cm pieces and finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a 20 cm pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 3 min until translucent. Add the chicken, garlic, ras el hanout and a little salt and cook over medium-high heat for 6 min, until no pink remains and there is no liquid left in the pan, so the pies will not go soggy.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 1 tbspOnion 80 gBoneless chicken thighs 160 gGarlic (cloves) 1Ras el hanout (Moroccan spice blend) 1 tspSalt to taste

   medium heat→medium-high heat

3. Turn off the heat, stir in the preserved lemon, roughly chopped olives, honey and chopped herbs, then spread on a wide plate to cool for 10 min. A hot filling melts the butter layers in the pastry and stops it rising, so wait until it is only lukewarm.

   Add in this stepPreserved lemon rind, finely chopped (or lemon zest) 1 tbspPitted green olives 30 gHoney 1 tspFresh coriander and parsley 5 g

4. Cut the pastry into 12 cm squares, two per person. Spoon filling onto one half of each, leaving a 1 cm border, fold over into a triangle and press the edges firmly with a fork. Cut two small slits on top to let steam out and space them out on 1 baking tray(s).

   Add in this stepChilled puff pastry sheet 220 g

5. Brush thinly with beaten egg, sprinkle with nigella seeds and bake for 18 min, until puffed, deep golden and crisp underneath. With two trays, swap their positions halfway.

   Add in this stepEgg (for egg wash) 1Nigella seeds (or black sesame) ½ tsp

6. Stir a pinch of salt into the yogurt and swirl through the harissa for a dip. The filling is very hot, so let the pies cool for 5 minutes before serving with the dip.

   Add in this stepGreek yogurt 100 gHarissa (North African chili paste) 1 tspSalt to taste