Briony’s Beetroot Samosas & Peanut Butter Cheesecake Samosas

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.  

Step 2
Make the beetroot filling. Pour the olive oil into the baking dish. Add the beetroot and onion and sprinkle over the salt, pepper, rosemary, and balsamic vinegar and glaze. Toss everything together and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until the beetroot is just tender. Tip the roasted mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in the walnuts and port-soaked cranberries (along with any remaining port) and set aside to cool.

Step 3
Meanwhile, make both samosa doughs. For the savoury dough, place the flour, salt and oil in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl, stir through the poppy seeds using a wooden spoon, and set aside. Wipe out the food processor and add the flour, salt, cocoa and ghee for the sweet dough. Blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and tip into a separate bowl. 

Step 4
Make the sweet dough. Add about 125ml of water to the bowl a little at a time and bring the mixture together with your hands until you have a stiff dough. Gently knead the dough until smooth, then place it back in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside to rest. 

Step 5
Switch to the savoury dough. Add about 125ml of water to the bowl a little at a time, and bring the mixture together with your hands until you have a stiff dough. Gently knead the dough until smooth then place back in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside to rest. 

Step 6
While the doughs are resting, make the peanut butter cheesecake filling. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until well combined, then transfer the mixture to a separate bowl. 

Step 7
Make the blue cheese dip. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on a medium speed until just combined, then pour into serving bowl, cover with cling film and set aside. 

Step 8
To make the chocolate dip, place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Gently warm the cream in a small pan over a low heat until hot but not boiling. Pour the cream over chocolate chips, leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Mix in the ground fennel seeds and the salt. Transfer the dip to a dipping bowl, cover with cling film and set aside.

Step 9
Prepare the decoration for the savoury samosas. First, make a beetroot glaze. Put the beetroot juice in a medium pan over a medium heat, bring to the boil, then cook until thick, syrupy and reduced by two thirds. Stir the cornflour into 1 teaspoon of cold water, add to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge. 

Step 10
Make the savoury samosas. Cut the chilled savoury dough into 6 equal pieces, each about 95g. Roll each piece into a ball and place the balls under a damp sheet of kitchen paper to stop them drying out. 

Step 11
Take 1 ball and roll it out to a disc about 2mm thick and slightly larger than 20cm in diameter. Use the 20cm plate to cut out a neat circle, then slice the circle in half to give 2 semi-circles. Wet the edges of 1 semi-circle with a pastry brush dipped in water. Bring the 2 corners (1 at each end of the straight edge) together, overlapping the straight edges slightly and pressing the edges together to create a cone. 

Step 12
Line the cone with 3 small spinach leaves. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of beetroot filling into the cone, or so that the filling is 1cm below the top edge of the cone. Dampen the open edge, then press together and seal the rim by pressing with the tines of a fork. Repeat to make 6 savoury samosas in total.  

Step 13
Repeat steps 11 and 12 with the sweet samosa dough and the peanut butter cheesecake filling to make 6 sweet samosas.  

Step 14
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C/350°F. Fry 2 savoury samosas at a time for 5 minutes, flipping them halfway through, until cooked through and golden. Remove from the fryer with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm. Repeat twice more until all the savoury samosas are cooked, then repeat for the sweet samosas. 

Step 15
Decorate the savoury samosas. Use a pastry brush to cover the tip of each savoury samosa in beetroot glaze, then dip each in the blitzed walnuts.  

Step 16
Decorate the sweet samosas. Warm the golden syrup in the microwave for 15 seconds (or heat gently in a small pan). Use a pastry brush to cover the tip of each sweet samosa in golden syrup, then dip each in the bashed peanuts. Serve the samosas with their accompanying dips.