Banana Pastries

Banana pastries....not something that most people dream of making, but none the less...we shall visit this recipe. How in the world did I even think to make these?? Well I was thumbing through some of my cookbooks, still trying to get rid of some and found this recipe. As I am reading the list of ingredients I looked over to my banana keeper and saw my bananas were about to the point of either making banana bread tomorrow or throwing them out. But I had recently made banana bread. I wanted something different. And these looked good. I mean who doesn't keep their bananas to black and then not feel like banana bread when it's time? I do that. And then I have rotten bananas that are not any good any more. So I decided I would make pastries instead. And the picture made it look oh so tasty. But there was one thing standing in my way.....Alex. I put on my saddest puppy dog face and gently approached him. I did the whole cliche "I want something" routine. He did not take the bait for almost 5 minutes. He finally asked me what I wanted. I told him and he looked sideways at me and agreed. WHAT?!?! He agreed? That's not how this charade goes. He is suppose to say no, then I give convincing reasons as to why it should happen, he thinks about it and says he is not sure, then I persuade some more until he finally agrees. This was too easy!! I asked him why he agreed so quickly and his response warmed me to my core "Because I trust your judgement in recipes and if you think it is going to be good it probably will be, so go for it"!! What a wonderful thing to say to me. I mean I always think I have great taste in what I believe will taste good and not taste good but when someone close to you says that, it really means something.

So over the tender moment, I moved forward with glee!! Banana pastries here I come baby!! So put on your "I'm thinking outside the box" hat and lets get started!!

Pastry:
450g plain flour (this weighs out to a little over 3 1/2c flour)
4T lard
4T butter
4oz ice water

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the lard and butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixtrue resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually blend in the water and bring together with your fingers to form a soft dough. Wrap in clingwrap and chill in the fridge for 30 min.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface and stamp out 16 rounds, 4in wide.

My dough did not want to come together at all. I had to add a few extra teaspoons of water (one at a time) until it came together completely. And then the dough did not want to roll out as thin as I would have liked. But it all worked out in the end.

Filling:
2 large bananas
2 1/2oz finely chopped dried apricots
pinch of nutmeg
dash of orange juice
*may need to add 1-2T sugar depending on the sweetness of the banana mixture

Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork and stir in the apricots, nutmeg, and orange juice, mixing well.

Spoon a little banana filling on to one half of each round and fold the dough over the filling to make semi-circles. Pinch edges together and seal by pressing with a fork.

Arrange the pastries on a non-stick baking tray and brush them with a beaten egg yolk.

 Cut a slit in each pastry and cook in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Dust the pastries with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.

These turned out fabulous!! I was super nervous. I dusted 2 pastries for me and Alex and we took a bite, they were not spectacular. We both agreed they needed a little extra sweetness to help the dish along. Thats when we decided it needed vanilla ice cream. It made all the difference in the world!! So do not skimp and not use ice cream or you will not enjoy these as you should. I am converted. I took some over to one of my neighbors and she made ego-inflating yummy noises. Whenever I am feeling insecure or unsure about myself or my cooking, I just need to go visit her and everything comes back into focus!! And normally she likes everything I make. Hope y'all enjoy them as much as we did!!