Take your turnovers to the next level with this homegrown recipe

I have spent my life bringing joy to others through cooking and baking. The story I can tell is a very practical guide to how Australian ingredients can work in our everyday lives.

Christopher The's lamb shank turnovers

I am an everyday Australian. I was born here, but my recent ancestors are from another land. My parents came from Indonesia with a wish for their children to grow up Australian. I have no Indigenous ancestory, and cannot claim to understand the connection Indigenous Australians feel to their land, or the hardships they have endured and continue to endure. But as my own connection to the land I live on deepens, I have become aware that the “modern” idea of oneself as a separate entity from the land – “the master of all I survey” – is dated. I have spent my life bringing joy to others through cooking and baking. The story I can tell is a very practical guide to how native Australian ingredients can and should be incorporated into our everyday lives and routines – and, specifically, how they can be a part of our baking.

This is an edited extract from Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé (Hardie Grant, $60). Photography by Chris Chen.

Savoury lamb shank turnovers. Photography: Chris Chen

Christopher The. Photography: Chris Chen

Lamb shank pie filling

Ingredients

• 250g carrot, roughly diced
• 200g celery, roughly diced
• 250g onion, roughly diced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 bunch of lemon thyme, leaves picked
• 2kg lamb shanks
• 20g fine salt
• 10g ground black pepper
• 750ml red wine
• 35g plain flour
• 12g cornflour

Native seed mix

• 20g white sesame seeds
• 5g black sesame seeds
• 5g poppy seeds
• 5g saltbush seeds
• 5g ground wattleseed

To assemble

• 1 quantity puff pastry
• Egg wash

Method

1. For the lamb shank pie filling, mix the vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Add enough of the vegetables and herbs to the flameproof casserole dish to form a 1cm thick layer. (This protects the lamb from the heat of the pot.) Lay the lamb shanks on top as flat as you can. Add the remaining vegetables and herbs on top, then the salt and pepper. Pour in 750ml water and the wine (the liquid should just cover the meat). Cover with the lid, place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and braise for about 3 hours.
2. Remove the lid and turn the shanks over in the liquid. If your shanks are exposed, top up with hot water. Braise until the meat falls off the bone and the sinew has melted into jelly. Remove the shanks and pick off the meat, trying to keep it in nice chunks. Use a chopstick to remove the bone marrow and add this to the vegetables along with the meat. Make sure to remove any loose bits of bone.
3. Strain the liquid into a saucepan for thickening. Skim off and discard any liquid fat and place the saucepan over a medium heat to reduce until you are left with an amount of liquid that will work for the quantity of pie filling. Mix the flour, cornflour and 75ml water, then whisk this into the liquid and cook gently for 20 minutes until thick, stirring often. Combine with the meat and vegetables, adjusting the seasoning if necessary.
4. For the native seed mix, combine all ingredients.
5. When you’re ready to assemble the turnovers, roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 3mm and cut into squares 16cm wide. Brush the edges with egg wash and place about 130g of pie filling in the centre of each square. Close the ends into a triangle and gently press together without damaging the layers of pastry. Chill the turnovers at this stage to make handling easier.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C. Egg-wash the turnovers, being careful to avoid getting egg on the cut edges. Sprinkle the native seed mix over the tops and place on a baking tray. Cut a couple of holes in the top of each turnover. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is dry and golden.

Makes 12 turnovers