Goat Cheese, Mango & Red Onion Pockets with a Sharp Pear Pool

Once @EtheltheGoat had thrown down her #capricornchallenge, resistance was futile. I signed up and received an amazing hamper of vegetarian goodies including, of course, Capricorn goat's cheese. The task was to create a dish using at least some of the hamper contents, but adding any other ingredients that fitted.
       My mind began buzzing straight away, and here's the result. These quantities make two pockets. Preparation should take 25-30 minutes - unless you indulge in pastry artwork for decoration (as I did, an extra few minutes), and baking 20-25 minutes. Economy tip: the oven won't need to go on until the pastry is prepared; it will be hot by the time the pockets are ready to go in.

by rselph
via flickr.com

Goat Cheese, Mango & Red Onion Pockets with a Sharp Pear Pool
Ingredients
275g puff pastry, thawed if originally frozen
70g Capricorn goat cheese
3 tbsp red onion chutney
Flesh of about one-third of a mango, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or half tbsp dried)
Half tsp ground black pepper
A little beaten egg
1 fresh pear, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Half tsp sugar


The oven will need to be quite hot, around 180C, shelf in the middle.
Here's what mine looked like, prepped and ready to go. I've placed a portrait of Ethel on each, with olive for eyes and nose, and a thin strip parallel to the plain side of the pocket - to look like a pocket.

Method
1  Roll out the pastry to a 26cm square and trim edges. Cut in half down the middle to
        make 2 rectangles and place them on parchment on a baking sheet.
2  With any scraps of pastry, roll if necessary and cut out shapes (mine are goats).
3  Crumble the goat cheese into a medium bowl. Add the onion chutney, mango, thyme
         and pepper and mix gently but thoroughly.
4  Spread half the mixture evenly onto one half of each strip of pastry, leaving a 15mm
         margin around the edges. Brush all 8 edges with a little of the beaten egg.
5  Fold the plain side of each strip carefully over its filling, matching the edges and 
         pressing down all round to seal. Flute the edges decoratively, e.g. with a knife or the
         handle end of a teaspoon. Brush all over with egg. If attaching any pastry 
         decorations, press them down and brush them with egg too.
6  Bake for 20-25 minutes until browned, checking towards the end that they're not
         overdone.
7  Meanwhile, put the pear and sugar in a small pan with 3 tbsp water and simmer gently
         for 5-10 minutes until the pear is soft. Stir in the vinegar and whizz until smooth. Add
         a little more water if the mixture wouldn't yet drip from a spoon. Serve in a pool 
         beside the pockets.


And here's what one cooked pocket looked like, set on a medium-sized plate.

These are quite substantial, so a potato accompaniment is not necessary, but a couple of colourful vegetables would complete the dish. Examples would be tenderstem broccoli, grilled tomatoes, buttered chantenay carrots, roasted red peppers, sugar snap peas.


And I have to say, the meal was bleatingly lovely!