Truchas de Batata (Sweet Potato Turnovers)

Truchas de Batata

One of my, admittedly many, favorite sweet things of the Christmas season are these delicious little Truchas de Batata (Sweet Potato Turnovers). Since you may not have them available in the shops near you, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
3 tablespoons of lard
1 small glass of olive oil
500 grams (1 l.b.) flour.

For the filling:
500 grams (1 l.b.) sweet potatoes
250 grams (8 Oz) ground almonds
1 small cup of caster sugar
3 egg yolks
A teaspoon of aniseed
A dash of rum
A dash of aniseed liqueur
A teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Grated lemon rind
Oil for frying.

Preparation:

Filling: Boil the sweet potatoes in water with a little salt. When they're done, peel them, pound to a pulp and mix them with the almonds, flavourings and liqueurs.

Pastry: Mix together lard, oil and flour until a mass is formed and leave to rest for a short time. Cover a surface with flour and roll out the pastry until very thin. Cut out small rounds with a cup and put a small amount of filling into the centre of each. Close them by folding in half to make little semi-circular patties. Press down and seal with the aid of a fork. Fry in hot oil then sprinkle with sugar to serve.