Feta/Spinach/Chicken Prize Parcels

It’s been a whole 2 months since I started this blog, and like my daughter, I can’t remember it not being a part of my daily life! With 22 blogged recipes so far and over 2000 hits to the site, I thank you dear reader for joining me on this experience and coming back for more.  Although I have always loved cooking from my garden, it’s been wonderful getting absorbed in the world of reading other food blogs and scouring my recipe books for inspiration for the next meal for the family, and the next blog post. The dolmades were a big hit at the party I took them to, so with this recipe, I have decided to work similar flavours together with the same herbs, nuts and spices but combining it into a spinach & feta parcel idea. I’ve also added minced chicken. Feel free to double the spinach or add tofu if you want pure vego. Thanks for reading and as always... enjoy ♥

Prep time: approx. 30 min. cooking time: about 30 min

Kitchen stuff needed: 1 large frypan, 1 baking try, baking paper, sharp knife and chopping board.

Ingredients from the garden:

500gm (6 x large stalks) of silverbeet: stalks removed and finely chopped

OR

500g of spinach leaves if you prefer.

Other Ingredients

3 sheets of frozen puff pastry: left at room temp

500gm chicken mince (you could use beef/veal mince also)

½ cup feta cubes

1½ T olive oil

½ a brown onion, minced

4 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tblespn dill, chopped finely

1/3 cup sultanas

1/3 cup pine nuts toasted lightly in pan

¼ t salt

Black pepper

1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing top.

Juice and rind of half a lemon

Let’s do it:

1. Place finely chopped spinach in large pot and add 1 cup water. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 min with lid on.

2. With olive oil fry off garlic and onion in large frypan until soft. Add chicken mince and brown.

3. Add herbs, spices, sultana’s and nuts to chicken mix and turn down heat, soak up the beautiful aroma’s

4. Drain silverbeet and wring out excess water with hands. Get a clean tea towel and put spinach in it, rolling up and wringing out all water from as you twist it. Add this spinach to chicken mix and combine.

5. Add lemon juice and lemon rind to taste. Have a quick taste!

6. **Cut one diagonal line in puff pastry square to create 2 triangles and add 2 large heaped tablespoons of chicken mixture, top with some crumbled feta and fold over opposite corners to create a smaller triangle.

7. Start at the longest corners and turn and twist the edges around to close. Repeat on other open side and carefully place of a greased baking tray. Crisscross very lightly with a knife, and only cut one 2cm incision into the top of the parcel.

8. Repeat with all 6 triangles and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown on 180 degrees C.

**Note: If making as Party food or a group, cut puff pastry into 4 equal triangles, and just use one spoonful of mixture.

Enjoy with a glass of beautiful McLaren Vale Shiraz.

Soundtrack for a celebration of the world’s best blog audience ♥: El Camino by The Black Keys

La Tomatina Tarte Tatin

The title of this recipe is inspired by a crazy Spanish tomato throwing festival, and a delicate French tarte. Back in the day we got a gang together and Ryan-aired over to Valencia for La Tomatina, a fantastic celebration of the tomato. This recipe also celebrates the tomato, but in a more tasty and less messy way. To celebrate tomatoes the messy way you start with a “Jamon” and a greasy pole. The celebration can only start once a town hero climbs up a greasy pole and cuts down a giant Spanish ham. As this happens, the crowd and the greasy pole are showered in water from hoses. Once someone is able to chop the ham off the pole, the tomato fight can start. Tip trucks make their entry loaded high with ripe juicy tomatoes. Everyone chucks tomatoes, first at friends and then before long, at complete strangers! It is messy crazy fun and a food fight like no other. To celebrate tomatoes in a tasty way, take a simple French tarte tartin, and make it savoury with delicious tomatoes fresh from the garden. Unfortunately our little patch will only harvest a few more tomatoes thanks to some mildew that has snuck in and killed our tomato and cucumber plants. (*boo*).  Enjoy this delicious tarte while the summer tomatoes last. Serves 4.

Prep time: approx. 20 min. cooking time: about 40 min

Kitchen stuff needed: Sharp knife, chopping board, shallow frying pan, pie dish, baking paper

Ingredients from the garden:

5 x large juicy tomatoes (or a load of cherry tomatoes if that’s what you are growing. Pop them into your clean pie dish whole to figure out how many you need)

1 x large Zucchini sliced into fine planks

Other Ingredients

1 x sheet puff pastry

1 x clove garlic

100gm x Greek feta chopped into 1/2cm pieces.

2 tbsp. x Olive Oil

1 tblespn x butter

2 tblespn balsamic vinegar

S & P to taste

Let’s do it:

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the tomato, cut-side down (if using big tomatoes). Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

2. Chop garlic and lightly sauté with ½ teaspoon of olive oil, add 1 chopped zucchini. Sauté for about 3 minutes until zucchini starts to soften and change colour. Put aside.

3. Preheat oven to 220ºC. Brush a round 20cm cake pan with melted butter. Arrange tomato, cut-side down, over base of pan. Top with zucchini planks followed by feta slices. Top with pastry and fold back the excess.

4. Turn down power to 180 and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Turn out upside down and flip onto a serving plate.

5. Combine vinegar and oil. Drizzle over tart. Season with salt and pepper. Top with basil.

Enjoy with a large glass of summer chilled Yarra Valley Rose.

Soundtrack for a Tomato celebration: 11:11 by Rodrigo y Gabriela

Turkish Cheesy Lamb and Mint Pide

This time last year we took a family trip to New Zealand to visit friends and attended 2 beautiful weddings. Both were in the north island by the ocean and were truly sensational, stunning and memorable in every way. One of the weddings was our kiwi friend marrying her Turkish “delight”. The uniting of this gorgeous couple from different sides of the world was just so special. She carefully read her vows to him in her finest Turkish, and his to her in English. It was an elegant wedding ceremony and one fantastically brilliant party of a wedding reception. With the brides DJ brother on the decks, we danced the night away to cool tunes from all over the world, including some fancy footwork of a traditional Turkish dance-off. We hope to one day soon make it to Turkey, I know from family and friends who go there that it’s so alluring, diverse and simply wonderful. In honour of Mr & Mrs A on your first wedding anniversary, I hope I’ve done this Pide recipe justice x

Prep time: approx. 45 min. Resting time for dough: approx. 1hr, 15min. cooking time: about 40 min

Kitchen stuff needed: Sharp knife, chopping board, 2 x baking trays (1 will do if that’s all you have), baking paper, 3 x mixing bowls, a blender, large frypan, rolling pin.

Ingredients from the garden:

20 x mint leaves

2 x silver beet stalk (or use big handful of spinach instead)

1 x red pepper/capsicum

1 x lemon

Dough Ingredients:

7 gr active dry yeast

1 tspn sugar

1/4 + 3/4 cup warm water

2 & 1/4 cup flour

1 tspn salt

2 tbspn olive oil + 1 tsp olive oil

Topping:

500gm lamb mince

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup tasty cheese

2 tbspn olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

1-2 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 cup of water

Let’s do it:

1. Turn on oven to the max temp of 250 degrees (500F)

2. Topping Preparation: Put red capsicum/pepper in oven whole for 20 min or until starting to blacken. Remove and put into plastic bag, tie up and allow the pepper to sweat the skin off for about 5 min.

3. Sauté the onion with olive oil until it is softened, add garlic.

4. Deseed and deskin pepper and pop in the blender and pulse for about 30 second. Then add to onions and add ½ a cup of water. Let sauce simmer gently while you make the dough. (no more than 15 min, add some more water if you need to)

5. Dough Preparation: In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water. Stir well so the yeast dissolves. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

6. In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt. Add in the bubbly yeast mixture and 3/4cup warm water and olive oil. Mix and place the dough on the lightly floured counter. Knead well for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth (no more crumbles). Then spread 1 tsp of olive oil inside a clean bowl. Place the dough in it and turn it upside down to spread olive oil all the surface. Then cover it with a clean, damp towel. Put aside for about an hour at room temperature until the dough rises to double its size.

7. Meanwhile, place lamb mince in a bowl and add chopped mint and a clove of garlic and get your hands in there and squish so all combined. Pop in fridge.

8. Place the dough on the lightly floured counter. Press all over with your hands to get rid of any air bubbles. Cut the dough in 4 pieces with a knife. Knead and give a ball shape to each, cover with a damp towel, and put aside for about 15 minutes.

9. Take out a dough ball and flatten with your floured hands and then use a roller give a long oval shape each one.

10. Gather together red pepper sauce, lamb mince, chopped silver beet, and your cheeses.

11. Put baking paper down on your baking tray and assemble the pides directly there (much easier than trying to transfer, trust me, I ended up with upside down pide first time round!)Spread pepper sauce; crumble raw mince, feta, silver beet and cheese on the each dough. Fold the long sides towards the inside, and then twist the ends to give a boat shape.

12.Place the tray on the middle rack and bake for about 15 minutes. Immediately brush butter or olive oil on the edges. P.S: We had two baking trays going at once. Ensures faster Pides to stomach!

Although the prep time was definitely longer, the reward absolutely outweighs the effort of this sumptuous fresh homemade Turkish pide. Serve with a wedge of lemon and few fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy with an ice-cold Efes (Turkish beer, ask your speciality beer man to sort you out!)

Soundtrack for some Turkish delight: Lambaya Puf De by Baris Marco 

Also special mention to www.turkishcookbook.com/ blog for the dough recipe and inspiration.

Easy PEAsy MINT, SILVERBEET & FETA TARTE

Last weekend Melbourne hosted its first “So Frenchy, So Chic music festival” at Werribee Mansion just out of the City. SFSC started as a musical soundtrack to the French Film festivals held here, and has had quite a cult following in the past years. It’s fantastic to see music and foreign culture like this make its way down under. It was a magical day in a sensational setting with new French music, French and local wines and wonderful French food stalls.(Special mention to the salted caramel macaroons, Laurent Perrier champagne & the 26 degree cloudless day!)  Like many others we picnicked in style soaking up the diverse music acts, and even made it to the front of the stage for a dance-off (Miss 2 yr. old rocked out too) to Féfé.. A fantastic French/Nigerian hip-hop rapper act with the backing of a soul band. Very cool, in a way that the Frenchies (like so much they do) just make it work.  Other acts of the day were Asa, Moriarty and Nouvelle Vague. So, in the spirit of all this Frenchiness, my mid-week recipe is a scrumptious and fresh tasting Pea, Silver beet, Mint & Feta Tarte. Bon appetite mes amies.

Prep time: approx. 15 min. cooking time: about 45 min

Kitchen stuff needed: Sharp knife, chopping board, Tarte/quiche tin (mine is about 20cm diameter), baking paper, baking beans (not necessary, but good if you have them), mixing bowl, a fork

Ingredients from the garden:

20 x mint leaves

2 x silver beet stalks (or use spinach instead)

4 x small tomatoes

1 x small cucumber

Other Ingredients

1.5 x sheets of shortcrust pastry (defrosted)

5 x eggs

½ cup x frozen peas

50gm x feta cheese (I use marinated goats, but use any)

50gm x grated parmesan cheese

1 x avocado

S & P to taste

Let’s do it:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Remove stalk from silver beet and chop into ½cm strips, do the same for the mint.

3. Put baking paper in tarte tin, and a place sheet of pastry into tin. Use remaining half piece to fill in any gaps. Trim pastry so it’s even around edges

4. Press all pastry in and insert fork multiple times into base of pastry. Add another smaller piece of baking paper on top and add some baking beans (these add some weight to stop the pastry raising too high)

5. Bake pastry base for 15 min

6. Crack all eggs in separate bowl and whisk with fork.

7. Once pastry is out, take out baking beans and top piece of paper. Add chopped greens, peas, feta and parmesan. Arrange evenly.

8. Add egg mixture evening and bake back in oven for 30 – 40 min until egg all cooked through. Take out of oven and rest in tin. How easy was that?

9. Meanwhile, chop tomatoes, cucumber and avocado into small pieces and put in salad bowl.

10.         Cut Tarte into 4 and serve with side salad.

Devour the delicious, healthy and fresh flavours of this light summer dinner/lunch. Makes 4 large pieces of tarte, serves 2 hungry frenchie-wannabes (or 4 if after something really light)  

Enjoy with a large glass of crisp French champagne (of course!)

Soundtrack for a Tarte: So Frenchy So Chic 2012 by Fefe, Moriarty and many other cool French cats...