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9 posts tagged pastry
Red Wine Lamb, White Bean and Fennel Pie
Don’t judge, I actually find making pie an incredibly enjoyable way to spend a Sunday. I made two kinds, this one was really nice and for my first attempt at a rough puff pastry, it wasn’t too bad. Really though, just use store bought. It’s way easier.
Ingredients:
- 500g diced lamb
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- 1 cup plus a good splash of red wine
- 1/4 cup chopped rosemary and thyme
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 fennel bulb, small, diced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 can of white beans, drained
- Salt, pepper and olive oil
- Frozen puff pastry, thawed
If you want to speed this up, use a pressure cooker. If not, I’ll give you the slow cooking instructions.
Brown the lamb for 5 minutes in a splash of olive oil, then add the garlic, onion, fennel, and cumin, and saute for 5-10 minutes more, until the vegetables are soft. Mash together the butter and flour with a fork, and mix into the pan. Toss everything into the slow cooker with 1 cup of wine, juice of 1 lemon, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Cook for about 6 hours, until the lamb is soft.
Next, add in the white beans, remaining lemon juice, and another hit of wine. Cook on a medium heat for about 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is thick. You may need to put it back into a pan for this (my slow cooker/pressure cooker has a saute setting, so it all just hangs out in there).
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper accordingly. Cool completely in the fridge. Once cool, fill into individual pie pans with pastry on the top and bottom, and freeze. To reheat, cook on 200C / 375F for about 45 minutes to an hour. Once the inside is bubbling out a bit and the pastry is brown, it’s done.
Spanakopita
Pretty simple recipe for a spinach pie, you can improvise and try some other cheese as well, or just more of it, can’t really go wrong with this one.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves
- Half bunch of chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 750g frozen spinach
- 200g feta cheese
- 4 eggs
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp dukkah
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- Salt, pepper, cayenne, olive oil
- 10 sheets filo dough
- Melted butter
Mash garlic with salt in a mortar and pestle, and sauté in olive oil. Mix in the thyme for the last minute. Thaw spinach and squeeze out all the liquid. Mix with the onion mixture, feta, nutmeg, and lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs and combine.
Brush a 9x9 inch glass dish with melted butter, and layer on dough, alternating angles, brushing with butter in between each sheet. Put the spinach mixture in the middle, top with a bit of cayenne and the dukkah. Fold over the filo onto the top to cover, brushing with butter as you go so it’s all covered. Bake at 200C / 375F for 45 minutes
Lamb and White Bean Pie
This is a pretty trusty recipe, but it has never looked this good. I have 2 4 inch ramekins that I used to try and create individual pies, and it was pretty simple. I changed a couple things (really just the order I cooked things in), so I’ll repost the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
- Leftover lamb roast, diced, with juice
- 1 can white beans, drained
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cup red wine
- Salt, pepper and thyme
In a hot pan, melt the butter and saute the onion. Once soft, mix in the flour until it’s a past. Add the lamb, beans and spices. Add the red wine, you may need more or less depending on how much leftover juice you have left (you’ll want about a cup of liquid, total, in the pan). Cook for about 10 minutes until the liquid is thickened.
Grease ramekins with olive oil, and line with puff pastry. Add meat, piling high, and make a lid for it. Bake at 200C / 375F for 20 minutes until the top is golden. Let cool for 10 minutes, until you can run a knife around the outside to loosen, and then using oven mitts you can shake and maneuver it out of the ramekin.
Pear and Ginger Tart
Really quick to whip this up when you have a sweets craving, and only takes a couple ingredients. You can do it in a different pan (just alter the puff pastry so you have a sheet that covers it), but I have 2 individual serve ramekins that are a good size for this.
Ingredients (serves 2):
- 2 pears, in thin slices
- Half sheet of puff pastry, cut in half and thawed
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp butter
- Cream or ice cream, to serve
Heat the oven to 220C / 425F. In a saucepan, heat the butter and ginger and cook the pear for about 7-10 minutes to caramelize. Layer between 2 ramekins and top with puff pastry, tucking in the edges. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden. Run a knife around the edges to loosen, and flip upside down onto a plate to serve. Top with cream or ice cream.
Radish Green and Tomato Tart
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Saturday there was no food in the cupboard except for 2 eggs, some stale cheese, and two tomatoes. I finally pulled up all the radishes from the garden (although the “radish” bit didn’t grow on most of them) and used the greens to make a quick tart for lunch.
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- a couple handfuls of chopped radish greens, or spinach, or something else green
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 grated cheese
Roll out the puff pastry so it’s a bit longer, and cut off 1cm on all the sides. Whisk the eggs and milk, and use a bit of that to bind the cut off pieces of pastry and create taller edges (to contain the rest of the egg mixture. Line a baking tray with baking paper, place the pastry on it, and then layer on the greens, line with tomatoes, and pour over the egg mixture. Top with cheese, salt and pepper, and bake at 220C / 400F for 15-20 minutes until it’s golden.
Mushroom and Chive Tart
I kind of randomly found some chives in the fridge, I think I bought them ages ago, but they weren’t in bad shape so I decided to try and use them in a tart base. The color wasn’t particularly appetizing (brown mushroom + green chives = gross) but it tasted quite nice. Might need a bit more cheese so you can’t see it.
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 4 squares
- 1 portabello mushroom
- Half a bunch of chives
- 1-2 anchovies
- 1-2 tomatoes, finely sliced
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Get the oven super hot. Place the pastry on a baking tray and puree the mushroom, chives and anchovy together in a food processor. Spread between the 4 pastry squares, layer on tomatoes and cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden.
Tarragon Chicken Pie
This is a really great way to use up the leftovers, you can modify and line a pie plate with puff pastry on the top and bottom if you have enough for a bigger pie, but there wasn’t much left so I made 2 individual ramekins.
Ingredients:
- Last night’s dinner with the remaining sauce, chop meat and veggies
- 1 can of white beans, strained
- Half sheet of puff pastry
Cook the above (not the pastry) in a saucepan to heat and combine. Divide between 2 ramekins, top with pastry and bake for about 20 minutes at 200C / 375F until pastry is golden.
Chorizo Sausage Rolls
Ingredients (serves 2):
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 4 fresh chorizo sausages
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
- 2 tbsp flax seeds (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Line chorizo, cheese, oregano, and flax seeds 2 inches from the edge of a piece of puff pastry. Roll the longer half over the top and tuck under to seal. Flip the small edge over and tuck together, and press with a fork down the edge. Cut with a sharp knife into 6 slices and arrange on a baking tray. Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 200C / 375F for about 20 minutes, until golden.
Egg, Beetroot and Brie Breakfast Pastry
I love breakfast. It’s probably my favorite meal of the day. I started making these breakfast pastries last year when I was “between jobs” and had some time to experiment, and now they appear when I’ve had a bit too much to drink the night before.
Ingredients (serves 2 very hungry people):
- 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
- 1 can sliced beetroot
- 4 eggs
- 100g brie (substitute for whatever you have on hand)
- white bean spread or hummus for the base (very easy recipe for white bean spread to come)
Pre-heat oven to 200C or 375F, once pastry thaws, turn each edge in twice (about a centimeter each fold). Spread a thin layer of white bean spread or hummus on the base, and line the top with drained beetroot slices. Put in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the beetroots are roasted. Once it looks “done”, pull it out of the oven and crack 2 eggs in the center of each pastry (the edges you created earlier should contain the egg) and put cheese to your liking on top. Put back in the over for 5 minutes, until it looks like it does in the picture, with the whites cooked but the yolk not entirely cooked through, and the cheese bubbles.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.
