Spanakopita Roll

If you enjoy spanakopita as much as I do, this is a nicer and lighter version.

Ingredients:

Spanikopita filling

Phyllo pastry sheets or puff pastry dough (I used whole wheat puff pastry dough)

1. Once you have made the filling, preheat your oven depending on the instructions on your packet of dough and grease a baking tray.
2. If you are using Phyllo: lay the sheets down one by one, on top of each other on the tray. Use a pastry brush to alternate dabbing olive oil (or butter if you are feeling indulgent) and water between each layer. Place the filling in the centre and then tightly (but carefully) wrap your filling in the pastry
3. If you are using puff pastry: With puff pastry, simply place the filling on one end and roll it up. 
4. Bake :)

Escargot (French Spiral Pastries with Cinnamon and Rasins)

1 1/2 cups whole milk, heavy cream, or a mix 

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon & brown sugar to taste

1/4 - 1/2 a cup of raisins

Brioche pastry (because I am lazy)

1. Warm the Milk: Warm the milk in the saucepan until you start to see wisps of steam. It should not actually be boiling.

2. Make the Egg-Sugar Base: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Add the egg yolks and whisk them into the dry ingredients. This will form a thick paste. It's fine if the paste looks crumbly or smooth; the important thing is that the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

3. Add the Milk to the Egg Mixture: Pour a little of the hot milk into the eggs and whisk to combine. Continue pouring the milk slowly into the eggs, whisking continuously. It's ok to switch back and forth between pouring milk and whisking if you can't manage both at the same time.

When all the milk has been added to the eggs, pour everything back into the saucepan. Set a strainer over a bowl and place this near the stove.

4. Heat the Pastry Cream: Set the pan back over medium heat. Whisk

constantly. At first, the pastry cream will look very thin and frothy, but it will start to thicken after a few minutes. When it has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, pause whisking every few seconds to see if the cream has come to a boil. If you see large bubbles popping on the surface, whisk for a few more seconds and then remove the pan from heat.

5. Prepare the Dough & Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven based on the directions for the dough. Spread the dough out so it is a long rectangle. Sprinkle it with cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins and add the pastry cream.

6. Roll: Roll your dough up and then slice it. I sliced about two inches apart. Place your little escargots on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven until they are golden.

7. Enjoy! If you want to be very proper, you can glaze them as well! 

:)

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

My boyfriend was skeptical when I said we were having broccoli quiche but even he loved it :)

6 eggs

1/3 of a cup of milk

2/3 a cup of cheddar

Salt & pepper to taste

A small head of broccoli

One onion 

Olive oil

A sprinkle of minced chives

A pack of puff pastry

1. Preheat the oven depending on the instructions on the package and grease the baking pan you are using.
2. Wash and chop the broccoli before steaming it. 
3. Chop and fry the onion in olive oil.
4. Beat the eggs and mix them with milk, grated cheddar, minced chives, salt and pepper. Then add the the onions and broccoli.
5. Lay the pastry on the baking pan and pour in the filling mixture.
6. Bake according to the instructions on the puff pastry package. 

Baklava

A delicious something sweet to make for someone sweet :)

• About 12 sheets of filo pastry (mine came in a pack of quarter kilo so about a pound)
• About a cup of melted butter

Filling:

• 3 cups of ground walnuts
• 1 & 1/4 cups of ground almonds
• 1/2 a cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Syrup:

• 2 cups of water
• 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar
• 10 cloves
• About half a lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius
2. Mix the ground nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. 
3. With a pastry brush, spread butter over a baking pan
4. Take 6 sheets of filo, each brushed with butter and lay them in the pan and top it with about half of your nut mixture evenly and flatten it
5. Add another 6 sheets of filo, each brushed with butter 
6. Indent slightly with a knife so the pastry doesn't break once its cooked and you try to cut it before baking for about 40 minutes (you want the pastry to become golden)
7. While it is baking, in a medium heat stir water and sugar in a pot and let it simmer with the cloves until they are caramelized. Remove it once it is thick and add squeezed lemon juice.
8. Cut the baklava into any shape you like and serve it with syrup

Feta & Tomato Tart

• Pie crust
• 4 eggs
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 cup of crumbled feta
• A drizzle of balsamic vinagre 
• 1 teaspoon of oregano 
• Olive oil
• 2 small red onions
• A teaspoon of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil for garnish 

1. Preheat the oven based on the instructions for the crust
2. Finely chop the onions and caramelize them in a pan with olive oil and sugar
3. In a bowl, beat the eggs, add the salt and pepper and feta
4. Lay down the pie crust and pour the egg mixture over it
5. Slice the tomatoes and lay them on top, sprinkle them with oregano and balsamic 
6. Once the eggs are fully cooked, sprinkle the tart with fresh basi

Spinach Gruyere Quiche

1 tablespoon of butter
3 bunches of baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of Gruyere grated
1 clove of garlic
8 eggs
2 cups of whole milk
Just under a full teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Pie dough (yessss, I cheateddd)

1. Stem and wash the spinach, grate the cheese, preheat the oven (depending on the guidelines for the pie dough)
2. Saute crushed garlic in butter for a few minutes before adding the spinach and letting it wilt
3. Finely chop the spinach along with the shallots
4. In a bowl beat the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg as well as 3/4 of the Gruyere
5. Mix in the spinach and shallots and stir
6. Pour the mixture unto the pie dish and top with the remaining Gruyere
7. Bake depending on the instructions of your pie dough. 

Spanakopita

When I was young, my mother taught me how to make this. It's probably my favourite meal :)

You will need:

• Filo pastry
• 3 bags of baby spinach (baby spinach is better because it's less bitter than large-leaf spinach. But if you're iron deficient, go for the big leaf! Yay for health tips :] )
• Philadelphia cream cheese
• 2 blocks of feta cheese
• 4 or 5 large onions
• 1 tub of ricotta
• Sunflower oil
• 1&1/2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

1. Wash the spinach well and if it is large-leaf, remove the stems
2. Cook the spinach in a saucepan until it is wilted, then put it aside to cool
3. Very finely chop the onions and fry them until golden in olive oil and sugar. Once cooked, put them aside to cool
4. In a large bowl, mix together the crumbled feta, ricotta, cream cheese. and salt and pepper. Once the spinach and onions have cooled, add them to the mix
5. Here is the tricky part... filo pastry can be hard to work with in the beginning, you have to be extremely delicate with it on a dry surface and you have to work quickly or it will dry and crack in minutes. Unravel the filo from the role it is usually sold in without separating the sheets. Cut the pastry in three even straight lines. Put aside the other two pieces while you are working with one (make sure you wrap them in foil or plastic so they don't dry out).
6. When making the pastries, take a full spoon of the mixture and put it on the end of the pastry closest to you. Using 2 sheets at a time, roll up the mix in triangles
7. Put sunflower oil in a pan on a high heat for frying. Place the pastry triangles in and fry them evenly on each side so they are fully golden brown.
8. Make sure you lay them on paper towel to soak up some of the oil

This recipe may be tricky, but once you master it, it is sooo good. It's yummy warm and cold and you could have it as an appetiser or main meal. Good luck!

On a different note: while I was making it, I listened to a song I hadn't heard in ages. It was introduced to me by an old friend when I was still living in Bangladesh... brings back lots of old memories :)

Sundried Tomato, Kalamata Olive & Boursin on Puff Pastry

Ok, I have to admit, I cheat a lot here. I don't make the pastry myself. Nor do I make the cheese myself but, if you are interested in making your own garlicy-creamy cheese, it is super simple: just add together cream cheese, fresh finely chopped chives, garlic powder, salt and finely chopped spring onions.

Photo by Saud F. Al-Owaidah

I, however, am freakishly obsessed with Boursin and could eat it with anything.

• Puff pastry dough
• 1/2 a small shallot
• 1 full pack of Boursin
• 5 pieces of sundried tomato
• 10 pitted kalamata olives

1. Puff pastry dough can e quite sticky, so it's a good idea to cover the surface you're working on with flour. Also sprinkle flour over your rolling pin and cookie cutter
2. With your rolling pin, flatten the dough until it is thin
3. With the cookie cutter, cut your dough into as many pieces as you can
4. Finely chop the shallot, sundried tomatoes and olives
5. Mix your chopped ingredients with the Boursin
6. With a teaspoon, place the mix on to your dough shape
7. Bake in the oven at about 200 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden