party sausage rolls

A barometer of how far we're progressing as a society can be assessed by the methodology of children's party games.  At my son's 5th birthday party I had organised the classic game of pass-the-parcel.  I made sure that there were multiple layers to guarantee at least 20 minutes of excited anticipation expressed with utterances of 'aah it's Nancy (or whoever was the fortunate holder of the prize within)' when the music stopped. And then all eyes would feast on the potential winner of the prize.   And then a look of whimsical disappointment from Nancy when it wasn't so, after unwrapping to reveal another layer.  This image would extend to foreseeing the rubbing of little fairy-bread stained hands when the music recommenced, faces aglow with the renewed hope that they would be the ONE. And of course, the scenario would end with a happy victorious participant who would dance with joy clutching their newfound prize much to the passing chagrin of the others. 

However, quelle horreur, one of the little darlings stridently declared after a mere 3 unwrappings that there was no present! And then another one joined in with 'this game is boring'  and swiftly there was a mass exodus.  Only my son and his dear friend Archie stayed till the bitter end.   This is a generation where everyone has to be a winner...

Well, I am glad to say that there is never a mass exodus from the party food table when I serve these sausage rolls at my children's parties.  Makes about 30.

 

500g minced beef
250g minced pork
1 brown onion (medium) diced finely
1 bayleaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 small zucchini, grated
1 small carrot, grated
1/3 cup plum sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
2 tbs dried oregano
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
5 sheets of butter puff pastry
a handful of sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Saute the onion in the olive oil with the bay and garlic till golden and soft, about 10 mins on medium heat.  Remove the bay and then mix the whole lot with your hands.  Don't forget to season well with salt and pepper.   A good idea to test for correct seasoning, is to take a small amount and fry it in a little oil and taste it once cooked.

Place a 'roll' of mince meat mixture in the middle along the length of the pastry sheet.   Pinch the two ends together enfolding the mince meat mixture and tuck underneath. Dip the top of the roll in the sesame seeds and then cut into sixths.  Repeat until all sheets are used.

Place the little sausage rolls on baking tray.  Bake for 30 mins till golden and crisp on the outside.

Concubine crescents (kourabiethes)

My friend Anne absolutely loves these traditional Greek shortbread biscuits.   Anne is an artiste who makes the most exquisite mosaic art, using coloured glass, you've ever seen.   My son calls her home 'the house with the broken glass'.  Shimmering images of peacocks (her favourite bird), kookaburras and fish adorn her creations.  Her Chinese water paintings featuring Mongolian themes are marvellous too.  It's not likely you'll see her work because she refuses to exhibit  - quelle dommage!  When asked if there are other talented artistes in her family, apparently there is a famous painter in the U.S. who is her uncle and most interestingly of all, one of her descendents was a renowned poet in China.  He specialised in erotic poetry depicting his exploits with his favourite concubine.   This is my way of paying homage to this style of poetry!

As you'll notice there are few ingredients but the secret is in the technique.  The butter and sugar need to be creamed to within an inch of their life before the vanilla extract is added.  Makes around 30.

250g unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup of almonds, roasted and chopped coarsely
2cups self raising flour
1 cup of icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180degrees.

Beat butter and sugar until it all becomes white (probably 5 minutes with the mix master).  Beat in the vanilla extract.  Incorporate the flour and almonds.  Once combined into a very bumpy ball shape, pull off small pieces and roll into logs then bend slightly in middle to form a crescent shape.  Place on baking paper lined baking trays and bake in oven for about 10 mins.  Do not let them brown. 

Once baked dust extravagantly with sifted icing sugar (which also serves as an excellent way of concealing any odd shaped biscuits).  They're particularly hard to resist when eaten warm!

Sophisticated Rocky Road

One of my favourite childhood memories was a family holiday to Cyprus over an entire summer visiting multitudes of relatives.  We borrowed my pappou's dilapidated baby blue Volkswagon (beetle) traversing the south of the island from Limassol to Paphos, sometimes with up to 10 people inside.  We sat lap upon lap, faces pressed against the window.  It was a perilous adventure!  Another enduring memory of that trip was the scent of rosewater.  My dear late maternal giagia loved spritzing it on herself before making the ascent to the village church in her Sunday best or taking the 4 a.m. bus into the poli (city).  She used it liberally in her desserts and would drink it as a cordial and serve it to her guests.  It came in a pretty clear glass bottle.  I detested it, thinking it too perfumey.   I would ask for orange cordial instead and refuse her sweets.  Quelle dommage!

But with the passage of time, our palates thankfully change and become more sophisticated (well at least they should!).  And I now love rosewater, particularly in Turkish Delight.  It features in this recipe for Rocky Road.  If you want to give it a yuletide look, use pistachios instead of walnuts.  This is also for Nat, my son's kinder teacher, who has been hankering for it since Christmas last year!

200g milk chocolate, broken up into pieces
100g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, broken up into pieces
150g combination of marshmallows and Turkish Delight
100g walnuts, roasted and coarsely chopped
100g roasted, shredded coconut
40g glace cherries, chopped

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.  Remove from heat once melted and add all other ingredients, mixing thoroughly.  Spread onto greased lamington tray smoothing surface with a spatula.  Chill in fridge till set (about an hour).  Once set cut into shapes approximating squares.   Give liberally to the lovely teachers of your children!

Bulgarian cheese pastries

Currently swooning over Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.  A saga about a consuming passion against the backdrop of Belle Epoque Russia.  Images are conjured of grand balls with princesses dancing the mazurka, cuckolded husbands, horse racing,  jealous lovers ...and of course, the ultimate tragic ending.  But one of my favourite lines in the whole book which made me laugh uproariously  was after Count Vronsky had acted as a tour guide for a foreign prince showing him quintessential Russian amusements over the course of a week, "he felt like he was attending a lunatic and afraid for his own reason too'.

So, in the Eastern European spirit, here is a very easy recipe which hails from Bulgaria.   It is adapted from a book called Rilka's Feasts, which has no photos at all but is filled with family anecdotes and simple recipes.  These are a particular hit with children and excellent for adults too served hot with a tipple or two.  Makes 20 -30.

260g plain yoghurt
1tsp bicarb of soda
150g crumbled fetta
200g cheddar cheese
300g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
10 mint leaves chopped up
1/3 cup vegetable oil
extra 50g of cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 180degrees.  Mix yoghurt with the soda in a large glass bowl.  It will effervesce, such is the effect of the soda when combined with moisture.

Add all the other ingredients (except extra cheese) and mix with your hands till you have a sticky dough (careful not to overwork the dough).  Moisten your hands with a little oil and pull off a pieces to form round 2cm balls.  Flatten the tops slightly and sprinkle with extra cheese and place on greased baking trays.  Bake for 15 - 20 mins till pastries are golden and cheese has melted. 

If I have sesame seeds I combine a handful with the extra cheese and sprinkle over the top for a nice crunch.

Ricotta hotcakes

I bought some ricotta at a very popular Oakleigh Greek deli the other day.  Only because it looked so tantalisingly fresh! The only problem is that it doesn't store well, so it needed to be used within days of purchase.  So I decided to whip up some pancakes using the wedge of ricotta and served these for my children after school.  They're so hard to resist when served hot with a drizzle of golden syrup.  Makes about 10.

300g ricotta
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 cups self raising flour
30g melted butter
1 tsp bicarb of soda
corn oil for smearing the fry pan for frying

Beat the ricotta, egg, bicarb of soda and milk with vigour until light and aerated.  Incorporate the flour and butter until a batter is formed of a pouring consistency.

Heat the frypan over medium to high heat.  Once hot add a smidgeon of oil, just to coat the frying pan.  Then pour in batter to make circles 8cm in diameter.  I could fit 3 in at a time.  Once the top is bubbled and edges are firm, turn over and cook for about 2 mins.  Repeat until all batter is used.   Pile on a plate when cooked and serve with the sweetening unguent of your choice!

Lentil and burghul fritters with yoghurt sauce

I have a slim Family Circle recipe book which looks so unpromising, it's a plain Jane amongst a collection of beauties, and yet is filled with recipes I turn to time and time again.  Back in the day where I was part of the paid working masses I had an Italian colleague who loved to cook and once taught me to make arancinis.  We had very little in common but our shared love of food provided a point of commonality between us.  So we often shared recipes, regaled each other with details of the meals we prepared  the night before or the dishes we served on the occasions we entertained guests.  And sometimes, we'd bring in our favourite books and photocopy recipes.  When she brought in this book, I perused it's pages and realised a photocopy of a recipe or two won't do.  I needed the entire book!  This was before the time of Amazon and Bookworld,  so after relentless searching in various book shops, I located a copy in a newsagency and bought it for a song.

This is one recipe which corroborates why all the effort to source it was worth it.  It's great when you feel you need to add more pulses in your diet.  The accompanying yoghurt sauce is not optional because it really give these fritters a lift.  Makes 35.

3/4 cup brown lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup course burghul
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plain flour
salt and pepper

Yoghurt sauce
1 small Lebanese cucumber, grated
1 cup or 250g Greek style plain yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs of dill or fennel fronds finely chopped

Place the lentils in a saucepan with 625ml water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 mins till tender. Turn off the heat and pour water to just cover the lentils.  Add the burghul, cover and stand until the burghul has absorbed the moisture and expanded (about 30 mins).  Transfer to a large bowl.

To make the yoghurt sauce, strain the cucumber by placing in the middle of a clean teatowel and wring until the excess moisture has been strained.   Place the semi desiccated cucumber in a small bowl.  Strain the yoghurt (of it's whey!)  in the same way.  Once strained, place in the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well.  Keep in the fridge till needed.

Heat half the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Cook the onion and garlic with the bay leaf,  until soft and translucent.  Add the cumin and coriander, as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the bay leaf and add remaining ingredients.  Combine until the mixture is thick enough to drop spoonfuls into the pan.  If the mixture is too wet, add a little extra flour. 

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  working in batches,drop heaped tablespoons into the pan.  Cook unil browned on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve hot or at room temperature with the yoghurt sauce.