Hot Latin Lothario Tuna Wraps

Not so long ago, I attended weekly zumba classes with a friend who would travel 40 mins from the other side of town to partake of this vigorous pursuit.  There were at least dozens of zumba venues en route.  But this dear friend, a classically trained dancer, insisted that the choreography was flawless, the instructor's choice of music and his flair for simplifying the most complex dance maneouvres were unsurpassed.  I maintained that my regular attendance was motivated by the venue; a former discotheque with subdued lighting,  mirrored panels, revolving disco balls and flashing strobe lights.  It reminded  me of my halcyon days where dancing with abandon was a thrice weekly event.

But maybe, just maybe, the youthful, olive skinned Latin lothario with shamelessly exposed musculature instructing from a uber-elevated platform was the reason for our assiduous attendance....He was hot!  And so are these tuna creations made using hot paprika and chilli flakes.  Makes about  5.

2 tins of 185g tuna, unflavoured
1 tbs olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped finely
6 spring onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
large bunch of parsley chopped coarsely
salt and pepper to taste
lemon quarters
5 tortilla wraps

In a frypan, saute onions and garlic on medium heat, in olive oil till soft and golden.  Add other carrots,zucchini and spices and continue frying till softened and caramelised, probably another 10 mins.  Add the tuna breaking it up in the frypan with a fork  before scattering over a handful of parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Turn off heat.

In meantime, in separate frypan or stovetop grill lightly coat surface with olive oil and heat tortilla  on both sides till browned and puffed.  Spread one-fifth of filling onto one side of tortilla, scatter some more fresh parsley and generous squeeze of lemon and roll up.  Serve hot with a glass of mojito with the strains of a latin score playing in the background.

Feta and Spinach Gozleme

I'm forever on the prowl for simple, delicious vegetarian recipes. This recipe for a type of spinach and cheese pastry is of Turkish origin, and is lighter than the traditional baked variety which is saturated in butter and oil (which I hasten to add is very moorish). This is just as moorish as it's cooked on a hot charcoal plate or in a frypan after being caressed with a slick of olive oil. There are gozleme stalls at street markets in Melbourne and I marvel at how the women roll out the pastry till it's almost transparent. My mum is very adept at that and uses a long piece of dowel and she rotates the ever enlarging circle as she rolls. And as it gets thinner, she coils it round the dowel and with a swift flick of her wrists it unravels into a fine circular pastry. One needs to see it being done and practice, practice, practice!  And experimentation with the filling is endorsed.  When zucchini is in season and it's plentiful, use 2 grated medium zucchini instead of the spinach.
 
Another asset of this fine recipe is that it is portable.  Great for picnics!   This recipe is from Janelle Bloom's fast, fresh and fabulous. Makes 4 large gozlemes.

 3^1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

2 tsp salt

^1/3 cup olive oil

360ml lukewarm water

Olive oil to brush over

Lemon wedges, to serve

 
Filling

1 tbs olive oil

1 large brown onion

2 large garlic cloves

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 tbs chopped mint

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Grinding or two of pepper

120g spinach leaves

200g feta, crumbled

50g extra tasty cheese

 

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Combine the oil and water and pour into the flour. Use a flat bladed knife to stir until combined.  Turn onto a well-floured surface and knead until it forms into a smooth and elastic ball.  Place in plastic freezer bag and set aside to rest for 20 mins.

For the filling, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  And onions and garlic and cook 3 – 5 mins till softened and golden.  And spinach and herbs and spices and cover briefly till wilted.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheeses.  Let cool.

Preheat a barbecue plate on high until hot.  Roll one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 3mm thick, 20 – 30cm rectangle.  Spread one quarter of the filling onto half of the dough.  Fold over the dough and press lightly to seal.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Brush the top with olive oil.  Reduce bbq heat to medium-low.  Place two gozlemes oil side down onto bbq plate and cook for 3 -4 mins until golden.  Brush with oil, turn over and barbecue a further 3 – 5 mins until golden. Cut into wedges and serve with lemon quarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wright's peach, coconut and chocolate parfait

I like to start the day with a poem. Poetry enriches the soul, excites the spirit, quietens anxieties...anyway that is what I try to instill in my children as they sit at the breakfast table fidgeting and playing with their Weetbix. One of my favourite poets is Judith Wright - her poetry is infused with an extraordinary lyrical elegance which reveals her intimate connection to humanity and the earth. She was an ardent conservationist and supporter of indigenous rights up until her death at age 85 in 2000. It is worth further delving into her bio as she is a truly marvellous artist from our history. Anyway, the poem 'South of my days' haunted me today. It contains the beautiful lines,

"Seventy years of stories he clutches round his bones.

Seventy years of summers are hived in him like old honey..."

The sweetness of honey inspired me to create this dessert when our wonderful friends Eva and John visited. It's made up of a coconut cake, tinned peaches, whipped cream and chocolate almond biscotti. The coconut cake was supposed to be baked in a Gugelhopf tin to make it look pretty, but I didn't have one of those. I baked it in a large square tin and so when I bought it to be laid on the dessert table of a large family event, probably 100 guests, only a couple took a slice. And they were my husband and my mother-in-law! It really didn't look very appealing. But it was very coconutty and it is perfect with a cup of tea...or cut up and used as a base for a parfait in a martini glass. The coconut cake recipe is from Janelle Bloom's "fast, fresh and fabulous".  She also makes a passionfruit glaze which of course, coupled with being baked in a Gugelhopf, would only augment it’s pulchritude!

Happy New Year dear readers, may it be a year filled with many honey-like moments….

Coconut cake   serves 10
2^1/3 cups desiccated coconut
1 ^2/3 cups caster sugar
2 ½ cups SR flour
2 ^2/3 cups coconut milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170⁰.  Grease a 2 – litre Gugelhopf pan or very large square tin.

Combine coconut, sugar and flour in a large bowl.  In another large bowl, beat coconut milk eggs and vanilla.  Stir into the dry ingredients.  Spoon mixture into prepared tin, smoothing the top. 

Bake cake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Stand for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rake to cool.

At this point it can be iced with your favourite glaze.  Save about a quarter for the parfait.
…
To assemble parfait for 6
300ml whipped cream
Large tin of peaches in syrup
4 chocolate almond biscotti, crumbled coursely
Chocolate sauce (heat over gentle heat 200 g of milk and dark chocolate with 200ml of cream until melted)
A wedge of coconut cake

Cut up the coconut cake into 5 cm squares and place at the base of 6 martini glasses.  Pour some syrup from the peach tin over to soak.  Place about 5 peach slices over the soaked coconut cake then a huge dollop or two of whipped cream for each glass. 

Place in fridge till ready to serve.  Just before serving sprinkle over the biscotti.  With sweet abandon, pour over hot chocolate sauce.

 

 

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.