making do

i love the alchemic way in which a few random ingredients can be made into something nutritious and delicious..for instance i don't have a plethora of spinach for making spanakopita at the moment but after a little bit of foraging on the home front yesterday i found enough greens to make a hortopita or wild greens pie..i gathered rocket (i have a lot of the smaller leaved variety that self seeds everywhere), dandelion leaves, violet leaves..yes they are edible, purslane, spinach, watercress, mint and wild fennel (i collected the seeds last year from the dandenongs, where it grows wild, while on a blackberrying expedition)..and i did a bit of tweaking with my phyllo recipe..

strifti hortopita (spiral wild greens pie)

tea with hazel

ingredients pie filling (these ingredients can be adjusted to suit individual taste and the ingredients to hand)

about 5-6 cups of mixed greens (i used rocket, purslane, violet leaves, watercress, spinach and dandelion)

1/4 cup of mint cut medium

1/2 cup of fennel fronds

1 egg beaten (1 tablespoon (tbs) reserved)

150 gms feta crumbled

150 gms ricotta

1 teaspoon (tsp) salt (murray river salt)

1 teaspoon pepper

method pie filling

~ cook the dandelion leaves first in a centimetre of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes, then add the violet and rocket leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes..lastly add the purslane and spinach and cook until all of the leaves are well wilted

~ drain the leaves in a colander, cut up with scissors while still in the colander, and then press the leaves to extract excess water (the water is like a health tonic so i drink it)

~ mix the greens with the herbs, cheeses, salt, pepper and egg and set aside

extra ingredients

sesame seeds

melted butter

ingredients pastry

200 gms typo 00 flour

50 gms rimacinato flour

35 mls olive oil

1 tbs cider vinegar

1 tsp salt (murray river)

warm water

method pastry

~ place flours, salt, vinegar and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer and, with the motor running add enough water to make a soft dough

~ knead for 5 minutes 

~ remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel, and rest for 1 hour

~ divide the dough equally into 5 balls, roll each one into saucer shaped discs, and rest covered for 30 minutes

~ roll each disc to a rectangle about the size of a large dinner plate size and until it's semi transparent

method assembly

~ butter each sheet of phyllo, place a fifth of the mixture along the long bottom end of the pastry, and then roll up into a sausage

~ coil the sausage in the middle of a lined circular tin

~ continue in the same manner buttering the ends so they adhere to the last piece
~ brush the top with reserved egg and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds
~ bake at 220 deg c for 10-15 minutes and then at 180 deg c for a further 40 minutes or until well browned
  

 comments

~ i think the pastry made with the typo 00 and rimacinata flours was better than my former phyllo for a savoury pie..it was certainly harder to roll out but its more robust and coarse crunch suited the savoury filling
~ i thought the flavours of the leaves and herbs worked well and none overpowered the others..i hadn't eaten violet leaves before (apart from chewing on a raw one recently when i discovered they were edible) so i wasn't sure how they would go but there was no stringy chewiness or weird flavour and if i hadn't put them in myself i wouldn't have known they were there..

i'm grateful
that i'm eating weeds because i want to
not because i have to..

dandelion, stinging nettle and radish leaf salad

i don't have any typical salad greens such as lettuce, rocket or spinach growing in my garden at the moment

seeds planted in april didn't germinate

and i haven't managed to plant any more

but they're lots of stinging nettles, new dandelion leaves (after autumn pruning) and leaves from freshly picked radishes

to make the salad

boil the dandelion leaves for five minutes in a few tablespoons of water

add radish leaves and cook briefly

then add nettles and boil for a minute or so

drain leaves over a bowl

pour boiled green's water into a glass
and drink

dress the greens with lemon juice, olive oil and salt
and eat

happy winter solstice

alpine strawberry salad dressing

a few alpine strawberries, oak leaf lettuce, dandelion, nasturtium, baby beetroot and baby rainbow
chard leaves, nasturtium flowers and buds, pansies, marigold petals and carnation petals

sprinkle a large pinch of sugar over a small handful of alpine strawberries 

and crush roughly with a fork

add the juice of half of a lemon

a glug of macadamia oil

and some salt flakes 

and pepper

then drizzle over salad

stinging nettle quiche with spelt pastry

stinging nettles are like an invading army in my garden..where ever there's a patch of bare soil they set up camp and they use stand over tactics on the other residents..i have a tendency to turn a bit of a blind eye to their goings on but this week i took the upper hand and gave them their marching orders from around the spinach and broad bean encampment.. 

stinging nettle quiche with spelt pastry

tea with hazel

ingredients

pastry

250 gms spelt flour

100 gms cold butter diced

25 gms grated aged cheddar

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) chilli flakes

1 tsp lemon juice 

iced water

filling

2 cups of nettle tops and young leaves*

4-6 young spinach plants

1 medium onion cut small

8-10 young spring onions cut fine

1 large tablespoon (tbs) parsley cut fine

1/2 tsp fine lemon zest

2 tbs parmesan

2 tbs aged cheddar

100 gms feta crumbled

250 mls single cream

4 eggs

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt**

1 tsp bacon fat

method

pastry

~ process flour and butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs

~ add cheese, chilli, lemon juice and enough cold water for the dough to just come together

~ remove from bowl on to a flour dusted bench, gently knead until the dough forms a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour

~ roll the pastry to fit a 23 cm tart pan with a removable base

~ line with baking paper and baking beans and blind bake for 20 minutes at 200 deg c

~ remove paper and beans, cook for a further 10- 15 minutes, then remove from oven and cool

filling

~ wash nettles and spinach well and steam separately until just wilted

~ place in colander over a bowl and leave to drain

~ cut the greens roughly with kitchen scissors while still in the colander and then press them gently with a spoon to extract a little more remaining moisture

~ saute diced onion in bacon fat until soft and set aside to cool

~ beat eggs with cream in a large pouring bowl

~ place all other ingredients in another large bowl, mix, and then distribute evenly over the pastry base

~ place the tart in the oven on a preheated tray and pour over the egg/ milk mix

~ cook at 180 deg c for 40 minutes or until the top is browned and the custard is set

notes: 

*   just letting you know that i read recently that only young nettles should be eaten because after flowering and seed setting the leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths, usually consisting of calcium carbonate, which can irritate the urinary tract..other sources (http://foragersharvest.com/stinging-nettle-cystoliths-self-heal/  http://www.eattheweeds.com/bet-your-life-on-it-myth-busting/contradict this premise..i don't know what to believe but for the sake of my kidneys i'll pick the young leaves until i have a definitive answer..

** i use murray river salt which is less salty than some other brands so less my be required if using an alternative salt

lovage

last spring i bought a lovage plant, popped it into my herb garden, and then ignored it apart from watering it in the really hot weather..yesterday i picked some and tentatively added it to a soup and the resulting flavour provoked me to find out about this herb and write this post..

lovage is believed to have originated from south western asia and the mediterranean..it's an herbaceous perennial that grows hollow celery like stems to over six feet from a basal rosette of leaves..the flavour of the leaves is intriguing and i find it hard to describe but for me there are hints of celery and cardamon..

lovage (levisticum officinale) has a long history of having been used medicinally in medieval and roman times and in ancient greece, with, according to culpeper, the powdered root being used to treat gastric and intestinal problems and to promote diuresis and menses..the alternative name of 'lover's parsley' suggests that perhaps it was also purported to have aphrodisiac qualities..

the whole plant can be used for culinary purposes..the roots can be grated and eaten raw in a salad, cooked or grated and dried and used to make a tea..whole or ground seeds may be added to sweets, breads, cakes and biscuits, cordial, pickles and savoury dishes.. the finely chopped leaves can be added to a salad and the fibrous stems can also be eaten if they are first blanched or, like angelica, they can be candied ..

barley, lovage and lemon soup

tea with hazel

ingredients

3/4 cup pearl barley cleaned of grit and rinsed
1 large onion cut medium
2 cloves garlic cut fine
4 medium carrots cut medium
4 small potatoes cut medium
1 celery stalk (i used several small home grown stalks) cut fine
1 cup peas
2-3 cups mixed greens (i used stinging nettle, rocket, dandelion leaves, celery and lovage leaves and a few small yellow stalked rainbow chard leaves)
1 litre stock
water
pinch chilli flakes
salt and pepper to taste
lemon rind and juice

method

~ saute the onion, celery and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is translucent
~ add the barley, chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste and stock and water to cover well and boil for 30 minutes or until the barley is soft
~ add carrot and potato and when nearly done add the peas and the dandelion, celery, lovage and rainbow chard leaves and cook for a couple of minutes
~ just before serving add the stinging nettle and rocket leaves, stir, and turn off heat

to serve

garnish each bowl with the zest and juice of half a small lemon or to taste

sweet potato and quark bread

tea with hazel

ingredients

400 gms white bread flour
100 gms wholemeal flour
1 cup cooked sweet potato
1/3 cup quark (i used schulz organic quark from timboon)
unsalted potato water (from boiling potatoes)
2 teaspoons (tsp) honey (i used peppermint honey)
1 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt (i used crushed murray river salt)

method

 ~ mix flours, sweet potato, quark, honey and yeast with enough potato water to make a shaggy dough and autolyse for 30 minutes
~ add salt, mix briefly, rest 10 minutes and then mix again
~ remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with greased cling film and leave until doubled
~ remove the dough onto a lightly floured bench and knead lightly and rest 15 minutes
~ repeat the knead/rest cycle once more
~ shape the bread and leave to prove
~ score the dough and bake with steam at 250 deg c for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 200 deg c and cook for a further 25 minutes or until cooked

comments:

~after reading a bit more about lovage i've realised that i need to move my plant so that it has more growing space..

~ i bought a 500 gm packet of barley and 500 gms split green peas yesterday on special at the supermarket for $2..not each..both! ..i hadn't made soup with barley for years but it added such a lovely gloss (see the photo above) and richness to the soup that it's going to be having a renaissance in my kitchen..and not just in soup..i want to try using it in other ways too such as in salads or as a rice substitute..the addition of lemon was a welcome complement to the richness of the barley and the aromatic flavour of the lovage in the soup..without it the balance was just not right..

~ the bread was a bit of a surprise because at the same time as being moist it was also was very light..

purslane and ricotta quiche

i haven't made a quiche in years but today i was inspired to make one because i wanted to experiment with cooking with purslane....quiches used to be de rigueur a couple of decades ago but they now seem quite old fashioned, however, after having revisited the culinary past i've decided to cook them more regularly..

purslane has been growing luxuriantly in my garden this summer..it always appears here and there but this year it's taken over my former garlic patch and it's begging to be taken more seriously than merely as a small player in a mixed green salad..after doing a bit of digging around on the internet i learned that purslane is high in alpha linolenic acid or omega-3 and it's also high in other nutrients and in terms of culinary use i found out that it can be used like spinach.. it seems it really does deserve to be taken more seriously..

purslane and ricotta quiche

tea with hazel

 pastry ingredients 

250 gms plain flour

125 gms cold butter cut into cubes

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 teaspoon (tsp) salt

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

iced water with a squeeze of lemon juice

filling ingredients

3 cups purslane sprigs (discard the larger stems) washed

1 large onion sliced thin

200 gms ricotta

100 gms feta crumbled

1/4 cup grated parmesan and aged cheddar

4 eggs 

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 to 3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

olive oil

pastry method

~ put flour, salt, chilli, cheese and butter into the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs

~ using the pulse function add enough iced water until the mix starts to hold together

~ remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough briefly until it forms a ball

~ form into a flat round, wrap in cling film and refrigerate while making the filling

filling method and making the quiche

~ steam purslane until just wilted and then spread onto a tea towel to cool and to absorb any residual moisture

~ saute the onion until softened and just browning on the edges and then remove to a plate to cool

~ roll out pastry to fit a 22 cm quiche tin with a removable base, place the pastry in the tin removing excess pastry and place the pastry lined tin in the fridge until the filling is ready

~ beat eggs with salt, pepper and eggs

~ add milk and cheeses and mix to incorporate

~ place the purslane and onion over the pastry and pour over the egg and cheese mix

~ bake at 190 deg c for 35-45 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is well browned

note

as i said earlier this recipe was pure experimentation but it's one that had a positive outcome because it's a flavoursome quiche that i will make again..and i can almost feel all the nutrients doing me a power of good..

frugal friday

i rarely cook roasted meats but earlier this week i ended up roasting a half leg of lamb..that's because i ran out of time to mince it as i usually do and i don't like freezing meat..there was a lot of cooked meat left over so today i minced it and made it into two shepherd's pies..i added onion, carrot, homegrown celery and chilli, stock made from the bones and worcestershire sauce..on top i dolloped a creamy mash which i dotted with butter prior to cooking..

there's plenty of stock left over after using some of it in the meat base for the pies..after straining it through muslin i will make some soup over the weekend..

i wilted rocket leaves, stinging nettles and rapa leaves to make a warm green salad to have with the pie that i dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and murray river salt..

i hope you have a safe and happy weekend x

wild thing..

you make my heart sing
you make everything
groovy
i said wild thing

that's what the troggs sang many years ago..and my heart sang too on sunday when i made gnocchi with 'wild' greens (the weather held out long enough for me to pick the nettles) and when yesterday i was able to make bread from a sourdough starter after 'wild' yeast took up residence in my flour and orange juice starter paste.

i have encouraged stinging nettles to grow in my garden for several years and i have used them many times in warm 'weed' salads, in spinach pies, soups and many other dishes..i have been wanting to use them to make gnocchi and pasta but i just hadn't got around to it until i was inspired by a nettle gnocchi posting by zeb bakes..additional inspiration came from a link to llynlines in the aforementioned posting.

wild things from my garden 

a bit too chunky nettle and sweet potato gnocchi 

first tomato sauce

i enjoyed making the gnocchi but there were two main problems..first, the next time i make them i will use a floury variety of regular potato instead of sweet potato because while the gnocchi were tasty they were a bit on the dense side despite a delicate hand in preparation..i also made them a bit on the too chunky side as you can see in the photograph..the next issue i had was with my first sauce so i made it a second time and added kalamata olives, capers and aged balsamic vinegar to the garlic, chilli and home bottled tomato puree and i garnished the dish with very thin crisp bacon (it was eaten before a photo could be taken) to add some salty piquancy in order to counteract the richness of the dish.. 

years ago when i was living in a small town in the north of greece i made bread a few times..the elderly woman from whom we rented our house noted my interest and told me about a method of making yeast from basil, water and flour..however, according to her it had to be basil blessed by the priest..she brought me a sprig from the church the following sunday after our discussion and i duly made a flour and water paste with the basil pressed into the top and left it in a warm place to do its thing as she had instructed..it did do its thing and i made bread with the 'mother', each time, keeping a small amount to use for the next loaf..i couldn't help questioning (well, i could, but i didn't want to) the blessed basil and i made a perfectly adequate starter from unblessed basil much to her chagrin..(on her instruction i also made a starter with chick peas which was very pungent) i wanted to bring original 'mother' back with me to australia when i returned a few years later but unfortunately i knew customs would not let her in the country so she had to stay in greece.. 

sourdough loaf with 'mother' discards

the green in middle is an artifact of the photography

since then i have been wanting to experiment again with sourdough bread making but it is only recently after some blog inspiration that i did a bit of research and used this recipe to make a sourdough starter..on day 4 the recipe calls for half of the mixture to be thrown away each day when the starter is fed..i'm not too good with waste so i put each days 'mother' discards in another bowl and hung onto it..it was quite active looking yesterday so i decided to make bread with it..to be on the safe side i added a half packet of yeast as well..i used cold water for a slower rise and i did less kneading than usual..i used to knead my bread a lot on the premise that the more kneading the better..however, i have since read that this over works the gluten and results in a softer loaf..that's ok sometimes but i've been after a chewier loaf with a crust..it didn't look very perky when it went into the oven but as you can see from the above photo it rose quite well and the crumb has a nice density and moistness and the crust is chewy with hints of crispness here and there..just how i wanted it..  


apologies for the variation  in text..i was unable to remedy it..jane