Potato chop

I wasn't a huge fan of these stuffed potato balls, but my mum and dad couldn't stop eating them. I think I didn't enjoy the texture. 

For the potato dough:

- 1kg potatoes, boiled, mashed and cooled

- 1 tablespoon cornstarch

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING: 

- 1/2 kg mince

- 1/2 tablespoon oil

- 1 medium onion finely chopped

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon 7 spice

- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped 

1. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the mince. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and set aside.

2. Add the cornstarch to the cooled potato. Break off walnut sized pieces. 

3. Hold the ball in one hand, and use your thumb to hollow the centre. Fill the hole with filling, and pinch edges closed. Fry until brown. 

Spinach dip bites

I was actually surprised how tasty these were. It was the first time using and even tasting artichoke hearts. I must admit I do like them. 

- puff pastry

- 2 cups frozen spinach

- 3oz jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 

- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

- 4 oz cream cheese

- 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella 

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

- pepper to taste 

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. In a bowl, combine the spinach, artichokes, garlic and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

2. Cut the pastry into squares and line muffin holes with it. 

3. Scoop the spinach mixture into the pastry cases and bake for 15-17 minutes. 

Pizza tarts

The original recipe for this just asks for sauce, onion, and capsicum. I threw some diced bacon in as well. This is a great recipe to get your pizza making ideas out. You can grow anything in them. 

- puff pastry

- 2 tablespoons pizza sauce

- 1 tablespoon grated mozzarella 

- 1 red onion, sliced

- 1 red capsicum, diced

- Italian seasoning 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Cut pastry into squares and line muffin holes with them. 

2. Spoon a little sauce in the centre of each square. Top with a few slices of onion and a few bits of capsicum. Sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning. 

3. Bake for 13-17 minutes until puffed and golden. 

salmon patties

I don't like eating seafood, so I didn't taste these patties, but not only did my mum enjoy these, so did my dad. He wouldn't normally eat something like this because he suffers from bad heartburn.

1x 415g can salmon
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 dessertspoons white vinegar
1/2 cup plain flour
salt and pepper
1 egg lightly beaten
breadcrumbs
oil for frying

1. Put salmon in a bowl and mash with a fork, then combine with rice, vinegar, flour and seasonings.

2. Roll mixture into balls, then flatten slightly.

3. Dip patties in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Fry until warmed through and golden brown. 

Stromboli

PIZZA DOUGH:

- 1 cup warm water

- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

- 1 tablespoon honey

- 2 teaspoons salt

- 2 tablespoons oil

- 3 cups flour

1. In a large bowl mix the yeast and honey into warm water. Stir for 5-10 minutes. Add the oil, salt and 1/2 the flour and mix.

2. Add the rest of the flour, bit by bit, until it is slightly tacky but doesn't stick to your hands.

3. Knead the dough for 6 minutes. NO LESS

4. Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with glad wrap and lt rise for 1-2 hours.

FILLING:

- 1/2 cup pizza sauce

- 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

- 6 thin slices salami

- 4 thin slices honey ham

- 1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat your oven to 240 degrees celcius and line a baking tray.

2. Roll the dough approximately 10 x 6 cm and spread the pizza sauce over 2 thirds of the length, leaving a 3 x 16 cm border along the edge. Top the sauce with half of the cheese, salami, and ham. Top with remaining cheese.

3. Brush the plain strip of dough with egg. Fold the other sides in and brush with egg and roll up lengthways, starting where all the fillings are and ending with the plain strip on the bottom.

4. Brush the entire roll with egg and gently cut slats in the top every 1-2 inches.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, cool, and slice.



Spicy Spring Rolls

I bought a sauce to go with these spring rolls, but it smelt a lot nicer than it tasted, so I went without. It's ok though, these spring rolls were still quite juicy.

*all vegetables are diced very small

- 1 medium carrot
- 2 sticks of celery                    
- vegetable oil
- 1/2 red capsicum
- 2 large mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon rice wine or vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts
- spring roll sheets

1. Prepare all vegetables and stir fry them in a frypan for about 3 minutes. Add the cold water, cover the pan and cook until the vegetables are soft.

2. Make a well in the middle and pour the cornflour mixture into it. Allow to thicken.

3. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, and sweet chilli sauce. Coat the vegetables and allow to cool. Add the macadamia nuts to the cold vegetables.

4. Place the spring roll sheets on a clean bench, place a spoonful of mixture on the sheet, leaving a 2cm margin. Fold the sides in to slightly cover the vegetables, and roll.

5. Heat remaining oil in a deep frypan, Drop 1/2 the rolls into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain.

Taramosalata

The first time I tried Taramosalata was with one of my friends' bosses. He was Greek and loves the dip. I'm not a fan of seafood, but this dip I thought was to die for. To me, I think next time I try and make this, I should maybe add a little bit of garlic, because the one I tasted had garlic, and maybe a little more lemon juice.

- 100g pink caviar          
- 1/2 white onion
- 1/2 kg white bread
- 1/2 ml olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon

1. Cut up the bread and soak it in water for a few minutes. Drain well.

2. Put the caviar in a food processor and process for 5 minutes.

3. Add the bread to the food processor, along with the rest of the ingredients and continue processing for another 3 minutes.

4. Serve on slices of French bread.

A Trio of Bruschetta

I find bruschetta to be quite a simple starter, but it also makes a great snack as well. In the warmer seasons, it is nice and refreshing. When I make bruschetta, I like to take the seeds out because I don't like the seeds of the tomatoes. 

*my measurements aren't accurate in bruschetta as I go by taste.*

*all the bruschetta has the same method... just throw it altogether and toss. Serve on grilled bread*

1.

Bruschetta Greca:

- 3 tomatoes

- 1 tsp garlic

- a few olives (to your liking) , sliced thin

- a little bit of feta cheese (to your liking) cubed small

- a few leaves of oregano, chopped fine

- a squeeze of lemon juice

- a spash of olive oil

- some salt and pepper

2. 

Bruschetta al Pomodoro:

- 3 tomatoes

- some red onion

- 1 tsp garlic

- a few leaves of basil, chopped fine

- some salt and pepper

- a splash of olive oil

3.

Bruschetta Messicana:

- 3 tomatoes

- some red onion

- some jalapeno chilli finely chopped

- a squeeze of lime juice

- a splash of olive oil

- some salt

Stuffed Vine Leaves #2

As I am still looking for a stuffed vine leaf recipe that I really enjoy, I thought about mixing 2 recipes together to see what it tasted like. These ones I quite enjoyed.

- 1 cup cooked brown rice- 3 tablespoons olive oil                

- 300g lamb mince

- 2 tablespoons tomato paste

- 1 clove minced garlic

- 1 teaspoon beef stock powder

- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

- 1 teaspoon dried mint

- 2-3 cups beef stock 

- 1 jar vine leaves

1. Heat oil in a pan and add meat, garlic and cinnamon and cook until meat is all brown. 

2. Add the stock powder, rice, tomato paste, parsley, and mint and mix well.

3. Roll the mixture tightly into rinsed leaves.

4. Line the bottom of a sauce pan with 2 layers of unstuffed leaves and layer the stuffed leaves on top. 

5. Pour the stock over the tops of the leaves and add water if needed to cover the tops. Place something heavy on top to keep the leaves down.

6. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes until leaves are tender.

Lamb Kofta

When I made these, I didn't realize that you should add some "fresh" mint as well. The dried mint just isn't strong enough. Or maybe you could try adding some more. Serve them with garlic sauce.

- 1 cup breadcrumbs

- 1/2 kg lamb mince                  
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Mix the breadcrumbs with the lamb and eggs. Mix well with your hands.

2. Add the spices, garlic onion and parsley.

3. Roll mixture into sausage shapes with wet hands and fry the in the oil until evenly browned. 

stuffed risotto balls

One of these balls filled me up.

- 1 litre beef stock
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 200g minced beef
- 1/2 onion
- 120g parmesan cheese, finely grated          
- 200g mozzarella, cubed
- 1 can tomato soup
- salt and pepper to taste
- 500g arborio rice
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml white wine
- breadcrumbs and 2 eggs for coating
- vegetable oil for frying

1. Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add the mince and brown well, breaking up all the lumps. Add the wine and burn off the alcohol. Add tomato soup and season with salt and pepper, cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

2. Add the rice and the stock little bits at a time (like you're cooking a risotto, but 2/3 of the time. Don't cook  it completely, otherwise you'll get mushy rice). When done, remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of butter, 2 eggs, and the parmesan cheese. Cool down.

3. When the rice is cool enough to handle, make about 20 balls. *keep wetting your hands, this will help keep the rice from sticking to your hands.* make a hole in the middle of each with your thumb and insert 2 or 3 cubes of the mozzarella into it. Close the ball by pressing it and re-rolling it

4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and put the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Dip each ball in the egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Do this 2 times.

5. Deep fry the balls until golden and drain.

Cheat's Bruschetta

When my best friend at the time was working in a kitchen, her boss made me some bruschetta. I couldn't tell him I didn't like tomatoes, and I'm glad I didn't. I picked out the ingredients he used and found an easy way to make it. Apparantly he also used lemon juice, but I find it tastes the same without it. Normally I would buy a French stick and toast rounds, but sometimes I buy a packet of bruschetta bread and use that for some extra flavour.

- tomatoes
- red onion
- basil
- garlic
- salt

- olive oil

1. As I have come to realize, the part I don't like of the tomato are the seeds. So remove seeds from tomatoes and dice up small.

2. Dice up the red onion as small as you can.

3. Add 1 clove of garlic and a little basil. In my case, 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1 long squeeze of basil.

4. Add enough olive oil to coat the salad. Add salt to taste.

For an extra flavour as well, When I went to Queensland, one of the restraunts poured a little bit of balsamic vinegar over the top as well. I must say it's quite nice. You can also use plain toasted bread instead of the fancy bread in my picture.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Whenever I go into the city to Darling Harbour, a must for me is to buy a stuffed cabbage roll. I have no idea what's in them but they are the most delicious things I have tasted. Yet again, I am looking for the recipe, but came across another nice one.

- 1 medium cabbage
- 250g finely chopped lamb mince
- 2 cups finely chopped parsley
- 1 bunch finely chopped shallots
- 2 cups rice (uncooked)
- 2 cups diced tomato flesh
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato pate
- 2 teaspoons each: tumeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground cumin
- 4 teaspoons salt

1. Cut the cabbage in a square shape around the core. This helps you when you're taking off the leaves.

2. Cook the cabbage in a large pot until the leaves are pliable.

3. Carefully pull the leaves off the cabbage then simmer them a little while longer.

4. Cut off the stalks. RESERVE THEM.

5. Place the meat, rice, shallot, tomato, and parsley into a bowl and mix with your hands.

6. Add the tomato paste, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of the spices and mix well.

7. Line the bottom of a pot with the reserved stalks.

8. Place 1 tablespoon of mixture in each leaf and roll up. Layer the rolls on top of the stalks.

9. In a small bowl, mix the rest of the spices and dissolve with tomato paste and hot water. Add the oil and pour this over the leaves in the pot.

10. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Stuffed Vine Leaves

I'm still looking for the perfect recipe, but as I look, I find different ones that I still enjoy. This is 1 of them:

- 250g finely chopped minced lamb
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 1 cup parsley finely chopped (reserve stalks)
- 1 cup rice (uncooked)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of each: black pepper, tumeric, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt
- 1 jar preserved vine leaves

Cooking liquid:  
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon spices as mentioned above

1. Mix the rice with the oil, then mix it with the lamb, tomato, onion, parsley and spices.

2. Rinse the brine off the leaves as good as you can.

3. Place 1 tablespoon of the stuffing near the bottom of the leaf. Fold the sides in, then roll the rest of the leaf as tightly as you can.

4. Put the reserved parsley stalks over the bottom of your pan. Lay your stuffed leaves on top of the stalks and pack them in tight.

5. Mix the cooking liquid together, then pour over your leaves. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and cover them. Simmer for 1 hour.

Spinach Folds

Every now and then I get a strong craving for a spinach fold, but never knew what went in them. The shop I go to buy them from hardly has them or is closed a lot of the time. I finally found a recipe for them.

For the casing: (you may need to double this)

- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

- 2 teaspoons olive oil                                   

- 2 small onions, finely chopped

- 600g frozen spinach

- 2 teaspoons salt

- 2 tablespoons sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice

To make the casing:
1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients together and mix with a spoon.
2. When it turns into a dough, start kneading it with your hands. (You don't need to let this dough sit, it's ready to use straight away.)

For the filling:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion.
2. Add the salt, sumac and pepper, then add the lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes and let to cool.

The pink and yellow in this photo are the stems off different varieties of spinach.

1. Once the mixture has cooled, break a bit off your dough, roll it out thin, and put a teaspoon-tablespoon of the mixture into the centre.
2. Fold half the dough over your mixture and seal.
3. Deep fry until golden.

Mum's sausage rolls

I used to love getting a sausage roll from the bakery for lunch when I was younger. Until mum started making her sausage rolls. For something so cheap and simple, they are so yum.

- puff pastry
- 500g roll of sausage mince
- 1 large grated carrot
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon barbeque sauce
- 1 teaspoon vegemite
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 185 degrees celcius.
2. Mix all ingredients together with your hands until well combined.
3. Cut pastry into 4 squares. Place 1 tablspoon of meat mixture on the edge of each square. Roll up.

4. Brush each roll with a little bit of water to help the rolls go golden.

5. Bake for 1 hour or till cooked.