Scrolls

This week at The Weekly Feast HQ we are babysitting my littlest niece and nephew for a couple of days. Tuesday was a rainy and miserable day (so please excuse the terrible quality of this week's photos!) and Mr 4 was desperate to get outside and play. His attention span was wavering, being stuck inside. Lego had lost its excitement, we had already watched a movie, and he was just getting plain restless. So while Miss 17mths was having her nap I decided it was the perfect time to do some baking with Mr 4.

Scrolls are a perfect recipe to bake with kids who have a short attention span. They are super easy and are made up of several quick steps with breaks in between. They are also super versatile and make a great lunch box item for school or work and freeze really well. Today we chose to make 'pizza' scrolls using things we had in the fridge.



Mr 4 was quite excited to measure out the ingredients and feel the dough once it was mixed, but I think he was sceptical when I told him we were going to leave the dough to rest and that it was going to get bigger. So when I brought the dough out half an hour later he was quite impressed to see how big it was! He was very excited about the whole baking experience, until the scrolls came out of the over when, in true 4 year old style, he decided he didn't even want to try them. Oh well, more for the rest of us I say!



This week's tips and hints:
* As I said these are great for using whatever you have in the fridge. Today we used ham, cheese and tomato sauce but the possible fillings are as limitless as your imagination.
* I used my Thermo-style mixer, Dorris, to mix the dough which made the whole experience even easier, but you can easily make the dough by hand.
* I find it's a good idea to lightly oil the bowl you plan to prove your dough in the help stop it from sticking.

Enjoy! Xxx

Scrolls




Serves: 10 -12
Prep time: 50 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

310g (1 1/3 cups) warm water
1 sachet of dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
510g (3 1/2 cups) plain flour
30g (3 tbls) extra virgin olive oil

desired fillings, eg ham, cheese, tomato sauce

Method

Thermo-style mixer Dough Method
Add water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and flour to bowl.
Mix on speed 6 for 12 seconds.
Mix on knead for 1.5 minutes.
Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to prove for 30 minutes.

Normal Dough Method
Place water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and flour in a bowl.
Mix with a spoon until just combined.
Use your hands to form a ball and knead for 10 minutes.
Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to prove for 30 minutes.

While the dough is proving, prepare your filling.

Once dough has finished proving, turn out onto bench and punch down.
Form a ball again and then roll dough out to form a large rectangle (it doesn't matter if it's a bit wonky).
Evenly cover the dough with your desired fillings.
Starting from one side, roll up your dough until you reach the end and it forms a roll.
Using a knife (a bread knife will do) cut your roll into even sections and place on a baking paper lined tray.
Place the scrolls in a warm spot and allow to prove for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Once the scrolls have proved, place the tray in a cold oven.
Set oven to 180°c - 190°c and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until scrolls are golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Comfort Food: Supercharged Lasagne

Comfort food. It is a marvellous thing and everyone you know has at least one type of comfort food. Now I'll be honest, none of my comfort foods could be termed 'healthy'. I like to comfort myself with salt and carbs and greasy food. Two of my big comfort foods though are lasagne and mac & cheese.



I remember, as a teen, that my best friend's Mum made THE BEST MAC & CHEESE EVER! I'm sure she still does but it's not really convenient for me to turn up on her door step requesting mac & cheese anymore. So for years I have been trying to perfect my own recipe. I still haven't managed it but I will not give up!

Lasagne, however, I have got down pat. Basic lasagne is in my regular rotation of meals that I cook, sometimes though you just want or need that little bit extra. Enter my supercharged lasagne. This baby takes the classic to a new level, with added bacon, mushrooms and five types of cheese.

The added bonus is that I cooked up a double batch of bolognese mince so that we can have jacket potatoes for a cheeky Saturday night dinner as well.

This weeks tips and hints:
* I chose to use a packet of shredded four cheese blend and some extra parmesan cheese. You can use any cheese you want. I often just use tasty cheese.
* This recipe is great for adding hidden veggies for those stubborn kids (or grown ups ;) ). Simply grate some carrot and zucchini into the mince.
* You could add the mushrooms to the mince, instead of layering them.
* Similarly you could keep the bacon as whole short cuts and layer it through instead.
* I have found that using fresh lasagne sheets makes a huge difference. You can buy them from the fridge section at the supermarket. They are also great for cannelloni, no more breaking dried pasta tubes, simply roll them around your filling!

Supercharged Lasagne

Serves: 4-6
Prep time:
Cooking time:

Ingredients

1-2 cups cheese
fresh lasagne sheets
3 Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

Bolognese Mince
1/2 onion, diced
2 pieces short cut bacon, diced
500g beef mince
1 tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt & pepper, to taste
dried or fresh herbs (I use thyme, oregano and basil), to taste

Béchamel Sauce
30g butter
60g plain flour
500ml milk
1 cup cheese
salt & pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste

Method

Fry off onion in a large frypan until them begin to change colour.
Add the diced bacon and gently fry until the onion is golden.
Once the onion is a nice golden colour, add the mince and brown on a medium-high heat. Use a spoon to gently break apart the meet as it cooks.
Once the mince has browned add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and salt & pepper, lower heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced down and thickened.

While the mince is simmering, melt butter for béchamel sauce in a saucepan.
Add flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly.
Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
Bring sauce to the boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Set aside until you are ready to assemble. Stir occasionally to stop a skin from forming.

Gently fry off mushrooms in a little butter and olive oil.

When you are ready to assemble preheat oven to 200°C.

Now get ready to layer!
Scoop a little of the sauce out of the bolognese and spread around the bottom of you baking dish.
Place a layer of lasagne sheet on top of sauce, cut pieces to fit.
Place a third of the béchamel sauce.
Place half of the mushrooms.
Top with half of the bolognese.
If you are feeling particularly naughty, add a little cheese.
Place another layer of lasagne sheets.
Place another third of the béchamel sauce.
Place the rest of the mushrooms.
Top with the remaining bolognese.
Place a final layer of lasagne sheets.
Top with the remaining béchamel sauce.
Finish off with a layer of cheese (I add a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan here) and a sprinkle of herbs.

Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, depending how crispy and golden you like your cheese.

Serve with your favourite sides. In our house we love to have potato gems, garlic bread and salad. Enjoy!

Bombay Beef, Lemon Saffron Rice and Homemade Naan

Hello again fellow food lovers! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I spent just over a week away, first at a Hot Rod run in Narrandera, catching up with family and old friends and then some time visiting my Nan. I love the Easter long weekend. Every year we travel down to attend the hot rod run, that I have been attending since I was 6 weeks old. I get to see friends that I often don't see at any other time of the year. And it is a great weekend, with great food, music, company and fun stuff to do, with the extra bonus of cool cars and awesome style. After the weekend I often hang around to spend some time with family because the town I grew up in is only 20 minutes away.

How I spent most of my long weekend. Relaxing with a view like this.

I haven't lived in Leeton for almost 15 years now, but I still have family there. While I love where I live and I have no desire to move back there, I love visiting once a year, returning to familiar places and seeing how the town has changed. I mean when I lived there we had just gotten Woolworths and that was a big deal. Now there is a McDonalds, Red Rooster, ONE set of traffic lights and other things I never dreamed of. But the heart of the town is the same, as shown by the out pouring of love, support and grief shown by the whole community following the tragic events surrounding the disappearance and murder of Stephanie Scott. Leeton is the kind of town where even if you don't personally know someone, you know someone who does or who has been affected by an event. My heart is breaking for a family and community in mourning. And I will admit that (as anyone who knows me can attest) this all hit a little too close to home and shook up a few of my own thoughts and actions.

Some of the hot rods in my family.

The other thing I love about returning to the Riverina? The food! There is no point beating around the bush, while Port Macquarie does somethings well and has a great hospitality industry, there is some food they just do better in the Riverina. I was enjoying the food so much (and posting so many facebook updates about it) that a friend had to ask if I was on a 'food-cation'. And if I'm honest that was pretty much what it was. I had a list of foods I wanted to eat and managed to tick them all off. Everything from Chinese, battered savs, pizza, to my version of bottled heaven, Portello and my favourite sweet treat, Junee White Gold (soft liquorice covered in white chocolate). The food was everything I remembered it to be, but I'm sure I put on several kilos! Haha

See what I mean about awesome style? This is one of my all
favourite dresses by Pigtails and Pirates.
Seriously check them out!

One cuisine we do have here at home that I have just fallen in love with is Indian. I have always steered clear of Indian as I am in no way a fan of hot, spicy food. In fact I am quite a sook. I can't stand it and I'm not a big fan of the taste of chilli, something that the rest of my family just can't understand. So while I am careful to order only mild dishes, I still often find them quite hot. I am growing to love the cuisine though so last weekend I decided I should try my hand at my favourite dish, and control the spice level myself. So like always I read quite a few recipes and adapted them to suit my own tastes. I also attempted a red lentil dhal, which was a complete flop. So just ignore it in the pictures. I am going to keep searching for the perfect dhal recipe.

I can't even explain how much I loved this meal. I wasn't terribly confident about making the naan, but it was far easier than I anticipated and was just plain awesome. All three of these dishes will go into regular rotation I think. In fact I cannot wait to make them again! So without further ado here are my recipes for Bombay beef, lemon saffron rice and homemade naan. Enjoy!

This week's tips/hints:
* I used imitation saffron powder as I had never cooked with it before and was too nervous about it to spend $14 on the real stuff.
* I found these great frozen cubes of ginger in the freezer section. I hate grating ginger and always end up with left overs in the fridge that go to waste. These were great, I just popped out the right amount of cubes, added them straight to the pan and the rest are in the freezer until I need more.
* I didn't add any chilli due to my own personal preference, so basically add as much as you want!
* Same with the garlic. I only added half a teaspoon as it upsets my mother's stomach. You might like to add a bit more.
* I cook most things in coconut oil these days but you can obviously fry in what ever you like.
*Finally I will apologise for the picture quality this week. I was far to excited to eat my feast and far to lazy and tired to stage proper photos. So sorry for the bad iphone pictures!

Bombay Beef, Lemon Saffron Rice and Homemade Naan

Bombay Beef

Ingredients
500g stewing steak/gravy beef
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon tomato paste
400g chopped tinned tomatoes
200ml beef stock
240ml coconut milk

Method
Gently fry onions, carrots, potato and eggplant until it starts to soften.
Add the ginger, garlic, spices, tomato paste and beef. Mix to coat thoroughly.
Add tinned tomato and beef stock. Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and add coconut milk.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until beef is tender and potatoes are soft.

Lemon Saffron Rice

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 whole lemon, zest and juice
1 teaspoon saffron powder
3 cardamom pods, gently crushed

Method
Place butter and oil in a large saucepan. Melt butter over a medium-high heat.
Once it is shimmery hot, add rice and stir to coat.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add saffron, cardamom pods, stock, lemon zest and juice.
Bring to the boil.
Cover and reduce heat.
Simmer until the rice has absorbed all the liquid (about 10-15 minutes).

Homemade Naan

Ingredients
4 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 teaspoon dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1 cup greek yoghurt
melted butter, for brushing
herbs for topping, option (I just topped mine with salt and pepper)

Method
In a medium sized bowl or jug dissolve sugar in warm water.
Add dry yeast and stir until dissolved.
Let sit for about 10 minutes, until mixture begins to froth and rise.
Add remaining dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, form a well in the centre
When yeast is frothy, add warm milk and yoghurt.
Pour wet ingredients into the centre of dry ingredients.
Mix ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula. When dough starts to come together, use you hands to finish mixing, stop as soon as it comes together and forms a ball. It should be sticky.
Cover bowl with a damp tea towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour.
Divide dough into 8 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into an oval shape about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick.
Heat pan over medium-high heat until quite hot.
Brush both sides of naan with melted butter and sprinkle with your desired herbs or spices.
Place in hot pan cook for 1-2 minutes, until you see bubbles start to form. Flip and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until large toasted spots appear on the underside.
Place naan in a tea towel lined dish.
Repeat with the rest of naan.

Savoury Muffin Recipe

Last week I mentioned my love of kitchen gadgets. This extends from things like strawberry hullers through to gadgets like the Thermomix. I've been to several demos and I drool over a friend's machine everytime I visit. I even borrowed one for a week and loved every second of it. Unfortunately $2000 for a kitchen machine simply isn't in my budget at the moment, no matter how much I love it. Lucky for me I got given the next best thing for my birthday this year! A Kogan Thermoblend. There are several key differences from the Thermomix, including being belt driven, not having a reverse function and lacking in built scales. All that aside I love this machine. It is perfect until that mythical day when I can afford the real deal. Now like all members of the family she needed a name. Many of my possessions have names. My car is called Luna, my sewing machine is Betty. After much deliberation I settled on Dorris for the Thermoblend. So I would like to officially welcome Dorris to the family!

This week I decided to make some savoury muffins to use up leftovers from the fridge. I love muffins. Savoury, sweet it doesn't matter. Savoury muffins are a fabulous way to use up leftovers and create a healthy snack that you can eat on the go. I couldn't find my usual recipe and I wanted to try out Dorris so I decided to trial my own recipe. The great thing about this recipe is that you can mix it up by using the base batter, which stays the same, and add whatever extra ingredients you want or have on hand. These are great warm with a little butter. Delicious!

Savoury Muffins

Ingredients
Batter
2 cups SR flour (I used wholemeal)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
125g butter
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Extras
200g cheese
1/2 red onion
handful sundried tomatoes
thyme

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease or line 12 whole muffin pan.
Place cubed cheese into bowl. Grate on for 30 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.
Place onion in bowl. Process for 10 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.
Place butter in bowl. Melt for 2 minutes on speed 4 at 60°C.
Add the rest of batter ingredients. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 6.
Scrape down sides of bowl.
Add cheese, onion, sundried tomato and thyme. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.
Give a quick mix with spatula to ensure extras are evenly mixed.
Spoon, evenly, into muffin pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and skewer inserted comes out clean.

n.b. This recipe is for use in a thermo-style appliance. You could simply grate, chop, melt and mix the ingredients by hand.

My muffins simply used leftovers I had in the fridge. I think they would be super tasty with creamed corn, cheese and ham. Or maybe just a vege muffin with zucchini, carrot, mushrooms, peas, corn or anything really!

Thanks for stopping by. If you try out the recipe please let me know what you think and I would love to hear what ingredient combination you try!
Xxx