Sunday morning bread rolls (European style)

These little bread rolls remind me of Europe. They have a slightly sweet crumb and go with almost everything sweet or savoury. They are really easy to make and freeze well.

Makes 12 rolls.

Ingredients:
- 450 gr strong (High Grade) flour
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 Tbsp caster sugar
- 50 gr soft butter (not melted)
- 280 ml milk, lukewarm
- extra milk for glazing
- plain flour

Preparation:
Mix flour, salt and sugar in a big mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until incorporated. Make a well in the centre. Dissolve the yeast in the milk and pour into the well. Start mixing with your fingers until combined. Then tip out onto a lightly dusted bench top and start kneading for approximately 8-10 minutes., adding more flour if needed. You know the dough is ready when it bounces back after lightly pressing with a finger and the dough is smooth and silky to the touch. Form into a ball.

Rub 1 tsp of olive oil in the bowl (optional; this prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl after proving) and put the dough ball in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place (20º-25ºC) for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Grease and dust two baking trays. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll in to balls. Put each ball seam side down on a baking tray. Make sure you leave quite some space between each ball as they will increase in size and you don't want them sticking together. Slice a cross over the top of each ball with a sharp knife and cover with cling film or a tea towel. Leave to rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Brush the rolls with milk and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the rolls have a nice golden colour. Let cool for about 10 minutes before attempting to remove from the baking tray.
Because of the milk the rolls will tend to stick to the tray and you almost need to scrape the rolls of the tray. I noticed a spatula really helps. Maybe it's an idea to use baking paper instead...

After freezing the rolls, make sure they're defrosted completely and put them in a 190º-200ºC oven for about 6-8 minutes. This will crisp up the crust and they taste like freshly baked rolls.

Mocha biscuits

These little morsels are small enough to serve as a little treat with your morning tea, but I have to warn you; one is not enough!

Makes about 25-30 biscuits.

Ingredients:
- 175 gr self-raising flour
- 75 gr caster sugar
- 75 gr butter
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- 1 tsp hot water
- 1 egg

For the icing:
- 50 gr softened butter
- 100 gr icing sugar
- 3 tsp cocoa powder

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl or food processor. Add the butter and blend until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. In another small bowl combine the hot water with the coffee granules, mix in the egg. Add to the flour and either process or knead by hand until the dough forms a ball.

To be really naughty, dust the bench top with icing sugar instead of flour and roll out the dough until 5 mm thick. Use any cookie cutter shape you like. I used a round one with a diameter of 5 cm. Cut out 50-60 pieces and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden and the edges feel firm. Transfer with baking paper on to a wire rack and leave to cool.

For the filling, mix all ingredients together until combined. Use a table knife to spread a bit of the icing on one biscuit and gently press another biscuit on top of the icing.

They keep well in a plastic box for 2-3 days if they last that long...

Spinach Feta tart

Last Sunday night I wanted to use up some leftover home made Feta cheese and decided to throw some bits and pieces together, praying it would come together in the end. This spinach-feta tart or quiche turned out to be surprisingly good actually. Well, according to my loving hubby that is...

Have a go at this recipe and decide for yourself!

Ingredients:
For the dough;
- 1 cup plain flour
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 100 grams cold salted butter, finely diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp cold water

For the filling;
- Fresh spinach, couple of handfuls (I used native NZ spinach, but you can also use frozen spinach. I haven't got a clue how much you need with frozen spinach though...)
- 1 slice Feta cheese or other goat's cheese (approximately 150-200 grams) cubed
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- knob of butter and splash of olive oil
- pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 eggs
- 250 ml milk or cream

Preparation:
Grease a 25 cm tart tin with removable bottom and put aside. Mix flour, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl or food processor. Add the diced butter, egg yolk and water. Mix until the dough comes together and shape into a ball. Dust your bench top lightly with flour and flatten the dough with a rolling pin until your dough is large enough to line the base and sides of the tin. Roll the dough gently over your rolling pin and let it drop on your tin. Because of the addition of the egg yolk your dough will taste less fatty than the original flaky pastry and is less likely to break, which is ideal for dummies like me!
Chill the pastry for at least half an hour in the fridge (preferably one hour), this will prevent the dough from shrinking.

In the meantime prepare the filling.
Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and lightly sauté the onion and garlic until soft but not browned. Add the spinach and cook until leaves are turning soft, then add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg. Don't overdo the nutmeg as this is a distinct flavour that can easily overtake the whole dish. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 200ºC.

Prebake the shell blind by lining the inside of the tin (on top of the pastry) with baking paper and put weights on top of the baking paper. I use uncooked rice, but you can also use dried beans. (Both the beans and rice can not be used for cooking after baking in the oven, but you can keep on using them for blind baking all the time.) If you really want to splash out you can also buy specific pie weights (little ceramic balls) in a cooking store, but they don't come cheap. Bake the shell for 8-9 minutes on 200ºC until the pastry is set. Remove the rice or beans and baking paper and prick the bottom with a fork, this will prevent the bottom from going soggy and bake for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the heat to 190ºC.

In the meantime you can finish the filling. In a mixing bowl mix the eggs and milk or cream. Add the onion-spinach mixture and feta. Stir until evenly combined and pour in the tart shell. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the crust turns golden-brown. Let it cool for about 3-5 minutes before taking off the outer tin.

Serve with a green salad (preferably with a nutty taste such as mesclun, rocket etc) drizzled with extra vierge olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And of course accompanied with a good glass of wine!

-This tart keeps well in the fridge for several days and you can reheat it for about 1 minute in the microwave and for 5 mins in a 180ºC oven to crispen up the pastry.

Lemon Yoghurt Tart

I wanted to come up with something reasonably healthy, fresh and light. The result is this crisp base with a lemon-yoghurt filling that will help you cool down on a hot summer day.

This recipe is quite time consuming, but worth the effort! Once you've made the shell the variations are endless. This recipe will make three 25 cm tart shells.

I've added an alternative for the base if you don't have the time to prepare this tart shell. So no more excuses now...

Ingredients:
For the base:
- 300 gr flour
- pinch of baking powder
- 100 gr icing sugar
- pinch of salt
- 8 gr vanilla sugar (1 sachet)*
- zest from 1/4 lemon or two drops lemon essence
- 1 egg
- 200 gr cold butter, cut up in small cubes

For the filling:
- 1 liter yoghurt
- zest and juice of 3 lemons
- 125 gr caster sugar
- gelatin

*If you can't find vanilla sugar you can easily make it yourself. Fill a glass (jam) jar with caster sugar and add a vanilla pod. Leave for at least one day and you have vanilla flavoured sugar. This keeps for years and you can use it for all your baking's, puddings, jams and even ice-cream if you like.

Preparation:
Mix flour, baking powder, the sugars and salt together. Make a well in the middle and add the lemon zest or essence, egg and butter. Mix and knead until all ingredients are combined and the butter is incorporated. Try not to over mix the dough as the butter will start to melt which will make the dough very difficult to handle. Shape into a ball. If the dough has become too warm wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Grease and lightly dust a tart tin (preferably with a removable bottom) and roll out the pastry. You can do this either by dusting the bench top with flour and roll the pastry out on your bench top or roll the pastry out in the tin (this can be tricky!). Use your warm finger tips to spread the dough out and to neatly line the sides of your tin. When rolling the dough out on the bench top, gently wrap the dough around the rolling pin and let it drop into the tin. Make sure there is a bit of an overlap over the sides. This enables the pastry to 'sink' into the tin. Cut the edges off or shape it into a nice pattern if you feel creative. Prick the bottom with a fork and let the pastry rest in the fridge for at least half an hour. This will prevent the pastry from shrinking back when cooking.

Preheat the oven to 160ºC and bake the shell for 20-25 minutes or until golden. If you want to make sure the base will stay flat, put baking paper on top of the pastry and add uncooked rice, beans or weights on top of the baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the baking paper with the weights and bake for a further 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin. Once completely cooled you can fill the pastry shell with a cold filling.

For the filling combine the lemon zest, sugar and yoghurt in a big mixing bowl or food processor and mix thoroughly. Prepare the gelatin according to the instructions on the package. In New Zealand we only have access to the powdered gelatin instead of the leaves. If using powder, heat the lemon juice and dissolve the gelatin in the juice. When using the leaves, soak in water and dissolve in the warm juice. For both versions let the juice cool down before adding to the yoghurt. Taste. If you feel the mixture is too tart, add more sugar or add more lemon zest and or juice if it's too sweet for your liking. Pour the mixture into the tart shell and let it set in the fridge for about 4 hours.

If you have too much mixture, pour the excess into small glasses or ramekins and let it set in the fridge. They make a lovely dessert as well.

Decorate with fruit, berry coulis or whipped cream to your liking.


Tips & tricks:
- The dough keeps for eight days in the fridge. You can freeze the dough for later use or make several tart shells and freeze after baking.
- Try quark, Greek yoghurt or ricotta instead of yoghurt.
- For a more naughty version use 500 grams yoghurt, quark or ricotta and 250 ml cream.
- Mix different types of fruit through the yoghurt before transferring to the fridge such as berries, peaches, cherries. Tinned fruit will do just fine; add about 600 grams.
- Pour half of the mixture into the tart shell and decorate fruit on top of the mixture. Then slowly and carefully pour in the remaining mixture. By doing it this way the fruit will stay in place and gives a nice effect when cutting the tart.

- Alternative base; 1 packet of biscuits to your liking (plain tea biscuits will do the trick), 50 grams butter and 1 Tbsp jam. Heat butter in a sauce pan. Anger management: Whack the hell out of the biscuits by smashing them with your rolling pin or a wine bottle, preferably empty. Once butter is melted add the jam and stir until dissolved. Add the crumbled biscuits and mix until all butter is incorporated in the biscuits. Pour mixture into your baking tin and press down with your finger tips or the back of a spoon. Let cool before adding the yoghurt mixture.

Broad bean salad

I know a lot of people are not very fond of broad beans and I must admit I also had visions of grey, rubbery, overcooked and bitter broad beans. But hey, there's more to it that meets the eye! By peeling the tough grey outside layer of the broad beans you'll end up with a delicious, slightly sweet bean. Because we grow them in our veggie garden, we get the chance to eat these beans when they're young and tender and you don't even have to peel them. But I like them better when peeled.

We often eat this cold salad as a starter or side dish. The flavours are Italian and it goes very well with other Italian dishes or tomato dishes.

Ingredients:
- 1 kg broad beans (unshelled)
- 2 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 generous Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino)
- pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:
Blanch the broad beans in simmering water for about 1 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel the broad beans and put in a bowl, together with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with ciabatta or toast and a glass of red wine.

Once prepared serve immediately or the cheese will go soggy after a while.

Goat cheese salad

Maybe this salad doesn't look a million dollars, but I can guarantee you the taste is definitely there! The salad leaves are freshly picked from our garden and the cheese is home made. The honey-mustard dressing marries the flavours together. If you not really into the distinct goat flavour, try this recipe with some brie or Camembert.

Ingredients:
- Salad leaves (I use mesclun, rocket and butter lettuce)
- Soft goat cheese, such as chèvre in a round shape
- Walnuts
- Bread crumbs
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Tomato, sliced in quarters (optional)
- Olive oil for frying

For the Honey-Mustard dressing:
- 125 ml (half a cup) of good quality Extra Virgin olive oil
- Good splash of red wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tsp mild English mustard
- 2 Tbsp honey (liquid)

Preparation:
Arrange the salad leaves on a plate. Scatter the walnuts on top, together with the tomatoes. Heat a frying pan with some olive oil. Quickly dip the cheese into the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Fry on both sides until golden. The trick is not to over fry it, otherwise the cheese will be runny and will leak out of its crust into the pan. (Like I did...) Place the cheese on top of the salad and drizzle with the dressing.

Dressing:
Whisk oil and vinegar together (The oil tends to separate from the vinegar, so beat vigorously or alternatively put the ingredients into a (jam)jar and shake until combined.) Season to taste, add mustard and honey. At this stage I tend to taste, because you want a combination of sweet, sour and spicy. If necessary I add more mustard, honey or vinegar. See what you like.

Variations:
- Pan fry some bacon and add to the salad.
- Add some peeled and diced cucumber.
- For a real indulgence; wrap the cheese in puff pastry (use egg wash to create a golden glow) and bake in the oven until brown.

Whitebait

My beloved hubby Paul bought some whitebait from our local fish shop. When living in NZ you have to try this National delicacy and it is a bit of a shame really that we haven't tried it before. It is very expensive and people are willing to risk their lives in order to catch the tiny baby fish.

Throughout New Zealand it is very common to eat the little buggers as a fritter. Just whisk an egg, season with salt and pepper and cook as an omelet. Easy as!

Paul added a pinch of ground paprika to the egg mixture to spice things up.

Potato Salad

This is my own version of the world famous potato salad. Dead easy, but really delicious and a true winner when organising a barbie.

Ingredients:
- about 2 kg potatoes ( I prefer to use Agria, but the pink ones will do as well. Just ask your green grocer for salad potatoes and you'll be fine.)
- 500 g sour cream (I use the light version)
- 2 heaped Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 heaped tsp (English) mustard, mild
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped

Preparation:
Peel and boil the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes until done. Do not overcook them, otherwise they'll fall apart. Drain and let cool. Whisk the sour cream with the mayonnaise until creamy and combined. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the flavours are all a bit 'overdone' as this is the base that will give your potatoes flavour. It is quite hard to add more flavour once the potatoes are combined with the mixture. Add the mustard (If you don't like the tangy flavour of mustard, just add a little bit at a time and taste.) and the spring onions. Cut the cold potatoes in bite size chunks and mix with the sour cream mixture. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let it cool completely in the fridge. This also gives the potatoes time to take on the flavours. Serve cold.
This salad is also nice for lunch. Eat with toast.

Variations:
- You can add some capers or gherkins if you like.
- If you don't like the 'lean' version, use mayonnaise only.
- Chives are also a nice addition instead of spring onions.

Summer Delight

Summer to me is all about flavours and smells. Our garden is packed with strawberries, raspberries and blue berries. Even the black currants are doing their best to outshine the other berries. On a lazy Sunday Paul and I fancied something nice to go with our coffee but it had to be a bit healthy as well...

Within the hour we had these lovely mini tarts topped with berries from the garden. You can go really crazy on this recipe as it is dead easy to make and the variations are endless. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 1 package of puff pastry (I confess; it was a store bought package)
- 0.5 liter milk
- custard powder (or you can use ready made custard from the supermarket if you're in a real hurry)
- sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- fresh berries (or other fruit)
- icing sugar (optional)
- muffin pan

Preparation:
Preheat the oven according the instructions on your pastry packet. Make sure the puff pastry has defrosted before you start cutting it. I use a small plate or big saucer to cut circles out of the puff pastry. Line the circles inside the holes of your muffin pan. Don't let the pastry stick out of the pan too much otherwise the edges will collapse back inside and you won't be able to fill your tart cases afterwards. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle over sugar. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has a nice gold/brown colour. Take out of the oven and gently press the insides of the pastry cases flat with the back of a spoon. Let it cool on a wire rack and take out of the muffin pan to cool even more.
In the meantime, prepare the custard according to the directions on the back of the packet. I used half a litre of milk, 6 Tbsp custard powder and 6 Tbsp sugar. This will give you a thick, more pudding like consistency. Cool down in a sink with cold water and keep on stirring to prevent lumps. If you still have some lumps, no panic as you can easily get rid of them by straining the custard through a sieve. Pour the custard when cool in the tart cases and top with a variety of berries. Sift over icing sugar and they're ready to serve.

variations:
- Serve the tartlets with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream.
- Use slices of banana, apple, grape, pear. Heat some clear fruit juice (e.g. apple juice) and stir in some gelatin. Add the fruit mixture and let it cool in the fridge until almost set. Pour mixture over tartlets and let the gelatin set further until firm.
- Before adding custard to the tart cases, pour some melted chocolate on the base. This prevents the pastry from going soggy and tastes delicious as well.