Sorta Speedy Shortcut Spanakopita

If you frequent this blog, (thank you, by the way) you probably will have noticed that I use filo pastry pretty often. This is partly coincidence, and partly because when I buy filo dough, the boxes have about 30+ sheets in them. It's not the best idea to thaw and refreeze it all, so here we go again; here's one more of the million and one ways to use filo.

Spanakopita is Greek spinach pie. Here, crispy phyllo is wrapped around a filling of spinach, onion, feta cheese, and egg. It's a tasty way to get your veg and its portability makes it a good picnic candidate too.

This is one of hundreds of different versions. I take a shortcut by using frozen spinach; if you want to cook and drain a couple pounds of fresh spinach, then by all means go for it. There are also recipes that call for dill, parsely, or green onion. Some are built in a pan and then served in slices. I like to make mine this way because you get more crunchy pastry per serving.

I made this with some feta that I had frozen (gasp!) (A note on frozen feta: some people say never to do this, but I thought it tasted fine after it thawed. Just put it in something rather than eating it plain in, say, a salad because the texture changes a little.)

Spanakopita

10 sheets of thawed phyllo dough
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2x 10 ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspooon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a medium sized saute pan, onions in olice oil until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook another 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

Drain the spinach well. (Really well, until no more liquid comes out when you squeeze it. I like to squeeze a bunch between two plates.)

In a large bowl, beat eggs with pepper and oregano. Add onion mixture, spinach, and feta cheese and stir until combined.

Brush one filo sheet with melted butter (cover the others with a damp towel so that they don't dry out). Place another sheet on top. With a pizza cutter, split the sheet in three (so you have three short rectangles). Place a scant 1/4 cup of filling at one end of each rectangle and roll as you would a tortilla wrap (fold the sides in when the spanakopita is half rolled).

Place on a baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 15 egg roll-sized spanakopita.

Recipe and image property of beets and bites

Pigs in a Blanket: Good Eats Pork Wellington

I'm a loyal Good Eats fan, and when this recipe aired on the "Tender is the Pork" episode, I put it on my lengthy list of things to make.

Pork tenderloin is lean and relatively inexpensive. It can also be dry and a little bland. This recipe takes care of all those possible glitches. The pork gets a huge boost of flavour from dried fruit, herbs and mustard. The tenderloin also gets wrapped in proscuitto (in a procedure called "barding"). This not only also adds flavour, but keeps the meat extremely moist (not overcooking it helps as well, of course). In fact, the meat gets so juicy that I had an issue with a slightly soggy bottom crust.

I will admit that I tried to use filo pastry here. This is one of those occasions when you just need to suck it up and splurge on the puff pastry; the buttery layers will help to "waterproof" the roll.

Staying with the "meat n' potatoes" route, I made some roast potatoes to go with the pork. Classic, simple, delicious.


Pork Wellington:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1-ounce dried apple rings (I didn't use these, but I'm sure it'd be delicious)
  
• 1 whole pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
• 4 1/2 ounces thinly slice prosciutto ham
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed completely
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Directions

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 400 degrees F.

Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl and set aside. Place the apple rings into the bowl of a mini food processor and process for 30 to 45 seconds or until they are the size of a medium dice. Set aside.

Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin. Slice the tenderloin down the middle lengthwise, creating 2 separate pieces. Lay the tenderloin pieces next to each other head to tail, so when laid back together they are the same size at the ends.

Lay out a 12 by 16-inch piece of parchment paper on the counter and arrange the pieces of prosciutto in the center, overlapping them enough to create solid layer that is as long as the tenderloin. Top with a second piece of parchment, and using a rolling pin, roll over the prosciutto to help adhere the pieces to each other. Remove the parchment paper and sprinkle the prosciutto with the pepper, and thyme. Set the tenderloin down the middle of the prosciutto. Spread the dried apples in between the 2 pieces of tenderloin and push back together so the apples are held between them. Using the parchment paper to assist, wrap the prosciutto around the tenderloin to completely enclose in a package.

Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll out the pastry to 12 by 14 inches. Spread the mustard thinly in the center of pastry and lay the prosciutto wrapped tenderloin in the center of the pastry on the mustard. Fold the puff pastry up and over the top of the tenderloin, then roll to completely enclose, brushing the edges of the pastry with the egg wash in order to seal. Turn the tenderloin over so the side of the tenderloin with the double thickness of pastry is underneath. Pinch the ends of the pastry to seal.

Brush the entire pastry with the egg wash. Place the tenderloin on a parchment lined half sheet pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees F.

Remove the tenderloin from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Golden Garlic and Herb Roast Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 sprigs rosemary, bruised with a knife
2 sprigs thyme
1/3 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

I prefer to parboil the potatoes first so they cook as quickly as the pork (above). To do this, halve the potatoes and drop in boiling water. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until barely tender.

Meanwhile, combine garlic, rosemary, and oil in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until fragrant and small bubbles appear. Turn off heat and allow flavours to infuse (preferably at least 1/2 hour)

Drain potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Toss with flavoured olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread potatoes, garlic, and herbs on a foil lined baking sheet.

Roast at 400F for 25-30 minutes (1 hour if the potatoes were not previously cooked). Stir potatoes once halfway through cooking to brown evenly.


Pork Wellington recipe courtesy of Alton Brown and Food Network
Potatoes recipe and images property of beets and bites

I-Can't-Believe-They're-Not-Deep-Fried Baked Samosas

Before you dismiss this healthier take on the scrumptiousness that is the samosa, please give it a chance. Yes, oftentimes the baked, healthier version of anything doesn't live up to its deep fried counterpart (think oven french fries and potato chips...I've even tried baked doughnuts. They weren't good.) But this is one of those times that I prefer the baked version. This is still crispy with all the flavour of the traditional samosa, but lighter tasting and much flakier.

Enter my favourite substitute for all greasy pastry: phyllo dough! You don't need a lot of butter in between the layers and you still get flaky crispness. There's also no need to deep fry it, and they freeze wonderfully. Make a large batch, stash them in the freezer, and you're always a half hour away from fresh, golden brown and delicious samosas.

I served mine with a yogurt sauce. Just stir together 1/4 cup shredded cucumber, 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt, and 1 tablespoon chopped mint. Season with salt and pepper and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Some tips for working with phyllo dough:
-Try to thaw frozen phyllo dough in the refrigerator overnight, rather than on a countertop
-Cover the stack of dough with a damp kitchen towel as you work with each individual sheet
-You don't need to brush every layer with melted butter. I often do every other or every three sheets
-Brush the tops of your pastries with melted butter to encourage browning
-For images on how to fold phyllo triangles, see: http://greekfood.about.com/od/makephyllosweetsavory/ig/Folding-Triangles/

Baked Samosas:

Filling:

• 2 large potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough

1. Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in potatoes and peas. Cook until potatoes are tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash together and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Brown cumin seeds and bay leaf. Mix in onions and ground beef. Cook until beef is evenly brown and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in garlic, fresh ginger root. Season with black pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in the mashed potato mixture. Remove from heat and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until cool.
3. Mix cilantro into the potato and beef mixture. Layer 3 sheets of thawed phyllo dough and cut lengthwise into 3 long strips. Place approximately 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto one end of each phyllo strip. Fold sheets into triangles. Brush tops with melted butter
   
4. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until golden brown (If baking frozen, bake for 30 minutes)

Makes 18

Adapted from Beef Samosas on allrecipes.com

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Chicken Pot Pie Goes to India

Last night's dinner turned out to be one of those happy flukes. I had leftover butter chicken and no basmati rice to eat it with, so I decided to make this chicken pot pie with a twist.

Considering the fact that the curry is fairly rich (how could it not be, given its name), the usual pie crust pastry seemed a little over-the-top. Topping it with some phyllo pastry instead makes a lighter crust. The thing I love about phyllo is that it bakes really light and crispy, and contrary to what is written in many recipes, you don't have to brush each layer with melted butter to get flakiness. It is a little more work to layer each paper thin sheet, but the end result is delicate layers without the heaviness of shortcrust/pie pastry, or the grease of puff pastry.

There's no actual recipe for this, but the general idea is:
-Fill an oven-proof dish with curry chicken
-Tear a sheet of thawed phyllo pastry so that it extends about 1" over the sides of the dish
-Lightly scrunch and place on top of curry
-Repeat with 3 more layers of phyllo dough. Brush between the layers with melted butter if desired.
-Brush top layer of phyllo with melted butter (for browning)
-Bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes

Served with some sauteed spinach and naan bread, this experiment was a success. Not entirely surprising though because what wouldn't taste good with a pastry crust on top?

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