Spinach, Bacon & Feta Plait

It doesn’t matter how little you have to make a meal, if you’ve got a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer, you’ll always be able to make a little go a bit further. Everything tastes better with puff pastry and this Spinach, Bacon & Feta Plait came together so easy when ingredients were low.

 

 

I had a little bit of spinach (silverbeet), a couple slices of bacon, half a capsicum and the tiniest bit of feta cheese. I could’ve probably found a bit of pasta to go with it but knowing I always have puff pastry in the freezer, I decided to create a pastry plait. It’s so, so easy for either sweet or savoury dishes.

All you need to do is blanch the spinach and squeeze out any excess moisture. Chop the other ingredients and add half a cup of dried breadcrumbs. This will help to absorb any excess moisture while baking so the pastry stays crisp.

To make the plait, make cuts in the pastry on both sides as above, leaving a space in the middle to pile your filling.

I also add a sprinkling of dried breadcrumbs on the pastry, just to be sure all that excess moisture is absorbed. Put the cut pastry on a piece of baking paper on a baking tray.

Pile on the filling.

Starting from the back, start folding the pastry over the piece from the opposite side until you get to the front and tuck the ends in.

Brush with a beaten egg and bake for about 25 minutes in a 180 deg C oven.

A lovely, golden, crisp pastry shell filled with all those delicious flavours of spinach, bacon and feta cheese.

Serve sliced with whatever you like. All I had to go with this was potatoes and a box of long life cream in the pantry so I made dauphinoise potatoes (potato bake) and it was delicious.

Making this dish reminded me of the time I made this Plum & Macadamia Plait. It was made with a basic sweet dough but you could quite easily just use frozen, ready made puff pastry for a quick dessert. It’s a great way to use up fruit that might be starting to turn. You could add just about anything to one of these plaits, sweet or savoury.

Puff pastry is also excellent to use when unexpected company arrives. You can make so many little bite sized snacks and I have 10 different recipes here. It pays to keep puff pastry in the freezer for a quick meal or fast snack.

Recipe

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Spinach, Bacon & Feta Plait

For a quick meal when you don't have much left in the pantry, use what you have got left and fold it into this easy puff pastry plait.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1 cup cooked spinach or silverbeet excess moisture removed
• 2 rashers bacon chopped
• capscim onion or other vegetables, diced
• feta cheese crumbled
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

1. Cook spinach and remove any excess liquid.
2. Combine spinach, bacon and feta with 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs and salt and pepper.
3. Prepare sheet of puff pastry by making diagonal cuts about 1/3 from the centre of the pastry sheet.
4. Repeat on the other side.
5. Sprinkle some extra dried breadcrumbs on the pastry sheet to help absorb any excess moisture from the filling.
6. Spoon filling onto the middle of the pastry sheet and starting from the back, fold over cut pastry slices over the top of the filling, tucking the ends in at the front.
7. Brush pastry with 1 beaten egg and bake in a 180 deg C oven for approximately 25 minutes.
8. Slice and serve.

 

Leftover Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

 

Looking for inspiration for that leftover rotisserie chook? There’s a million (and one) ways to use it but I was feeling like something a bit yummy this particular night and I had a couple instant lasagna sheets in the pantry, and I mean only a couple. Isn’t it funny how the makers of lasagna sheets have just too many or just too few in the box, depending on which dish you use? I never throw them out but rather keep them for ‘instant’ meals like this.

 

 

I love having these frozen spinach cubes in the freezer too. I rely on them a lot for instant meals when I’ve run out of fresh vegetables. They’re great because you only use what you need. (They can be easily made with fresh spinach too. Just blanch in boiling hot water until just wilted, blitz or chop finely and put in ice cube trays to freeze.)

 

 

Remove all the meat from the chicken and put it aside with the spinach. I can normally get 3 or 4 meals out of a supermarket rotisserie chicken including meat for sandwiches and salads. For around the $10 mark, they’re not a bad buy when you’re in a hurry.

Putting the lasagna together is really easy. Fry a medium chopped onion in some butter, add some flour and add milk or chicken stock to make a bechamel sauce.

Set aside a cup of the sauce for the lasagna topping.

Add the chicken and spinach to the bechamel sauce.

 

Assemble the lasagna by first putting a layer of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the dish and layer with the lasagna sheets. Top with the reserved cup of bechamel sauce.

 

 

Finish off with a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese and bake until golden brown on top.

This really didn’t take any time at all. The most labour intensive part was making the bechamel sauce and that is really kind of easy. I guess the whole thing only took about 30 minutes. You could prepare something like this in the morning, pop in the fridge and bake just before dinner time.

A delicious, tasty, mid-week meal using up leftovers and bits and pieces. My kind of meal.

Leftover Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

• leftover roast chicken meat, chopped into bite sized pieces
• frozen spinach (or fresh wilted and chopped finely)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• lasagna sheets
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs plain flour
• 2 cups milk or chicken stock (approximately)
• grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Fry diced onion in 2 tbs butter until translucent.
3. Stir in 2 tbs plain flour and fry until well combined with butter mixture (approx 2 minutes).
4. Pour in milk or chicken stock and keep stirring until thicken. (You may need a little more liquid if mixture is too thick.)
5. Reserve 1 cup of this sauce mixture for lasagna topping.
6. Add chicken meat and lasagna to bechamel sauce and mix well. 
7. Layer the bottom of an ovenproof dish with chicken/spinach sauce mixture.
8. Top with lasagna sheets and continue to layer.
9. Finish top layer with reserved cup of bechamel sauce and grated parmesan cheese.
10. Bake until golden on top (approximately 15 minutes).

 

Indian Chicken & Spinach Curry (from the pantry)

 

You might remember a couple weeks ago I made an easy Garlic Naan bread? It was late-ish on a Saturday night. We didn’t have the kids for the weekend and I was craving Indian food. I had the ‘I can’t be bothered’ mood but had chicken defrosted for whatever it was I was planning on cooking. The thought of paying somewhere around $50 for takeaway food just for the two of us soon got me into gear and was all the motivation I needed to make this Indian Chicken & Spinach curry just from things I had in the pantry and freezer.

 

 

You’ll have to excuse the lack of ‘how to’ photos. I’m positive I took them but just can’t find them but this dish is so, so easy to make and if you can slice an onion and a chicken breast and open a couple packets (not that is made from packet mixes), you’ll be fine making this dish.

As I always say, it’s best to have a fully stocked pantry with all the essentials so you can create a tasty dish with little or no effort. To make this creamy curry I used a small long life box of cream (not sure if that’s available in all parts of the world but it’s a lifesaver) and normal curry powder. A tin of coconut milk would work just as well. I used to have all the Indian spices that went into a good curry but no one in the house likes it as much as me so they all went to waste. A traditional curry powder will still give you a lot of flavour similar to an Indian curry.

The spinach was frozen and the brand I get comes in blocks so you only use the amount you need. If you have an abundance of spinach (or silverbeet or chard) you can quite easily make your own blocks by blanching in hot boiling water for a minute or so, cool in cold water, drain and briefly blitz or chop. Fill an ice cube tray or small containers with the mixture and freeze. It’s too easy.

I also had a serving for 2 of boiled rice in the freezer. Whenever I cook rice for a meal, I cook up about 2-3 cups of it and use what I need for that meal and freeze the rest into ziplock bags, enough for a serving of 2. To defrost, I put the frozen rice in a dish, pour boiled water over it and within a couple minutes it’s warm enough to eat. Sometimes you might need to give it a quick minute blast in the microwave to make it hot.

With a little bit of preparation, having a well stocked pantry and basic ingredients, keep your money in your wallet, avoid takeaway food and make this scrummy dish at home in about 10 minutes flat.

Indian Chicken & Spinach Curry (from the pantry)

• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• mushrooms (optional)
• frozen spinach
• longlife cream or a can of coconut milk/cream
• 1-2 tablespoons curry powder
• salt & pepper
• fresh coriander (if you have it, to serve)
• boiled rice (to serve)

1. If you’ve got frozen pre-cooked rice, heat by pouring boiling water over and when defrosted, drain well. If not, put 1 cup of rice on to boil.
2. In a pan, fry the chicken, onion and garlic.
3. Add the curry powder and stir until it becomes aromatic.
4. Add the longlife cream or coconut milk/cream and stir well.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add frozen spinach and any other vegetables/herbs you might have.
7. Once spinach has warmed through, serve over rice.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

 

You’d think at this time of the year I’d be mad for wanting a salad. (I’m mad at any time of the year!) But I love fresh vegetables, winter is the perfect time for citrus in Australia and who doesn’t usually have nuts in the pantry to whip up this quick Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad.

What constitutes a salad anyway? Wikipedia says “a salad is a dish consisting of small pieces of food, which may be mixed with a sauce or salad dressing”. So whether that’s hot, cold, winter or summer, serving up an accompaniment to any meal that contains fresh vegetables, a zingy dressing and something with a bit of crunch sounds good to me.

The Navel oranges are just gorgeous at the moment, full of juice and a lovely deep orange colour, perfect for boosting the immune system when we’re all a little

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prone to catching whatever virus is doing the rounds in winter.

This salad literally took me all of 5 minutes to throw together. I served it alongside some grilled chicken breasts and it was just perfect. You could use any green. Think blanched broccoli, lettuce of any kind, beans, peas, kale etc. Citrus could be mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, blood orange and the nuts are whatever you have in the pantry, like walnuts, macadamia, peanuts, hazelnuts. Summer or winter, get your extra serve of vegies in this simple 3 ingredient salad.

Orange, Spinach & Almond Salad

• Baby spinach (or any other green vegetable)
• Orange segments (or any other citrus fruit)
• Almonds, toasted (or any other nuts)

 

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp honey

 

1. Arrange spinach, orange and almonds on a platter.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
3. Pour over salad.

 

 

Homemade Gozleme

The Italians have calzone, the Mexicans have quesadillas and the Turkish people have gozleme. It’s amazing what you can do with just flour, oil and water. These tasty little treats take barely no time to whip up and you can fill them with whatever ingredients you have on hand. In this case, I used some English spinach I had wilting in the fridge and a little feta cheese. I made a mushroom and cheese gozleme for my son and a garlic and cheese one for Little Miss Fusspot.

This recipe, from Gourmet Wog has no yeast so no waiting around for it to rise etc. It’s a very basic dough that needs to rest for just a couple minutes while you prepare the filling. They can be cooked on the barbecue, on the stove top in a frying pan or, as I did, in my sandwich press so they were cooked in no time.

The dough forms into a lovely, silky smooth ball and is easy to work with and to roll out.

Let your imagination go wild with the fillings. The Turks also love to make a spicy lamb mince filling and fill in between these deliciously, light, crispy flatbreads.

It’s just a matter of putting one layer of dough on the pan, top with the filling and place the second layer of dough on top and fry until golden. With the use of the sandwich press, I was able to cook both sides at once. If you cook it on the stove top, you’d have to be a dab hand at flipping the gozleme but once the filling melts and sticks, it’s pretty easy. Gozleme make a lovely alternative to boring old sandwiches for lunch or, served with a salad, a light and healthy evening meal.

Homemade Gozleme

(based on Gourmet Wog “Easy Peasy Gozleme” Recipe)

• 2 & 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup water
• olive oil spray or extra olive oil to brush pan

Spinach & Feta filling:

• handful of spinach leaves (I used English spinach and wilted in the microwave for about 20 secs)
• 100 grams feta cheese crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 egg to combine
• salt & pepper

1. Add salt to plain flour.
2. Make a well in the middle and add olive oil and water.
3. Mix until dough forms a ball.
4. Knead for approximately 10 minutes until the dough is silky smooth.
5. Allow to rest for 20 minutes and prepare your filling.
6. Cut dough ball into 4 sections.
7. Cut each of this sections into 2 and roll into a round shape of similar size and very thin.
8. Place one piece of rolled dough into a well greased pan, on a barbecue plate or sandwich press and place the filling on top.
9. Place the other piece of dough on top.
10. Cook over a medium heat until dough has cooked and flip to cook the other side.
11. Brush with extra olive oil if desired.
12. Cut into wedges to serve. 

Grilled Spinach & Feta Flatbreads

I hope you’re not getting bored with  my feta infatuation but a little goes a long way in my house so I have to use it up as quick as I can in as many ways I can. Besides, this was one of the dishes on my menu plan from the Donna Hay magazine I planned from.

You could make a complete meal out of these by serving with a side salad but I couldn’t wait. They were absolutely gorgeous and ready in a flash. I made mine in my sandwich press but they could be made on a barbecue or on a pan on the stove top. They were very filling too and one of these http://creditcardnow.us/comment/181#comment-181 babies could quite easily serve 2, with the salad. I was starving so ate the lot. A good one for an easy weekend dinner, barbecue or cut into slivers for a cocktail party.

Grilled Spinach & Feta Flatbreads

• 2 Lebanese flatbreads (or tortillas, pita or even normal bread would work well)
• bunch baby spinach leaves
• small serve feta cheese, crumbled
• grated mozarella cheese (or cheddar)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed (or garlic spread)
• olive oil

1. Spread flatbread with crushed garlic (or spread).
2. Top with spinach leaves, crumbled feta and grated cheese.
3. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and top with other flatbread which has also been spread with garlic.
4. Toast until crispy and brown.
5. Chop into four and serve with a simple garden salad.

Three cheese & spinach pie

Or, otherwise known as “use up the cheeses you have in the fridge before they go off” pie. I didn’t manage to stretch the fresh vegetables and salad ingredients out to the end of the weekend so I was searching the fridge and freezer for inspiration last night and this Greek style cheese and spinach pie came to mind.

I always like to keep a pack of spinach in the freezer. Its always good for a standby meal, whether it’s used with ricotta in a pasta dish or mixed with eggs and other cheeses and baked in pastry.

My son was reluctant to try it (probably because of the ‘green’ bits) but he did and said it was very tasty. I’ll have to make sure I get my salad vegetables so I can enjoy the leftovers with salad this week for lunches. You could encase this filling in filo pastry and fold into triangles for something a little different.

Three Cheese & Spinach Pie

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 pack frozen spinach, thawed
• any selection of soft cheeses (I used feta and ricotta)
• grated cheddar cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt & pepper
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry

1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Add eggs, spinach, soft cheeses, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well.
3. Line baking dish with thawed puff pastry and pour in filling.
4. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and bake until pastry and filling is golden.
5. Serve warm or cold.

Mini Spinach & Ricotta Quiches

We were invited to a Christening yesterday. I hadn’t been to one in ages. Now that my children are turning 8 and 6 this year, I don’t have too much to do with babies as most of my friends have children the same age, except this one who had a baby earlier this year, her fourth. What a trooper she is. A wonderful cake maker, mother, wife and friend. I thought I’d take something and using what I had on hand, I whipped up these mini spinach and ricotta quiches.

I love having frozen puff pastry on hand because you can whip up anything for a party with that and just about anything else you’ve got lurking in the fridge or pantry.

A couple of fridge and freezer staples and you’ve got the making of a quick party snack or a luscious lunch time treat or family dinner tart.

I love the way a quiche comes out of the oven all puffed up. I think I’ll be making these again. Low in calories but high in flavour and taste.

Mini Spinach

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& Ricotta Quiches

• 1 sheet frozen reduced fat puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs low fat ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 2 tbs chopped, cooked spinach (I used 1 small block of frozen spinach)
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbs grated cheese
• oil spray for pan

1. Prepare pan by spraying well with oil spray.
2. Cut out pastry rounds from thawed pastry. (One sheet of pastry yielded 9 mini quiches.)
3. Beat egg and add, ricotta, skim milk, spinach, garlic and salt & pepper. Mix well.
4. Place tablespoons of mixture into prepared pastry cases and top with grated cheese.
5. Bake in a 180 deg C oven (approx 350 deg F) for approx 15 mins or until golden brown and pastry is cooked.

And if you’re in the Brisbane area and ever in need of that hard to find cake tin, my dear friend will most likely have it available to hire or she might even find the time to make it for you at a great price. She’s an excellent cake maker.

Brisbane Cake Tin Hire

Website:  Brisbane Cake Tin Hire
Email:  caketins@gmail.com

Chicken, Spinach & Lemon Pasta

I’m lucky to have both oranges and lemons in the fridge so I stumbled across a recipe on the Taste web site and adjusted it slightly. This Chicken, Spinach & Lemon Pasta was a very easy meal to put together and was a lovely, light summery pasta dish. The addition of the lemon gave it a fresh ‘zing’ and a lift.

Chicken, Spinach & Lemon Pasta

• 250g dried penne
• 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 chicken breast fillet, trimmed and sliced
  2 garlic cloves, crushed
  Grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
  Half a bag baby spinach leaves
  1 tbs dried basil
  Salt & freshly ground black pepper
  Shaved parmesan, to serve

Boil pasta until al dente. Soften onion in EVOO, add chicken and cook until browned. Add garlic, basil, zest and juice of lemon and 1/3 cup of water from pasta. Add spinach and cook until just wilted.

Drain pasta and mix chicken mixture through. Top with shaved parmesan to serve.

Serves 2.