Easy Green Bean Casserole

Easy-peasy and oh-so delicious!! 

Creamy veggies and crunchy onion toppings - this dish is perfect to make for a weekday dinner when you don't want to spend too much time slogging it off in the kitchen. 

The Green Bean casserole was concocted in 1955 by Campbell's Kitchen head Dorcas Reily. This recipe landed Reilly a spot in the Inventors Hall of fame in 2002 and after tasting the dish I know exactly why!!

Try it out and you too will fall in love with  this version and I can assure you that like for me, it will become your new go-to recipe for making the perfect green bean casserole.

4 cups sliced green beans
3 cups chicken broth
1 can(10 3/4 ounce) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup french fried onion rings 
1/2 tsp garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheddar

• Preheat the oven to 350F.. 
• Boil the green beans in the chicken broth for 10 minutes till slightly softened, and then drain.
• Mix the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
• Pour into a greased 11/2 quart baking dish.
• Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the cheddar and bake for further 10 minutes till the casserole is hot and cheese is melted and bubbling.

Involtini de Melanzane: Baked Eggplant Rolls

I admit my son is a fussy eater and I can do absolutely nothing about it!!

Deep in my heart, somewhere I feel hugely responsible that maybe I haven't done my duty as a mom, being really busy with my work when he was a small child, in introducing healthy eating habits or rather enforcing them. Seriously, put a plate of veggies in front of him and he shrinks away from it as if it is diseased. 

When he was younger, he was fixated on eating only these two vegetables - cauliflower and beans (sadly now he has renounced these too). So for years and years, that is what my maid used to prepare for him in lunch, alternating between the two for a change of flavor. Though, thankfully he loved his fruits, giving me a feeling of false assurance that somehow atleast in some way he is getting his nutrients.

I remember when he was just 7, sending my kids off for a summer camp for a week. When they came back my daughter told me that the young fella did not touch the vegetables and had only Roti (Indian flat bread) for the entire week, headstrong and obstinate that he was!!

And then there was my little daughter, who was an adorable angel as a child and never made a fuss about anything (ofcourse life changes and kids change when they reach their teens!!). To make sure that she didn't suffer the onslaught of cauliflower and beans, a separate dish was made for her as she was one who loved to explore new flavors and taste. Hats off to my good old maid that she did not give up and run away.

The fuss was only about vegetables, but give him a plate of chicken any day and he was quite happy with it. And yes, not to forget mashed potatoes with loads of butter and cheese in it. So over time, I have had my mind frazzled thinking of and devising ways in which I could feed him vegetables hidden in any form so that he doesn't recognize it and eats it happily. I know these are rantings of a frustrated mom so please go ahead and ignore me!!
I guess, I would not be the only one complaining about my kids and I am sure this would be the dilemma of half the moms in the world.  But in the long run everyone survives and so shall he!! Fingers crossed!!

I love experimenting with new recipes. A few days back I came over this recipe of Involtini and it looked delicious and most important really simple to make. Grilled eggplants rolled with a filling of ricotta and baked topped with fresh mozzarella and pasta sauce sounded deliciously appetizing. There is something about eggplants, inspite of its versatility, that most people either like it or hate it. Though the recipe is essentially a meatless version, I threw in a layer of minced meat at the bottom to make it a bit lucrative for the fussy eaters in our house. 

To my surprise the fussy eater loved it!! Yipee!! I felt I had won an Oscar because I was so sure he was not even going to taste it. Maybe the eggplants couldn't be deciphered, well hidden under the bubbling mozzarella cheese and pasta sauce or perhaps the whole combination with the mincemeat did the trick but whatever it was it left me a very happy soul!! And yes I am going to make this dish again soon to make sure it wasn't just a lucky fluke. If you too have a fussy eater in your house, do try this recipe. Who knows you too might hit a jackpot.

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 20 min    Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
3 medium sized eggplants 
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup raisins soaked in hot water for 10 minutes until they plump up
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
11/2 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves or 1 tsp dried parsley
1 large egg (can be omitted)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
21/2 cups pasta sauce ( I used a store bought one but you can make it fresh too)
1 large ball fresh mozzarella in 1/4 inch slices

• Heat oven to 375 F.
• Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/2" thick. Place a heavy skillet over medium heat. working in batches, brush eggplant slices on both sides with olive oil and cook, turning till the eggplant turns soft. Keep aside to cool.
• In a large bowl combine feta, pine nuts, raisins, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, bread crumbs, garlic, lemon zest, mint and parsley. Mix in egg and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spread the eggplant slices on a surface and divide stuffing evenly among them. Place 1 to tbsp. at one end of each slice. Roll up slices tightly to secure filling and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish (or other shallow baking pan in which rolls fit snugly in a single layer)
• Pour the pasta sauce on top of the eggplant rolls. arrange mozzarella slices in a line lengthwise down center of the pan. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bake until cheese  has melted and eggplant is bubbling and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Chicken in Citrus Herb Brine and a Honey Soy Glaze

Recently while flicking through the pages of a glossy entertainment magazine ( I think it was 'Closer'), the picture of a succulent roasted chicken grabbed my attention. I was immediately  entranced by the glossy, gorgeously moist looking picture of the luscious chicken. Nothing new it was just an age old recipe of a Roast chicken which many of you must be familiar with but with a slight twist. Reading through the recipe I found the technique quite simple and easy one to follow, something I knew I had to try out. What I really found appealing to make me want to try it was, that instead of the usual method of roasting the whole chicken, in this recipe the chicken was cut into half and placed to roast in the baking tin. 

This way, I who have always found it quite a task to carve a whole chicken, found slicing the chicken so much simpler. Also because of being cut in half, I found that the chicken got evenly browned all over, the meat was beautifully cooked inside out and that not only the outer skin but the complete chicken got a lovely flavour from the honey soy glaze.

And the best part about it is that it was so so easy to make. 

Looking at it, can you deny that it is quite a stunner?  Go ahead and try it for yourself and don't forget to let me know how it turned out for you.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Kikkoman Soy sauce

1/2 gallon water

1/2 cup Kosher salt

1/2 brown sugar

1 orange juiced

1 lemon juiced

3 sprigs fresh Rosemary leaves or if unavailable use 2 tbsp dried rosemary

1-2 tablespoon olive oil

to taste kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 small roasting chicken (about 5 pounds)

For the glaze

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce

4 tbsp honey 

Method:

Combine soy sauce with water salt and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir well till everything is dissolved. 

Remove from heat and stir in the orange and lemon juices with rosemary.

Place the frozen chicken in the brine, cover and refrigerate. Be sure to place the chicken in a seal proof dish or away from the prying hands of the kiddos as I don't want you to go through what I went through. My 'not-so-young' son accidentally tipped the covered bowl of brined chicken which was kept in the top most shelf and what happened next was a complete nightmare!! There was sticky soy brine all over - the shelves, the containers, dishes, the vegetable drawers, the chill tray everything was dripping and smelling. And it was 3:00 in the afternoon, when I had just begun to think to myself that finally my work was over and I could go lie down and get some rest. But alas!! That just wasn't what was in store for me. It took me solid two hours to have the fridge completely cleaned up inside out and you can tell by the end of it  I was a very unhappy and tired soul. 

But looking at the brighter side of things - my refrigerator had been screaming for a clean up since quite a long time!! But you please be careful!!

When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the brine.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Place the whole chicken on a cutting board and cut the chicken right down the backbone and spread flat on a baking dish. 

Rub the skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour or until the internal temperature reaches to 180F.

When about 10 minutes are left combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl.

Baste it with the glaze and turn it frequently to create a glossy crust.

Serve hot.

Yogurt Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries

Light and fluffy, sweet n tangy, each creamy bite that just melts into your mouth, mmmm......tastes so fabulous that it absolutely sweeps you off your feet!!  If I close my eyes right now, that is what comes to my mind when I think of a perfect cheesecake. This cheesecake comes pretty close to my picture of a perfect cheesecake. 

And the best part is you can go right ahead and indulge your sweet tooth without feeling too guilty as sour cream has been substituted by greek yogurt making it comparatively lighter than the classic cheesecake.

Even after being 3 months here in U.S, it is still quite an overwhelming experience for me to go grocery shopping. A visit to any supermarket. even to pick up the most basic item easily means an hour or two down the lane. Even now I tend to get lost trying to make my way through the confusing maze of innumerable rows and counters full of ingredients, trying hard to make up my mind what to pick up as the choices present before you are so vast and so confusing to someone like me who is not familiar with the American brands.

 On one of numerous visits to the store I picked up a tub of Greek yogurt only to realize much later when after 2-3 days I took out the yogurt to use for marinating chicken that it was actually vanilla flavored sweet yogurt. I had somehow missed reading the small print on the carton which said vanilla flavored and now I did not know what to do with it as no one was willing to eat it. 

Not wanting to waste the big carton of yogurt I thought of making several things with it like a smoothie, frozen yogurt or maybe just mix it with fresh fruits. I wasn't sure if the kids would be too excited about the smoothie or the mixed fruit yogurt and the frozen yogurt just seemed too much work (maybe I will save that for summers). Searching the net for some ideas, I came upon Betty Crocker's recipe of Frozen Yogurt Cheesecake which sounded wonderful and just seemed perfect for what I had in mind. As it is I had been wanting to try out a cheesecake for a long time. 

Betty Crocker's recipes also called for Philadelphia Cream cheese which fortunately I had lying in my fridge. And this I feel brought out the real taste in the cheesecake. Unfortunately in India, Philadelphia cream cheese is available only in gourmet grocery stores and that too at exorbitant prices. Imagine one 8 oz. package costing Rs 450 - that is a little more than $7. So even though I had always had making a cheesecake on my wish list but just that I did not want to spend that much on trying out a cheesecake ( o make one cheesecake I would require 3 8 oz packages -that would add up to a little more than $20- a little too much don't you think?)

I tweaked the original recipe a little. I reduced the cream cheese  and increased the quantity of yogurt (after all I was looking for a way to finish off my yogurt), mixed in all the ingredients according to the instructions given in the recipe, finally put the cheesecake in the oven to bake and crossed my fingers praying that it would work. 

The result was amazing. I had a super-smooth, creamy cheesecake just what I had always dreamt of making. And I could not believe how simple it was to make it!!

I promise you one bite of this luscious cheesecake and the memories of its sweet taste are going to linger on your mind for long time.

Ingredients

For the crust:

11/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons butter melted

For the filling:

2 packages (8 ounce each) cream cheese softened 

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 cups vanilla yogurt (or use 2 cups plain yogurt with 2 tsp vanilla extract)

21/2 tablespoon all purpose flour

Topping:

1 cup fresh raspberries or any other fruit of your choice like strawberries, grapes, peaches.cherries, blueberries whatever your heart desires.

Icing sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F (190 C)

Spray 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

To make the crust you can either buy graham cracker crumbs or you can make your own by crushing up whole graham crackers. Approximately 10 graham crackers will yield 11/2 cups of crumbs when crushed.To crush the crackers place them in a ziplock bag and seal it. Crush the crackers by using a rolling pin to crush it finely.

Once the crackers are finely crushed into fine crumbs place them in a bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Add the butter to the crushed crumbs and mix well.

Press the crumbs into the base of the springform and smooth evenly with a spoon.

Bake in the oven for 7 minutes at 375 F.

Turn down the oven to 300 F (150 C)

In a medium bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Add sugar and eggs;beat on medium speed till smooth.

Beat in the yogurt and flour till well blended. 

Pour the mixture into the springform pan over the graham cracker crumbs.

Place cheesecake in oven with pan of water on oven rack below it (to prevent cracking). 

Bake 1 hour 25 minutes or until center is set. The cake will still be quite jiggly with lightly brown edges when it is done.

Leave it inside the warm oven for 20 minutes leaving the oven door a little open.

When you remove it from the waterbath, run a thin bladed knife around the edge to make sure the edges are loosened.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled. 

Remove the outside of the springform pan once it is finished chilling.

Leave cheesecake on pan bottom to serve. (I did the mistake of trying to move the bottom plate and almost had a heart attack when the cheesecake got a nasty crack on the top Maybe that too will come with experience)

Now, ofcourse the cheesecake is delicious enough to eat on its own but I suggest top with fresh raspberries or any of your favorite fruit, sprinkled with a little icing sugar on top to take it to the next level. 

Perfect Roast Chicken

There is something so grand and elegant about roasting a whole chicken that it never fails to bring a big smile of cheer to everyone's face in my family. Golden brown, crisp and gleaming in all its glory, its a big moment of celebration for my kids, when the showstopper is brought out, to be placed royally in the center of the table, vainly soaking in all the attention(I can almost hear the trumpets blowing!!). Everybody eagerly and most importantly, patiently waits to get a piece of their choice while I get my tools (sharpest knife) out and struggle(read literally fight) to carve it out. Yes, till date carving a whole chicken is a skill I haven't been able to achieve perfection in. 

But lot of times I do wonder does this dish really deserve all this special attention ( I had not thought it did so up until this very moment) or is it just a hyped piece of meat wanting to create a stir because of its good looks?

This is not the first time that I am making a whole roasted chicken. I have tried it on several occasions earlier but never to my own satisfaction. Check out the Roasted Chicken I made in 2011, Though each time, my family absolutely loved it but somehow, something was always missing in there for me. I always felt as if there was this one thing lacking that I could not put my finger on, sometimes the flavors a little too bland for my liking, unable to steep right till the insides, sometimes the flesh a little tough or just not quite done.

But......Its been a long time since then and I feel I have come a long way, improvising, learning from my mistakes, reading, experimenting and adapting myself to newer techniques and methods.

To perfect this particular recipe I surfed the net for my quest for a perfectly roasted chicken!! After a couple of hours I actually understood how Ina Garten's Roasted Chicken came out so perfect, made a mental note of the do's and dont's advocated by Thomas Keller while roasting the chicken and was amazed by how simple The Pioneer Woman made her recipe to be. 

Well!! My recipe is inspired by these great people and I have tried to incorporate a little bit from each of their recipes. Believe me!! The end result was an absolute winner - a perfectly roasted chicken (at last!!) with not only had a superbly brown crispy skin, but a beautiful moist and juicy flesh with a real punch of flavor all the way through till deep inside - something that left me feeling satisfied and very proud of myself.

A few things to keep in mind before you begin if you are looking for great results:-

First is do brine the chicken. I found that brining the chicken for a couple of hours really helps to bring out the flavors in the bird and help to keep it moist and juicy. 

Secondly, make sure you rub the marinade all over the chicken, including under the skin and wings. The butter (you can use olive oil too) rubbed on the outside of the skin along with the salt and pepper encourages browning and enhances the flavor all over. 

Truss the chicken as it keeps the chicken compact for roasting.

One other important thing I have learned to use here in the U.S is the use of a Meat Thermometer to check for doneness of the meat. This is something which all meat lovers should have.

Finally do rest your chicken for at least 15-20 minutes, even though you might feel like attacking it the moment it is out of the oven, so that all its juices are soaked in by the skin giving you a moist flavorful chicken.

So, its your turn now!! Are you ready for the show?

Bon Appetit!!

Ingredients

For Brining the chicken:

6 cups warm water

1/2 cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon whole peppercorns, crushed

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

For the Roasted Chicken:

1 (5 to 6 pounds) roasting chicken

kosher salt

1/2 cup softened butter

4 sprigs Rosemary

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp dried Thyme

4 whole lemons

freshly ground black pepper

1 head garlic cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoon (1/4 stick) butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

4 carrots cut into 2 inch chunks

1 bulb of fennel, tops removed and cut into wedges,

4 Tbsp butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Remove the chicken giblets.

To brine the chicken, combine all the ingredients in a large pan and bring to a boil. Stir till the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour the brine in a 2 gallon resealable plastic bag and add the chicken. Squeeze out as much air as possible; Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, turning several times. In case you don't have a resealable plastic bag, simply place the chicken in the brine solution in a big pan.

Discard brine. Rinse chicken thoroughly with water. Pat dry the inside and outside with paper towels really well. The less it steams, the crispier the skin of your chicken is going to be.

Put the butter in a bowl. Zest up at least two lemons and mix the zest with the softened butter. Strip off a bunch of Rosemary leaves and add into the butter. In case you can't get fresh leaves don't ya worry, use dried Rosemary leaves. Add in the minced garlic, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Smear the butter liberally on the skin of the chicken and then gently massage the chicken all over with your fingers. Don't forget to smear it under the skin and inside the cavity and the nooks and corners under the wings and thighs,

Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top. Now, sprinkle some salt all over the chicken so that it has a nice uniform coating. This will help to give the skin a nice crisp, salty, flavorful skin. 

Stuff the cavity with a bunch of thyme leaves, cut lemon wedges, cut garlic, and onion.

Tie both the legs together with a kitchen string and tuck the wings tips under the body of the chicken. This is also called 'trussing the bird'. Trussing helps the wings and legs to stay close to the body, helping the chicken to cook evenly, not to mention it results in a beautiful elegant looking bird.

Place the onions, carrots and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt and pepper.

Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the trussed chicken breast side up on top.

Roast the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperatures to 375 F and continue roasting until the juices run clear and a thermometer inserted into between the breast and inner thigh(be careful to not to touch the bone) reads 165 F about 50 minutes to 1 hour more. Skin would be a beautiful deep golden brown color by now and the sizzling juices music to your ears.

Remove the chicken and vegetables from the oven into a platter and cover with a aluminium foil to rest for 20 minutes. Letting the chicken 'rest' gives the juices to settle down so that they soak into your meat and make it more flavorful instead of just flowing out into the cutting board.

No more waiting.....its time to dig in!!

Feel great and glorify in all the words of appreciation you get from your family members and guests. I am sure no one would guess how easy it was to make it.

Pain au lait: My Bread Baking Obsession

 

Having a tough day? Just head for the kitchen and bake yourself a bread!! 
Seriously making bread from scratch is actually quite therapeutic. You can pound, knead, thrash the dough with all your might leaving you feeling much lighter and free of all your pent up frustrations. On the plus side, you are rewarded with a delicious loaf of freshly baked bread, the heady aroma completely healing your soul.
That is why I am so glad to be a part of this bread baking group "We Knead to bake" on facebook where you get to bake a new bread every month. (Though it is another matter that the healing therapy is required much more than just once a month but I cope). Each member is supposed to make the assigned bread where sometimes it is quite interesting to see the variations the members come up with. Aparna, who is the admin, does a lot of research and comes with amazing new breads every month, which probably would be hard to discover on your own. Check out my recipe of the two of these breads which I baked along with this group - Flaounes, which is a delicious Cypriot bread made on Easter and Foccacia Caprese. The recipes given for the breads are tried and tested by Aparna herself and not once have the breads failed to 'rise to the occasion'. 
Another great bread that we baked recently was Petit Pains au Lait which are basically small French bread rolls enriched with milk. As might be evident from the title, the only liquid used in the dough is milk and of course a generous amount of butter. The resultant texture is rich but still not as rich as Brioche and have a light airiness about them. Pains au Lait typically have a hint of sweetness in them and the pearl sugar that dots the surface adds to the sweetness. They have a beautiful golden crust on the outside concealing a soft flaky inside because of the unusual technique rolling and folding technique used. Then they are decorated by cutting through the top with scissors in a manner which results in a beautiful pattern typical of a Pain au lait. 

This dough is also pretty good to shape into any pattern of your choice.

                

Ingredients: 

(Adapted from Gourmet by Kat -http://gourmetbykat.blogspot.in/2013/10/pain-au-lait-milk-bread.html )
2/3 cup warm milk (you might need a little more)
1 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup bread flour*

1/4 tsp salt

60 gm butter, soft at room temperature

Extra milk for brushing

Pearl sugar for topping (optional)**

Method:

*If you don’t have bread flour, put 2/3 tsp vital wheat gluten in your 3/4 cup measure and top up with all-purpose flour. Mix this well. 

If you don’t have vital wheat gluten, then just use 3/4 cup all-purpose flour like I did.

**This topping is optional. The pearl sugar looks pretty and adds a little crunch. You can also use large crystals of sugar or a bit of regular granulated sugar.

You can knead by hand or use a machine. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. (No, please I am not trying to show off my KA machine here but I just can't stop telling everyone how fantastic it really is!!)
Put the warm milk, yeast and sugar in the bowl. 
Whisk it for a couple of minutes. 
Then add all the flour and the salt and mix until it looks crumbly.
Add the butter and knead until you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough that’s not sticky. Add a little more milk (in teaspoonful at a time), if your dough is dry, until you have the required consistency of dough. 
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, turning it over to coat with oil. Cover loosely and set aside to rise until double in volume. Punch the risen dough and knead well.

Once the dough is ready, punch out the air and make 10 equal parts.

Use a rolling pin to roll out a circle of about 8 cm.

Roll up the circle from one end, jelly roll style into a cylinder.

Pinch the ends and place seam side down on a greased tray. Allow to rise again.

Before baking, brush the dough with egg wash

                   
Using a sharp scissor make diagonal cuts and sprinkle with sugar. 
(Check out the video here if you are interested to see exactly how to make the pattern on the bread.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYJXPnVo4uUandhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q_VLU1IDfI )

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Let them cool on a rack. Serve them warm or at room temperature. 

Spinach and Mince Meat Filo Pie

This pie is my version of the classic Greek pie - Spanakopita which is a basically a spinach and feta pie baked in filo sheets.

Knowing fully well how difficult it is to feed spinach (a vegetable they would otherwise never touch) to my kids I decided to add in a layer of minced meat to woo my little carnivores. Also a layer of potato roundels in between ensured that there were just no grounds for complaints to be found. And sure enough it was lapped up without a word.  

This pie is a complete meal in itself -hearty, comforting and really filling. The availability of ready made filo sheets nowadays in gourmet stores has indeed made life easier for the likes of us. (I got mine from Foodhall store in Gurgaon Central Mall on the MG road. I was thrilled to find that they even have ready to bake short crust pastry dough and springroll wrappers cutting down your laborious work  immensely). 

If you are a vegetarian, just leave out the mince meat. If desired, you can also cut the filo sheets into small triangles, and serve as appetizers. As this pie takes only about 20 25 minutes to bake, this makes a perfect snack for parties too.

Easy as a pie - this saying holds perfectly true for this delicious and filling spinach and mince meat pie.

Ingredients

500 gm spinach

500 gms lean lamb mince

1 pkt Maggi Bhuna Masala

200 gms crumbled cottage cheese

2 tbsp Mayonnaise

3-4 potatoes, cut into thin roundels

¼-1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/12 tsp dried oregano

50 gms mozzarella cheese, grated

1 medium egg

5 filo pastry sheets

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 8inch round springform cake tin

 

Method

Heat a little water in a large pan to a simmer, then add spinach (if necessary, bit by bit).

Stir, and then cook until wilted. Tip into a colander and keep aside to cool. Squeeze out as much water as you can and then chop roughly.

Wash the mince meat thoroughly with water.  In a pan add the mince with 1 pkt Bhuna Masala and stir fry for 15-20 till meat is tender. (or pressure cook with 1 cup water for 10-12 minutes, then open the lid and dry out the water completely and till the meat is fully cooked). 
Keep aside to cool.

Crumble the cottage cheese. Add the Mayonnaise. Season to taste.

Preheat oven to 200 C.

In a pan, sauté the potatoes till cooked.
To Assemble:

Brush one side of each  filo sheet with a little oil, then arrange oil side down in the springform cake tin. 
Lay the filo sheets one on top of the other. Make sure there are no gaps at the base or sides. Leave excess filo hanging over the edges.

Once you have layered the sheets, start layering the filling.

Take the potato roundels and lay them at the bottom of the pie.

Put a second layer of cooked spinach on top of the potatoes. 

Cover the spinach with a layer of crumbled cottage cheese. 

Now add in a layer of minced meat. 
Finally cover it a layer of mozzarella cheese. 
Press down gently to level the surface.

Cover the top of the filling with excess filo pastry.

Bake pie in oven for 20 – 25 minutes till slightly browned on the top.
Then unclip and remove the metal rim.
 Bake for further 10 minutes until the sides are golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Traditional Easter Bread From Cyprus: Flaounes

Flaounes is a traditional cheese bread made in Cyprus during Easter, with special Cypriot cheese and mint. It also happens to be this month's bread that was chosen by Aparna to bake in our ' We Knead To Bake' facebook group.

It is believed that flaouna is reminiscent of an ancient Greek kind of bread made with nuts, called palathi. According to Greek tradition, this bread was offered to children, who went from house to house singing about the swallows and spring. The tradition continued during the Byzantine era and until recent years, Flouna was offered to children and grown ups as a treat when they went from house to house to announce the resurrection of Christ or to wake-up people to go to mass church for the midnight mass on Easter Sunday. 

These savory cheese pies are traditionally made on Good Friday, and are part of the fast-breaking meal after Lent when meat and cheese are not eaten. The cheese that is traditionally used in these pies is called “Flaounes” cheese which is cheese that is produced locally by Cypriot shepherds, and very difficult to find outside the country.

Flaounes cheese is not very easy to get and can be substituted with a combination of Cheddar or similar hard cheeses and a softer, milder one like Halloumi. The cheese filling tends to be salty so choose one cheese which is quite salty. If any of these are available (and affordable) in your part of the world use them, otherwise find a combination of cheeses that will work for you. I chose a combination of  cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and smoked Gouda.

Some of the cheeses suggested as substitutes for Flaounes cheese are Cypriot/ Greek cheeses like Kefalotyri, Kefalogravier or Kaskavali. Other cheeses include Halloumi, English Cheddar, Italian cheeses likeParmesan, Romanelo or Pressato (mild), Pecorino (salty) or French Cantal cheese.

There are a couple of ingredients used in Flaounes which are typical of these Cypriot Cheese Pies and they are Mahleb and Mastic. Mahleb is made by powdering the dried pits of a wild Mediterranean cherry. Mastic is the dried resin of a kind of shrub. Both these spices are quite common in Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine, and if you cannot find them, then just leave them out as there’s no real substitute for the flavours.

These pies are quite heavy on eggs. If you not much of a 'eggy' person, feel free to leave them. Most of the eggs are taken out of the adapted recipe except for the one used in the dough.You can leave that out too if you don't eat eggs. Also you can use milk instead of an egg wash to brush your pies and use a paste of flour and milk to seal the pies. 

My family loves eating eggs, so I went ahead and followed the original recipe. Fresh out of the oven, the bread smelled heavenly. A bite into the bread, and a burst of fresh flavors from the crushed mint, different kind of cheese, eggs and sultanas set your taste buds singing and you are in heaven.

For me this bread spelled perfection.

Ingredients  (Recipe adapted from The Traveler's Lunchbox.)

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 tsp salt


1 1/2 tsp sugar


½ tsp mastic, ground in a mortar (optional)

¼ tsp ground mahleb, (optional)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

60gm butter, melted and cooled

About 1/4 cup (or less) lukewarm water, or as needed

Oil, for greasing bowl and rolling dough

For the filling
:

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (a somewhat sharp cheddar adds flavor)

1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup crumbled cottage cheese (fresh Indian milk cheese)

2 tsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup semolina (not semolina flour)

1 tbsp dry mint (use 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint if available)

1/2 tsp crushed black pepper/ red chilli flakes (optional)

1/8 cup raisins or currants (optional)

 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 to 2 tbsp milk

1 egg, beaten

OR

1 tbsp flour + less than 1/8 cup milk (for sealing paste)

1/3 to 1/2 cup un toasted sesame seeds



A little milk for brushing (or egg wash from beaten egg above)

Method:

First make the dough. I used my food processor but you can knead by hand. Put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and the flavouring ingredients (if you have them) into the bowl and pulse a couple of times to mix. Whisk together the egg, milk and melted butter in a small bowl and add it to the flour. Knead, adding just enough water, till you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough which is just short of sticky. Add water/ flour as necessary to get this consistency of dough. Too much flour will spoil the texture of the pies.

Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat it well. Cover loosely and let the dough rise for about 1 to 2 hours, until it is double in volume. Once it has risen, deflate the dough by pressing it out and folding it a few times. Then place it in a container (the dough will rise so use a large enough container), cover loosely and refrigerate for about 2 hours. You can leave this in the fridge overnight too, if you want to make these pies in two stages.

While the dough is sitting for the first rise, make the filling.
Mix all the ingredients for the filling, except the milk (or egg if you’re using it) with a fork. If you’re not using the filling immediately, keep it aside and add the milk only when you’re ready to use the filling.

The filling should be somewhat like a stiff paste, joust moist rather than wet.

Now shape the Flaounes. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (10 if you want slightly smaller pies). Lightly oil your work surface and rolling pin. Then roll each piece into a 5 to 6” round. The round of dough should be thinner rather than thick. If it is too thick you will have a very “bready” pie, but make sure that your round of dough is not too thin to support/ carry the weight of the filling.

Divide the filling also into 8 (or 10) portions.

Spread the sesame seeds on a largish plate and place the round of dough on it, in the centre, and press down lightly. This makes for an easy way to coat the Flaounes with sesame seeds. Nowplace the round on your working surface and put one portion of filling (about a generous tablespoon full of it) in the middle of the round of dough and spread it lightly, leaving about 1” free at the edge.

You can make triangular or square Flaounes, and I personally feel that the square ones (more traditional) were less bready and nicer to eat. For the square ones, fold the two opposite edges over the filling leaving the center exposed. Now fold over the other two edges as well so you have a square pocket with the filling showing at the center. Press down the sealed points with the tines of a fork.

For the triangular Flaounes, pull up the edges of the dough at three points and partially fold over the filling, one after the other, leaving the uncovered. Use the paste of flour and milk (or beaten egg) to seal the flaps of dough well. Press down the sealed points with the tines of a fork. It is important to seal the pies well or they will open up during the second rise/ baking. Do not pinch the flaps together like for Hamantaschen as they will come apart as they rise. I learnt this the hard way!

See this link/ video which shows this procedure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_dIFIF3pY0

Place the shaped pies on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 to 3” between them, and let them rise for about 40 minutes. 
Just before baking them, brush the sides (dough part) with milk (or beaten egg) and bake the Flaounes at 190C (375F) for 25 to 30 minutes till they’re done, golden and the cheese filling is puffed up.

Let them cool on a rack. Serve them warm or at room temperature. This recipe makes 8 or 10 Flaounes, about the size of one’s palm. These pies keep for two days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can freeze the extras to eat later.