Green Goddess Pie

Heading out to drink my morning coffee amongst the greenery this morning, I was really struck by how noticeable the turn of the season was in the garden. The basil and parsley has started to seed, my crop of french sorrel is ready to cut back, as well as my big pot of chives and a wild crop of mint. Flowers and leaves that have flourished during the Summer have started to die off, while others who like the cooler weather are beginning to emerge. The air feels cooler and the native birds are eating up all the seeds and insects that are abundant, even in my little inner city patch of green. Nature is gearing up for winter everywhere you look.

As any regular reader of Gourmet Goddess knows,  I have an almost evangelical fervour about eating seasonally and as locally as possible. In the modern world where mass marketing and huge scale food production has completely exploded, to eat seasonally isn't as straightforward as you might think. It means getting educated about what grows when - as well as the conditions under which it grows, how far it travels and what happens to it when it reaches the place where it is sold. The more interested in this I have become, the more I find there is to learn. It really is an endless education process and one that has completely transformed the way I shop, grow things and cook. One of the most rewarding aspects of this for me, has been how it has really strengthened my connection to nature, and to the seasons - and provided so much inspiration for what I eat and cook.

As I was sitting sipping my coffee this morning, I was looking at all the greens that were ready to harvest in my garden and for some reason remembered a conversation I had with an Italian grocer in Marrickville who was selling big bunches of nettles. I asked him what they were used for, and he told me that they grew abundantly at that time of the year, and that his Greek and Italian customers would make a sort of spiral shaped pie with them, using cheese and any other greens and wild herbs they could find. That conversation and my own harvest is the inspiration for today's recipe.

 A Green Bounty

From left: Sorrel, Basil, Chives, Kale, Spinach, Parsley

 

 As well as my own greens and herbs, I also had a small bunch of kale, as well as some spinach that arrived in our organic vege box this week, grown locally and super fresh. I gathered it all together to form the basis of this delicious, tasty pie. To the greens I added a little goat cheese from the Hunter Valley, some ricotta and a touch of cheddar, garlic, a small amount of breadcrumbs and a free range egg to bind it all together. I was really inspired by the idea of a traditional spiral shaped pie, so thought I would have a go at creating one - making a series of sausage shaped, filled filo pieces that I then formed into a large spiral.

Creating the first section - about to be rolled

The end result was a lovely rustic, flaky pie packed with amazing local greens - some from my own garden - and that tasted delicious. I really like the visual appeal of the spiral shape too. Actually, the spiral makes complete sense aside from looking nice - It means you get a taste of pastry with every bite. Genius.

Being a rustic dish, don't feel you need to be too precise on the measurement of your ingredients - and use whatever greens you have in the fridge or the garden, as well as whatever cheese you fancy. This is a dish created from whatever was growing in the vicinity at the time, so use the same principle to make your own version. I'm calling mine Green Goddess Pie.

Green Goddess Pie

 

 

You will need: 1 box (about 350g) filo pastry, 250g ricotta cheese, 100g soft goat cheese, 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, handful of chopped parsley, handful of chopped mint, basil, chives (whatever you have), bunch of spinach, bunch of sorrel, bunch of kale, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, generous pinch cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds.

Note: You can be very free and easy with the greens you use in this recipe. I used spinach, sorrel and kale - but you might want to use just spinach or silverbeet, extra herbs, watercress, nettles - whatever is available.

Method: Roughly chop the spinach, kale and sorrel and blanch in salted boiling water for about a minute. Drain well, and when cooled slightly, squeeze the liquid from the greens.

In a large bowl, place the greens, goat cheese, ricotta, cheddar, breadcrumbs,all of the herbs, garlic, egg cayenne. Season generously with plenty of salt and pepper. With clean hands, mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Remove the filo from the pack and unroll it. Cut it length ways. Take two of the filo pieces and lay it flat, brush with melted butter. Working fairly quickly, lay another two strips of filo on the top of those and brush with the melted butter again. Along the left hand edge of the pastry, lay a line of the filling mixture.

With dry hands, roll up the filling to form a long cigar or sausage shape. Now roll up the pastry to form a coil or snail shape - this will form the basis of your spiral. Gently place the spiral on a baking tray lined with baking paper (I used a pizza tray)

Repeat the process to make more long sausage shaped pieces of pastry and filling, adding each one to the first spiral you made to build up an even bigger one. Brush the pastry at the ends to help you join the pieces together. Continue this until you have used all of your filling.

Brush your spiral with the last of the butter (or you can use a beaten egg if you want to) Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 30 -40 minutes - or until the spiral is golden brown.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serves 6.

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Warm Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese

So I came home from work last night and was about to throw together a quick rather bog-standard salad to have with some grilled meat for dinner, when I decided that I actually wanted something a lot more tasty and a bit more interesting. I checked the fridge and found I had a couple of bunches of heirloom carrots - one orange bunch and one gorgeous purple bunch. They became the inspiration for a side dish that was so delicious I'd thought I'd share it with you.

This dish is super easy and would also work as a vegetarian starter or main course, as well as a side dish. In addition to the lovely carrots, I used sweet red onions, a bunch of asparagus, fresh continental parsley from the garden, creamy, tangy goat cheese, a little olive oil, balsamic, black pepper and sea salt - and that's about it. Very simple, but full of flavour.

As well as having a great flavour and nice contrasting textures, I loved how colourful the dish looked on the plate. If you haven't seen the purple carrots at your greengrocer, ask for them. They used to be a bit hard to find but are becoming a lot more common now. They look great and taste beautiful, especially when roasted.

I enjoyed this salad so much that I will definitely be making it again. Here at Gourmet Goddess we say - down with boring side salads! Three cheers for finding new and delish ways to eat your vegies!

Roasted Carrot Salad with Goat's Cheese

You will need: 2 large orange carrots, 2 large purple carrots, 1 large red onion, 1 bunch asparagus, 50g goat cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, about 1 tablespoon olive oil, sea salt, pepper, 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.

Method: First, prepare the vegetables. Cut the carrots into thick juliennes. Cut the woody ends off the asparagus and then cut each asparagus spear in half. Cut the onion into eight largish chunks.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a tray with baking paper and place the carrots and onion on the tray. Brush or spray with olive oil, season well with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, turning over the vegetables once during cooking.

In a grill pan or fry pan, cook the asparagus with a little olive oil, and some salt at a high heat for a few minutes until they start to char.

Allow the vegetables to cool a little before assembling the salad. Layer the vegetables and crumbled goat cheese on a serving plate. Drizzle over olive oil, balsamic and season with a little salt nad black pepper.

Sprinkle over the fresh parsley and serve.

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Summer on a Plate

Today's dish was inspired by some of the delicious green Summer vegetables that have just come in to season and are really fabulous right now - asparagus, green beans, peas and zucchini. This salad would work plated up individually as a light entree or lunch - or on a generous sharing platter as a change from your usual repertoire of Summer salads, to go with grilled meat or seafood. It would also be a beautiful vegetarian option for a BBQ or the Christmas dinner table. It is really easy to put together and tastes as good as it looks.

This salad has a great balance of flavours and textures - the crisp, light texture of the vegetables, the rich creaminess of the goat cheese, the tang of the simple chive vinaigrette dressing and the delightful freshness of the mint. Just perfect for a Summer menu.

I really adore Chevre (soft, creamy style goat cheese) but if you wanted to use the firmer aged goat cheese this would work just as well. I do think though that the younger, creamier style has a freshness that works particularly well with the lightness of the vegetables and the aromatics of the mint leaves. Of course if you detest goat cheese, feta would be a fine substitute.

We are heading to the South Coast for Christmas this year and this salad will definitely be on the menu while we are away. The vegetables will be easy to cook on the BBQ and it will be perfect as a light lunch by itself, or as an accompaniment to some fresh local seafood or a char grilled piece of lamb. It would also be great as a topping on some thickly cut, rustic sourdough toast.

I love the transition of the seasons when all the new produce starts to appear - out with the old and in with the new. It's easy to get in a bit of a rut - cooking the same stuff, but these new season ingredients always inspire me to try something new. To see what else is in season right now, check out the list on the right hand side of this page and get some inspiration too. In the meantime, here is my "Summer on a plate" salad to get you going.

Asparagus, Zucchini and Green Bean Salad

With Mint and Goat's Cheese

You will need:
For the salad - 1 bunch asparagus, 1 finely sliced spring onion, 2 smallish green zucchini, a generous handful or two of green beans, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, About 60g Chevre (goat cheese), a handful of fresh mint leaves, a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

For the dressing - 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil, 1 tablespoon Sherry Vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey,  2 teaspoons finely chopped chives, 1 clove minced or super finely cut garlic (I do mine on a Microplane), salt and pepper. 

Method: First, make the dressing. Simply combine all of the ingredients and whisk together thoroughly until all combined. Put aside while you prepare the salad.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the beans for about a minute until they start to soften. Drain them and run them under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

Cook the peas until tender (I just do these in the microwave - quick and easy) Set aside to cool.

Cut the woody, hard ends off the asparagus and then chop the asparagus in half. Slice the zucchini in diagonal slices.

Heat a grill or fry pan and add a small splash of olive oil and cook the the zucchini and asparagus in batches, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. They should just colour up a little and not be overcooked. You want them to retain a little firmness. Set aside.

Chop or crumble the goat cheese.

Assemble the asparagus, zucchini, onion, beans, mint and peas on a serving dish, then add the goat cheese. Drizzle over the dressing, top with a few extra mint leaves and serve.

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A Winter Salad - and a very food-centric week!

The past 7 days has been quite food focused here at Gourmet Goddess headquarters, and a real mixed bag. We began by doing something completely new - attending a themed "Six Degress of Preparation" dinner early in the week, indulged in some late night Hawker delights in Chinatown - one of our favourites -  and ended the week with the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney on Friday.

When I came across the Six Degrees of Preparation people whilst checking out some other food related sites on the internet, I thought it sounded like a great idea - smallish 6 course dinners, built around one ingredient each time, showcasing that ingredient. I noticed that the next scheduled dinner was themed around one of my favourite ingredients - pomegranate. I thought it was really worth checking out, so bought our tickets and looked forward to seeing what it was all about.

The venue - Effendy Restaurant in Balmain - was really lovely, but sadly the food was a real letdown. It wasn't bad, just very average. I was expecting a real celebration of all things pomegranate, but the flavours were just not there. The creativity I had hoped for was missing and the presentation let it down badly too. Also, the servings were more "tastes", and we were both starving. Did I mention we were forced to wear name tags, so we could "mingle"? Awkward. Needless to say we made an early exit before dessert was served and headed to our absolute favourite late night food haunt in Chinatown - Mamak. Now those folks really know about flavour.

Mamak specialise in authentic roti and satay that tastes like it just came from a hawker stall in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur - and a real favourite of ours. Not only is it delicious, it is ridiculously cheap and of the best quality and freshness. There is a good reason they often have queues out the door! (alas, they take no reservations) You can find them at 15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket -  and praise the Goddess! On weekends, they stay open for supper until 2am. They also have a restuarant in Chatswood, which I haven't visited. To get more information on the joys of Mamak, head to their website: http://www.mamak.com.au/  Highly recommended, and well worth the hassle of trying to park in the city.

Friday saw us head to the annual Good Food and Wine Show. We always elect to take a day off and go first thing on the Friday to beat the massive crowds, as during the weekend it becomes completely chaotic - teeming with people and shopping carts and prams and squealing tots having tantrums and slow walkers and AAAGGHHH!!!! .....well, you get the picture! Bedlam. The show is worth a visit though and we always come away with a few goodies for our trouble - this time we brought home 4 great cheeses, all from the Hunter Valley (including a gorgeous aged goat's cheese I have used in today's recipe), duck breasts, a stash of beautiful Careme brand pastry, a selction of Beerenburg sauces, a couple of kilos of lovely crunchy "Jazz" apples, some organic muesli and snack bars and lots of samples of this and that.

I noticed that this year, a lot of my favouite stallholders were not there and big supermarket brands and all things Masterchef related seemed to dominate. A real shame, given that in my opinion,  the whole reason to go to these sorts of shows is to be exposed to new ingredients, suppliers, techniques and products. We did have a fun day regardless though - and lived on delicious cheese for the rest of the weekend! I did however keep a little aside.....

Which brings me to today's recipe - a gorgeous winter salad, bursting with colour, texture and layers of great winter flavours. I used a strong rich goat cheese - an aged chevre from Wyandra - and some baby beetroot as the inspiration for today's lunch. The beetroot is cooked twice with onions, creating a rich, sweet, caramelised taste that is a perfect companion for the goat cheese. I chose 2 different lettuces - red oak and spiky green endive, some smoky, crispy bacon, nutty chickpeas - and to top it off, a sweet/tangy dressing made with a base of delicious hazelnut oil and balsamic. This salad is substantial enough to serve as a main meal - toasted rustic bread would be a great addition. If you really aren't keen on goat cheese, feta cheese would be a good substitute.

Apart from the initial prep for the beetroot, it is quick to make and a real delight to eat - the perfect winter salad. Enjoy!

Winter Beetroot, Bacon and Chickpea Salad

with Aged Goat Cheese

You will need: A bunch of smallish sized beetroot, 2 cups cooked well drained chickpeas, 1 large red onion, about 4 cups of lettuce leaves (I used red oak and green endive), 50g goat cheese (I used an aged Chevre), 3 slices bacon, splash of olive oil, 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

For the dressing: 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 or 2 tablespoons warm water, salt and pepper.

Method: First, take the beetroot and remove the stalks and the leaves. Place them in a pot of boiling water and allow them to simmer until tender - about 20 minutes. Rinse them under cold water and remove the skins - they will come away very easily.

 Preheat the oven to 220C. Cut the beetroot into quarters and place in a small overproof dish or baking tray. Peel and quarter the onion and add this to the dish, with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper, the balsamic and a splash of olive oil. Bake the beetroot and onion, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool a little.

While the beetroot is cooling, roughly chop the bacon and pan fry until crispy.

Next, make the dressing - whisk all of the dressing ingredients together until well combined. Set aside.

To assemble the salad, arrange layers of lettuce, beetroot mixture, bacon and chickpeas onto the plates. Top with the goat's cheese (you can crumble it over the top if you are using young goat's cheese or slice it like I did if you are using an aged, richer variety) Drizzle over some of the dressing and serve right away.

Serves 2-4 people.

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