Saturday, November 7, 2009

Spinach Roll



Spinach Roll

Dough

500 g blanched and strained spinach*
100 g butter
100 g flour
100 ml milk
4 eggs
1 clove garlic (optional)

Puree spinach in a blender. Heat deep pan and fry spinach, butter, flour and milk for a very short time, just enough that it all combines well. Add salt and if you wish pressed garlic. Beat egg yolks and egg whites separately, each in another bowl(egg whites should be beaten stiff). First, stir beaten yolks into the spinach, then fold egg whites carefully. Line oven pan with baking paper, grease paper with butter and pour the batter in it. Bake in a preheated oven on 200°C. I'm not stating baking time as it varies from oven to oven. Best is to stay in front of the oven and check if a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. As soon as you take the dough out of the oven roll it, without removing the paper, then wrap the roll into a kitchen cloth. This step is crucial, do not skip it!


Spinach Roll


Filling

200 g feta cheese
100 g finely diced ham**
3 boiled egg yolks (boil 3 eggs and take their yolks)
180 g sour cream with 20% milk fat

Squash cheese and egg yolks with a fork. Combine with sour cream and ham.

Assembling: While it's still a bit warm, unroll the roll and spread the whole filling over. Roll it again and wrap tightly into aluminum foil. Leave in the fridge overnight. Do not let roll cool completely before you spread the filling, as if it does, it'll crack.

*1 kg fresh cleaned spinach is enough to get you 500 g blanched. Put it in a lot boiling water and cook enough to soften, then put on a strainer and let strain by itself (overnight in the fridge would be the best, just don't squeeze the water out with your hands). You can also use chard for this roll, it will only get a bit darker in color.

**You can use chicken or turkey ham, but do not use any wet ham! (Najbolje da se uzme stišnjena šunka ili pileća prsa, nikako praška jer je ona vodena!)

Note 1: This is the first time some of my recipes got published in a magazine :) (Sale & Pepe Serbian issue for November 2009, in the readers recipes section)

LOGO SALE&PEPE

Note 2: I have drawn out a winner of Tito's cookbook from the hat and it is Marta Bigus. Marta, congratulations!

Note 3: This is my entry for 4 years anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging event, created by Kalyn, and hosted by Haalo this week.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Breaddies



Breaddy


There is a saying on the Balkans - if a bread is incredibly soft, that it's "soft like a soul". These buns are exactly that. Soft like a soul with a distinctive taste of pork fat. You know me, I just love it :D We had them with Njeguški pršut, a Prosciutto-type specialty of a small Montenegrin village Njeguši.

Breaddies
(original recipe here)

500 g + 2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
300 ml + 2 Tbsp warm water
100 g pork fat, on room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon juice
20 g fresh yeast
1 tsp sugar

Dissolve yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons flour in 2 tablespoons warm water in a cup. Cover and let rise until it fills the cup completely. Sift flour, add salt, yeast, water, lemon juice, fat and knead. Dough will be sticky but that's fine. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Re-knead and shape into buns. Bake in a preheated oven in a non-stick pan for about 12-13 minutes on 250°C. Baked buns will be pale. If you'd like to add them color, spread beaten egg on top of them with a pastry brush just before you put them in the oven.

Note: Ovo je moja ulaznica za FBI Rukavice, Oktobar 2009 - Cooks and Bakes.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Baked Feta Pumpkin



Baked Feta Pumpkin

about 800 g cleaned and peeled pumpkin, cut into thin wedges
salt
ground black pepper
powdered coriander seeds
dried coriander leaves
about 150 g feta cheese
about 3 Tbsp butter

Dry pumpkin wedges with a paper towel. Line oven pan with baking paper and place pumpkin wedges on it. Season with salt, pepper and coriander seeds. Squash cheese with a fork and evenly distribute over the wedges. Toss tiny butter cubes over the cheese and sprinkle with coriander leaves. Bake in a preheated oven on 180°C for about 15-20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.

Adapted from Kulinarske tajne.

Baked Feta Pumpkin

Note: Ovo je moja ulaznica za ajme koliko nas je!, koju je osnovala Monsoon. Domaćica je Gaga, a tema bundeva.