Easter eating

Easter represents a much-needed break for many. A shack up the river or over on Yorkes. Camping in the Flinders. Rugged up beach walks.

If you’re not one of the lucky, it’s an opportunity for stress-free entertaining, casual but tasty eating making the best of the autumn produce around.

I’m starting to think about Easter menus and dishes.

What would be on your shopping list?

Leg of lamb? Whole chicken. Seafood for Good Friday?

Rhubarb and new stone fruits such as plumbs? Oranges?

These Nigel Slater Easter recipes, while designed with the northern hemisphere’s Spring season in mind, got me thinking.

I think they’re transferable – sort of trans-seasonal – as they’re not too summery yet.

I’ve also discovered this young American chef, Amy Thielen; her cooking show and book are called Heartland Table. I like the sound of this recipe, Greens with Spiced Butter and Ricotta (although I think I might short-cut with good shop bought ricotta).

I usually make Honey and Orange Madeleines with chocolate sauce (thanks to chef Karen Martini) at some stage over the Easter weekend. Do you have favourites or traditions for your Easter cooking? Please share.

This weekend, I’m road-testing a new recipe for Easter – a plumb and almond tart made with polenta pastry. If it works, I’ll share it.

Honey and Orange Madeleines with chocolate sauce. Source: goodfood.com.au

Meat-free Monday: Sesame pastry cases with onion and pumpkin

This recipe is from nutritionist Janella Purcell, when she was on the LifestyleFood show, Good Chef, Bad Chef, with (MasterChef Australia's) Gary Mehigan in 2009. Monsieur D made them and they became a favourite – they could be an appetiser, entrée or main if served with a salad.

Sesame pastry cases with onion and pumpkin (pictured borrowed from muppyat.blogspot.com)

Ingredients


2 1/2 cups spelt flour
 (wholemeal will do)



1 cup toasted sesame seeds


1 cup sesame oil
 (we used only half a cup because it made the pastry less oily)



1 1/2 cups boiling water




2 tbls tamari
 (for pastry cases)

1 onion, finley sliced




500ml vegetable stock


1 tbls ginger juice


1 tsp tamari
 (for onions)



1 cup japanese (nap) pumpkin, cubed and steamed
 (any pumpkin will do)

1 packet of silken tofu




2 tbls shiro miso paste
 (optional)

1 tsp umeboshi or white wine vinegar

Method

For the cases, combine the dry ingredients and blend the wet ingredients separately. Mix together slowly then knead for a couple of minutes. It should be quite oily and elastic. Let pastry sit for 30 minutes under a dry cloth. Roll out pastry to 1cm thick, (you may need a little flour on the bench) then using a biscuit cutter fit into individual non stick muffin cases. Our recipe says to take at 180C for 10 minutes, our oven is fan-forced (I noticed she also suggests 200C for 15 minutes). The cases will harden once they cool.

Meanwhile, prepare your filling – put the onions in a pot with the stock, ginger juice and tamari. Bring to the boil then drop to a simmer until the liquid is evaporated. Meanwhile, blend your pumpkin together with the tofu and vinegar.

To assemble, put a little miso paste on the bottom of each case *** this is optional, I suggest trying out the miso, we left it out after the first time these were made because it was just too salty for our tastes. Fill the cases half way up with the onion mixture. Finally dollop each case with some of the pumpkin puree.

For presentation, you could sprinkle a few toasted sesame seeds on the top, or a few chopped herbs, such as coriander for colour.

Voila. Enjoy.

Meat-Free Monday: Spinach and artichoke pie

This recipe at Chez Wayville dates from 2009 - a year of (eating like a) vegan. 

It is simply delicious. It was another one of Monsieur D's specialities. It's extremely healthy and low fat and the phyllo pastry is a reward for being good. 

I have copied the recipe below and coverted it to metric but here is the link to the original. We also leave the "nutritional yeast" out. Enjoy. 

Spinach and Artichoke Pie

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 350-450g baby spinach (I used the pre-washed, bagged kind)
• 450g extra-firm tofu
• 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. minced Kalamata olives
• pinch cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 can quartered artichokes, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup of toasted pinenuts or slightly crushed slivered almonds
• 12 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed
• olive oil in spray bottle

Instructions

1. Sauté the onion and garlic in a large, deep non-stick pan for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water, stir, and cover the pan. (If you couldn’t fit all of the spinach in, wait a minute for the spinach to shrink and add more.) Cook until the spinach is completely wilted and shrunken. Set aside.
2. While the spinach is cooking, mash the tofu and stir in the nutritional yeast and all the seasonings, including the olives. Add the artichokes, almonds, and the spinach mixture, and mix well.
3. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and lightly spray a 20-30cm baking dish with olive oil. Unwrap the phyllo dough and arrange it beside the baking dish as described above. Lay a sheet of phyllo over the bottom of the pan, spray it lightly with olive oil, and repeat the process until you have 6 sheets in the bottom of the pan. Make sure the remaining phyllo is covered with a damp cloth, and pour the spinach-tofu filling into the pan, spreading it to completely cover the phyllo. Repeat the phyllo process, covering the filling with six more sheets, spraying each one lightly. Make sure to spray the top sheet thoroughly, so that there are no un-oiled spots.
4. With a sharp knife, cut through the top layer of phyllo to form 9-12 equal pieces. (This helps to keep the phyllo from breaking when you cut it after baking).
5. Put it in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Enjoy!

Preparation time: 20 minute(s) | Cooking time: 35 minute(s