Tag: filo pastry

Quick Apple Strudel just for two

Quick Apple Strudel 

Is it just me or does the winter season make you think of a warm pudding too?

At our house we have really tried hard to eliminate those dreadful carbs during the week day evening meals – no mashed potatoes or roast potatoes for us. Instead of spaghetti noodles I am diligently making courgette zoodles and proclaiming them to be just as nice. And for the most part with a very tasty sauce they really are pretty good.

Definitely no pudding for either of us either as we try very hard to be good and consider our diet. A nice cup of tea with no cookie is as good as it gets.

However after several carb-free dinners, and another cold wet winters day, avoiding the call of a hot pudding was too much to resist! Talk about comfort food cravings 🙂 I had left home in the dark to ensure I avoided the worst of the Auckland traffic whichususally grinds to a slow halt when the weather is bad (which it was..) By the time I got home in the evening it was, you guessed it, dark and still raining.

It was like an emergency moment in time; What ingredients were in the pantry that I could rustle up a hot and yummy pudding with? Ah! A tin of apples, dried fruit, a drawer of spices, dried fruit and some filo pastry – I knew these few things alone could create something that would not only taste divine but create an aroma that would make you forget your diet 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 3 sheets of filo pastry
  • 1/4 cup soft breadcrumbs
  • 1 x 415grams apple slices
  • 1/4 cup sultanas
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1/2 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon icing sugar

Mix apple, sultanas, ground cloves, mixed spice together.

Lay pastry sheets under a damp tea-towel, sprinkling breadcrumbs between each sheet.

Spread apple mixture down centre of pastry to within 3 cm of the ends. Mix melted butter and icing sugar together and brush around edges of pastry. Roll one long end of pastry layer over filling and roll as far a sponge. Place on a baking tray.

Brush with remaining butter mixture. Slash the strudel top with a knife.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 200 C or until pastry is lightly golden and cooked.

Serve warm with a dollop of something low-fat!

Using filo pastry should be considered a low-fat option when it comes to pastry. It is a great option to be fair and you don’t lose anything with the flavour with the crunchy texture more than making up for taking the healthier option. Filo, which means ‘leaf’ in Greek, tissue-thin sheets of dough that have very little fat. Because it does not have much fat, the sheets are usually brushed with melted butter or oil and then layered together. When it bakes up, the layers get airy, crisp and flaky.

Quick, easy and very scrummy – this is a dish that makes the traditional Apple Strudel acheiveable any week night for the family. The children will enjoy it, and they can indulge with a nice smooth custard sauce. You and me?  Well it’s a nice dollop of low fat Greek yoghurt 🙂

Happy strudelling xx

 

 

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Leftovers again? What was I to do? Time to get a bit creative in the kitchen…..

I shared with you a recipe from a young friend who had lived in a student flat on a meagre income while he was studying. It was a delicious and heartwarming chicken stew made from the leftover roast chicken from Sunday night.

That 300 grams of leftover roast chicken made a really tasty dinner which we enjoyed very much – the chief tester declared it a keeper which is always a good sign. Great I thought – I’ll file the recipe away for another time. But what do you do when there is leftover chicken stew? This was becoming one of those ongoing dilemma’s for this household of just two.

I was lacking inspiration and very nearly resorted to making hot buttered toast and reheating the stew and calling that dinner. Nothing wrong with that as an option – but I’m one of those souls who prefers to eat something different every night. I’m not that enamoured of a meal repeated unless it is Lemon Croissant Pudding for two – Decadent Indulgence! of course and I could happily have this twice in a  row!

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I’m going to call this ‘Rustic Chicken Filo Pie’ – for the sake of my reputation within the family as a ‘not too bad cook’! Sounds fancy eh?

Seriously I took some store-bought filo pastry from the refrigerator, and that leftover chicken stew from the night before and voila!

Filo or phyllo is very thin sheets of pastry commonly used in Greek, eastern European and Middle Eastern cuisines. It can be used for sweet dishes and savoury, and is known to be a healthier alternative to a flaky pastry. The pastry is made from flour and water with fat in the form of melted butter, spread or oil brushed on the layers as they are assembled for your recipe.

Lay a sheet of filo on a clean bench and take a pastry brush and brush olive oil on the sheet – I find this easier than melted butter.

Fold a sheet in half and lay in the bottom of a pie dish – repeat with another sheet of filo pastry to ensure the bottom the pie dish is covered.

Spoon in your leftover chicken stew.

Oil another sheet of filo pastry and then ‘scrunch’ it up in your hand, and place it on top of the stew. Repeat s-3 times depending on the size of your pie dish.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and pop into a hot oven for 30 minutes or until hot through.

And thankfully this was the leftover roast chicken, transformed to that delicious chicken stew and then finally into the ‘Rustic Filo Pie’ finished!

Kidding aside, this is the sort of cooking our mum’s and nana’s did when we were younger. A Sunday roast chicken fed the family, and their was always something leftover for another meal. The carcass became stock for soup, and the leftover chicken meat made its way into a risotto or if we were really lucky into our school lunch box. A chicken sandwich was always so much nicer than jam or peanut butter one!

In this season of saving towards first homes, and one income while at home with the children, it’s not a bad thing to know how to save a few dollars. With a little thought it’s possible to do this with family meals if you get back to basics.

Happy leftovers xx

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banana & pistachio rolls…

Are you looking for something sweet but not too sweet? Quick and easy to make? And a different enough to impress dinner guests?

This desert recipe will have them coming back for more I promise – even those dieting guests who we cooks love to hate 🙂

 Ingredients to serve 4

  • 6 sheets of filo pastry
  • 50g melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 cup finely chopped pistachios
  • 4 bananas  – straight ones are easier to work with!
  • honey to serve
  • Natural thick greek yogurt to serve
  1. Preheat your oven to 180°c.
  2. Lay one sheet of filo on the bench & brush with melted butter. Repeat with the another two(2) layers of filo pastry. Repeat with the other three (3) sheets of filo. Cut in half so you have 4 large squares each three (3) sheets thick.
  3. Brush the top layer of filo with melted butter, sprinkle with the cinnamon and brown sugar, and the sprinkle over the pistachios.
  4. Place each banana, widthways in the middle of each filo square. Do what you have to bend the banana to fit 🙂 Firmly roll the pastry around the banana, making sure no pistachios escape!
  5. Place the rolls on a lined baking tray (I always use baking paper) with the pastry seam underneath. Brush with melted butter and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
  6. Drizzle over honey and more pistachios. Serve rolls hot with a spoonful of yoghurt or if you are being indulgent and not watching the waistline a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

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If you have not used filo pastry before this is a good recipe to try it out on. Filo is a healthier option  – and it cooks up really crunchy and is just plain yum! 

Happy Baking xx

 

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