Lamb and Cypriot New Potato Pittas

Most of the time I don't miss vegetables that aren't in season but one thing I'd love to eat all year round is new potatoes. I'm sorry to say I get quite excited when I see new potatoes in Tesco and can enjoy them with melted butter and mint or as part of a potato salad.

 

Well, now you can get new potatoes in winter, courtesy of the sun-soaked island of Cyprus. Tesco have started stocking the 'spunta' variety which are really versatile - they can be boiled, steamed, roasted or baked and you don't need to peel them so preparation is minimal!

You can even grate them, as I have done in this recipe; even when par-boiled the potatoes are still nice and firm. For this recipe I thought about what I associated with Cyprus, thinking back to a holiday I had there about 12 or 13 years ago. The things that stood out to me were lamb, feta cheese and pitta breads, so I decided to make some lamb and Cypriot new potato patties and serve them with feta cheese inside homemade pitta breads.

You can buy read-made pitta breads for this recipe but don't be afraid to have a go at making your own pitta bread if you haven't before, it's super easy and they taste amazing straight from the oven!

Ingredients (serves 4):

 

250g Cypriot new potatoes
1 egg
1 onion, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
300g minced lamb
salt, pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
100g breadcrumbs
Oil or low-fat cooking spray
75g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp. plain natural yogurt

for the pitta bread:
560g strong white flour

10g salt

300ml tepid water

20ml oil

5g dried yeast or 10g fresh yeast

Method:

Begin by making the pitta bread. If you have a freestanding food mixer with a dough hook, put all the ingredients for the pitta breads in the bowl of the mixer and run it for ten minutes until you have a pliable ball of dough. Alternatively, mix the ingredients in a bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes then return to the bowl.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is proving, make the lamb and potato patties. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and simmer the potatoes for 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cold water and leave to cool; change the water a couple of times as you feel it getting hot as this is the quickest way to cool the potatoes.

Grate the parboiled potatoes - you don't need to peel them - into a bowl. Beat the egg and mix in.

Grate the onion and crush the garlic and stir in, then stir in the minced lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Finally mix in the oregano, cumin and coriander until well combined.

Put the breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl. Form the mixture into small balls and roll in the breadcrumbs, then gently flatten the balls until you have patties about three quarters of an inch thick. Press each side in the breadcrumbs again to coat.

Repeat until all the lamb and potato mixture is used up.

When the dough for the pitta bread has had 40-45 minutes to prove, pre-heat your oven to its highest setting and place a pizza stone or flat baking sheet into the bottom of the oven.

When your dough is ready to use, separate into 6-8 pieces of the same size and roll out flat on a lightly floured surface into the shape of pitta breads. Place them (you will need to do this in two or three batches) onto the hot pizza stone or baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes until risen. You will literally see them puffing up in the oven and start to brown then they are done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Heat the oil or low-fat cooking spray in a frying pan and fry the lamb and potato patties on each side until golden brown.

Slice open the pitta breads (careful of the steam that will escape!) and spread 1/2 tbsp. plain yogurt into each one. Fill each pitta with a couple of the lamb and potato patties and crumbled feta cheese. Enjoy hot with a green salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my entry into the Tesco Cypriot new potatoes recipe challenge. I received a £10 voucher from Tesco to pay towards the ingredients. Cypriot new potatoes are available in Tesco now

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Prawn Enchiladas with Feta Cheese

 

 

This dish is a real fusion of cultures but is absolutely delicious. I've had chicken enchiladas before but not prawn; I got the idea from this recipe on The Girl Who Ate Everything; I recommend checking out her blog. I adapted it as you will see.

 

To serve 1 or 2 - 1 enchilada is fine per person if you have it with vegetables or salad, otherwise you might want two.

You need:

2 flour tortillas

Fry Light or oil to fry

1/4 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

200-250g cooked and peeled prawns (a 175g pack is fine too)

1 heaped tsp Old Bay seasoning from Baltimore - or if understandably you can't get this, I would recommend 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp celery salt and 1/4 tsp ginger.

handful of fresh coriander, chopped

squeeze of lime juice

 

for the sauce:

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp plain flour

200ml fish stock

150g feta cheese, crumbled

50ml double cream or milk

 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Finely chop the red pepper and onion and crush the garlic. Spray a small frying pan with Fry Light and fry the vegetables until softened.

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Shrimp Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 cup white onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/05/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas-and-dinner-and-a-movie-with-the-dating-divas.html#Zy31CxIG0dJfSHEq.99

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Shrimp Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 cup white onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/05/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas-and-dinner-and-a-movie-with-the-dating-divas.html#Zy31CxIG0dJfSHEq.99

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Shrimp Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 cup white onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/05/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas-and-dinner-and-a-movie-with-the-dating-divas.html#Zy31CxIG0dJfSHEq.99

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Shrimp Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 cup white onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/05/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas-and-dinner-and-a-movie-with-the-dating-divas.html#Zy31CxIG0dJfSHEq.99

 

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Shrimp Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 cup white onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup salsa verde

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/05/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas-and-dinner-and-a-movie-with-the-dating-divas.html#Zy31CxIG0dJfSHEq.99

Add the prawns - if they are already cooked, they only need to be heated through - and the seasoning. A colleague bought me this Old Bay seasoning from Baltimore, as it's where our company's head office is located. I'm going there myself in a couple of weeks which I'm really looking forward to.

Make the sauce - heat the butter in a small pan until melted and stir in the flour to make a roux. Gradually stir in the stock until you have a smooth sauce. Add the crumbled feta cheese and heat until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened. Finally stir in the double cream or milk.

 

 Distribute the prawn mixture over the two flour tortillas.

Place the tortillas in a baking tin - I used a small tin but if you are making more tortillas you should be able to fit them into a large roasting tin. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes.

They are ready when the cheese starts to brown.

I served these with broccoli; I think any green veg or salad would work. They were absolutely delicious and something I will definitely make again.

As I used feta cheese in this recipe - even though enchiladas are Mexican - I am sharing this with Chris at Cooking Around the World as his global blogging challenge is visiting Greece this month. I hope he excuses the fusion of other cuisines in this dish!

Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad

Today we had a food tasting session at Slimming World, where everyone brings a different dish and we all get to try it and swap recipes. I normally like to bake a low-syn cake for food tastings but it was too hot to cook last night, so I decided to make a salad. I also had a large slice of watermelon I'd bought on a whim a few days before, so when I saw a recipe for watermelon and feta salad in the latest edition of Slimming World magazine I knew it would be a good thing to make.

You can adapt this as you like and add different things, but the idea is that it is a Greek-style salad. All you do is chop the ingredients and the dressing is just lemon juice. So here's what I used:

half a large slice of watermelon
2 large tomatoes
half a cucumber
1 green pepper
1 red onion
150g feta cheese
basil leaves
lemon juice

Chop the fruit and vegetables and toss in a bowl. Chop the feta into cubes and add to the salad. Sprinkle some basil leaves on top and squeeze a lemon and pour the juice over the top. This makes a lot of salad and would serve at least 4 people, or if you took this to a barbecue and everyone just had a few spoonfuls on their plate, it would serve a big crowd.

This is a lovely change from lettuce-based salads and a good reminder that you can use fruit in salads! It was also very cheap to make - I got a large slice of watermelon from Morrison's for £1 and used half of it in this recipe (costing 50p), the cucumber was 50p from Lidl and I used half (25p), the onion was from a large bag I already had at home and the basil was from the plant on my windowsill. The pepper was one of a pack of three from Lidl costing £1 (so 33p), I can't remember how much the tomatoes were but they couldn't have been more than 50p, and I forgot to buy a lemon so used bottled lemon juice that I already had at home. The feta was the most expensive part, costing £1.99. But I think overall for a cost of around £3.50 this is a big, bright, unusual salad, and would be a great dish to take to a picnic or barbecue (or a Slimming World food tasting!).

This month the ingredient to use for the One Ingredient Challenge is the cucumber, so I am sending this to Laura at How To Cook Good Food who is hosting the challenge this month. The challenge is hosted in alternative months by Nazima at Franglais Kitchen.

I'm also sending this to Four Seasons Food, hosted by Louisa at Chez Foti and Anneli at Delicieux, as their theme this month is barbecues and barbecue side dishes.

This is a relatively cheap salad to make and goes a long way so I am also sharing it with Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Fish Fingers for Tea, on behalf of Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.

I'm also sending this to the Cheese Please blog challenge, hosted by Fromage Homage, as the theme this month is feta.

Vol-au-vents with homemade puff pastry

When I was thinking about ideas for this month's Alphabakes beginning with V, I remembered something I used to love as a child, and haven't come across for years - vol-au-vents! These little pastry cases tended to be eaten in my family around Christmas and I liked them best filled with prawns and seafood sauce. But you can have them with pretty much any filling, savoury or apparently even sweet.

The name vol-au-vent in French means something like "fly with the wind" which apparently alludes to their light and airy nature. They are actually relatively easy to make out of puff pastry, but as I described here, I decided to make it a rather lengthy process and make my own puff pastry from scratch!

To make the pastry cases, I rolled out some of the puff pastry I had made earlier and took two pastry cutters - one larger than the other, as you can see at the bottom of this photo below.

I cut two squares the same size, and used the smaller cutter to cut out the centre of one; the centre piece was to form the lid and the edging section that was left was placed on top of the larger pastry square. The idea is that when these rise, this creates the sides of the vol-au-vent and means that a gap is left in the middle to be filled.



At least that was the plan - the top section didn't rise as much as I'd hoped so there wasn't much of a gap in the middle to fill. When the vol-au-vents are still warm you can press down in the centre to help make more of a hollow.

I decided to make a few more, this time folding the pastry over to make a double thickness when I cut out the top section. The pastry is very stretchy though, so by the time I'd taken it off the cutter and placed it on top of the first pastry square, it got out of shape a bit!
I was quite pleased though that my homemade puff pastry had the same sort of stretchy quality as when I've bought it ready made.

This time it rose slightly better, though I cooked them a little longer than the last batch as well so they came out darker.

I decided to make these as a main course for dinner with my boyfriend, but couldn't decide what to put in them as he's quite fussy. I ended up buying a tub of chicken and ham sandwich filler from Tesco, adding a spoonful to each vol-au-vent and warming them through in the oven. He said they were really nice!

I felt like a different flavour combination so cooked some butternut squash and placed a few cubes in teh vol-au-vent, along with some feta cheese. I then drizzled over some balsamic syrup and placed a basil leaf on top. I served these with homemade chips and it made a really nice dinner!

I am sending these in to Ros at TheMoreThanOccasionalBaker who is hosting Alphabakes this month. You still have until the 25th to get your entries in!