Curry Filled Vetkoek

Vetkoek Dough

You are all on a new years diet kick…is that right?

How about you save this one then for a rash day of calorie consumption? This recipe is in honor of my South African friends everywhere, but in particular my friend and business partner Mandy, without whom I would be a lot of good ideas with no direction…we are dreaming big together for 2012…so watch this space!

Every country has their own form of donut it would seem, and this is a savoury filled one which I have made before to great acclaim. It has been sitting around in my draft folder for months, so  I thought I would trot it out…just in time for something completely different on here…I have cleaned up the Christmas decorations, the Christmas food slash chocolates are all gone (except for my mother in laws most excellent fruit cake which will last until mid March at least!) and I really am now in Empty the Pantry Mode…not wishing to buy anything but the fresh stuff. This fit the bill perfectly.

Enjoy…oh…and don’t forget, you can stuff these donuts with a nice melty cheese before frying if you dare…but you will definitely eat more than one. (Consider yourself warned!)

NEED:

Donuts;

Aish Bel Lahm

Look, lets not beat around the bush….this is Middle Eastern Pizza…or Gozleme, without the folded bit….amongst other things. This is designed to feed a small army….so I suggest if there is only two of you, invite the neighbours for a street party or at the very least, get the kids to bring home a few strays on the night you decide to make this recipe. (Or halve it, bread and topping can both be halved.)

If you would like to use fresh yeast, I suggest that is a great idea…activate it first by heating it for 2 min/37ºC/speed 2 along with the liquid, and without the flour. Then add the flour etc and proceed as directed.

NEED:

680g bakers flour

60g olive oil

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp dried yeast

3 eggs

Good pinch sea salt

300g warm water

Topping;

Handful fresh Italian parsley

Few black peppercorns

2 onions peeled and halved

500g beef or lamb mince

salt to taste

1 leek cleaned and sliced

2tbsp tahini

30g pomegranate molasses

200g crumbled feta

Few poppy or Nigella seeds

DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and mix 10 sec/speed 6.

Knead 2 min/Interval speed.

Turn out onto oiled Silpat Mat, wrap tightly and allow to prove in warm draft free place for up to 2 hours or until doubled. (Or if you are lucky enough to have it, use the bread rising setting in your Kleenmaid oven!)

Topping;

Place parsley into Thermomix bowl and chop for 3-4 sec/speed 5. Set aside.

Place peppercorns into Thermomix bowl and mill 8 sec/speed 8.

Add onion and chop 3 sec/speed 6.

Add mince and cook 10 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed soft.

Add seasoning, leek, tahini and molasses and cook  5 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed soft.

Assemble;

Roll dough out into small rounds and dollop meat mixture into the centre of each one. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or Nigella seeds and place into preheated fan forced 220°C oven for approx 10 minutes or until puffed and fragrant. Top with feta and parsley and serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges.

Seeded Salami Cheese Scrolls

I am frantically busy with all sorts of little projects that will soon be coming your way, so this is an oldie but a goldie that I have drummed up from the deep dark recesses of my files…you will enjoy…nothing earth shattering, just wholesome, delicious, feed a family, goodness! I hope you are all staying abreast of the latest shennanigans that I am up to over on Facebook and that you are telling all your Thermomixing friends about it as well. I have a baking class in the planning which should be available for bookings really soon, and there is an impending trip to NSW, including Newcastle…so stay tuned. Of course, that is inbetween getting a couple of books ready! (I know right??? CRAZY, but all good fun!)

NEED:

80g Gruyere cheese , cubed
120g Vintage Cheddar cubed
2 spring onions /shallots roughly chopped
100g whole buckwheat
30g fresh yeast
320g warm water
50g oil

Pinch sea salt
500g bakers flour
50g assorted seeds of choice
Handful walnut kernels
150g creme fraiche
200g thinly sliced salami of choice
Handful Kalamata olives

DO:

Place Gruyere, Cheddar and spring onions into Thermomix bowl and mill for 5 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place buckwheat into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 sec/speed 10. Add yeast, water,  oil & salt and mix for 6 sec/speed 6. Warm for 2 min/37ºC/speed 2. 

Add flour, and seeds and knead for 1 min/Interval.

Add walnuts through hole in lid and knead a further 30 sec/Interval.

Turn out onto floured silicone mat and knead by hand into a tight ball. Wrap and allow
to double in size in draft free room. It will be quite a stiff dough.

Roll dough out to a large rectangle and spread generously with crème fraîche. Arrange salami slices evenly, top with milled cheese mixture and olives. Roll carefully into a sausage shape and gently cut into rounds, so as not to flatten the scrolls.

Place cut side up into a large baking dish, cover and allow to prove for around 30minutes. Place into cold oven set to fan forced 200ºC (to allow a further rise) and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden and sounding hollow when tapped.

Serve warm.

Mums Potato Scones….

I know you all have in the deep recesses of either your mind or your kitchen shelf, a recipe that you would love to be making in your Thermomix…am I right? But for one reason or another, you have never attempted it; Too hard to convert, not sure how to convert, it might not taste the same….you think maybe it cannot be done in the Thermomix….the list of reasons is endless. I personally have a couple of laden bookshelves with recipe books all dying for a ‘quickie’…you know, the Thermomix method to be applied to them. (I am a tad busy with other stuff….but still!)

My mother has provided me with a veritable library of individually typed recipes from her collection over the years and I truly want to get those onto here…and I know you (dear reader) have a few as well. SO: in case you have been missing the chat over on Facebook I am planning a Recipe Conversion service…on here with some Facebook commenting on the Discussion board.

The requirements are;

• The recipe must already work…as in, taste good, be accurate in its recipe-ness as written at present.
• The recipe must be one you have cooked yourself before with or without the help of Thermie.
• The recipe must not include weird and wonderful ingredients from the southern most slopes of Lapland or something. In other words, achievable by the majority…
• You must provide me with a scanned or print version original of the recipe via email (tenina@cookingwithtenina.com), your name, your city and it would be nice to have a little story to go with your recipe if you have one.
• No judgements will be passed, intentionally or unintentionally, regarding ingredients of original recipe, though some changes may take place to keep Thermomix philosophy of healthy food from a good source, from scratch etc.
• I in return promise to uphold the laws of Thermomix recipe-ness and will endeavour to provide a timely result…I will post selected recipes onto here, and hopefully you will go and rave like lunatics over on Facebook about the wonderful, incredible, amazing, awe inspiring service that I have provided….and then tell your Thermomixer friends…who in turn may wish to put a recipe in for conversion.

Tenina’s Thermomix Conversion (or TTC from here on in!)

NEED:

1 potato, peeled and cubed (approx 260g uncooked)

800g water

100g wheat grain

60g butter

1 tbsp sugar

320g SR flour

Pinch sea salt

1 egg

110g milk + a little extra for brushing

DO:

Place potato into simmering basket and pour water over. Cook for 20 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove simmering basket and cool potato.

Preheat oven to baking setting 200ºC and line a flat baking tray with paper.

Place wheat into clean and dry Thermomix bowl and mill for 1 min/speed 10. Set aside.

Place butter and sugar into Thermomix bowl and blend for a 5 sec/speed 5.

Add remaining ingredients except including cooled potato and mix for 6 sec/speed 6.

Knead for 30 sec/Interval.

Roll dough out on well floured Silpat mat and cut into rounds using floured MC. Brush with milk, and bake for 15 minutes until golden. This is quite a sticky dough, but try to manage it without adding extra flour as this means a beautiful fluffy scone as the end result. (And don’t we all want fluffy in our scone??)

SERVE:

Hot with the obligatory butter, lemon curd, jam, whipped cream or mascarpone…need I go on? Then go to the gym for penance!

Never one to throw anything away, related to food that I could possibly use in another way, this is how the potato rolls started. I had a couple of baked potatoes looking at me from the bench for a day….and I knew there had to be an answer…admitedly I had heard of potato bread before and in fact I think there is a way to use potatoes as yeast, but that is another day and another recipe! I used the multi loaf tin, cos they looked so darn cute…but you can hand form the dough into any shape you want. Brush with a little melted butter when they come out and voila, great for a dinner party, nice as a sandwich, toasted…you know the drill!

NEED:

30g fresh yeast

1 50g egg

250-260g milk

10g sugar

60g butter

130g cooked diced potato

Generous pinch sea salt

600g bakers flour

DO:

Place yeast, egg, milk, sugar  and butter into Thermomix bowl and warm for 2 min 37ºC/speed 3.

Add all remaining ingredients and blend for 12 sec/speed 6.

Knead for 3 min/Interval.

Wrap tightly in Silpat mat and allow to double in a draft free place.

Preheat oven to 220ºC.

Roll equal sized balls depending on your tin. Place 2 balls per mini loaf hole and allow them to rise until joined and reaching the top of the the tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Brush with a little melted butter when removed from the oven and whilst still hot.

EAT….piping hot if possible…with lashings of butter and possibly home made Vanilla Strawberry Jam….of course!

Rosemary scented Spelt Crackers

A staple…but a solid little party dazzler when it wants to tart itself up with a cheeseboard, or a snazzy dip…what can I say? Someone asked me if I made crackers the other day (and they were joking…as IF you’d actually make your own crackers, right?)…of course I thought they were asking me if I AM crackers, but I had to say yes to both…I make crackers and quite frequently AM crackers…so for you kids…the things I do. Seriously. I have to be crackers.

NEED:

55 g warm water
70 g extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
250 g wholemeal spelt flour
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, foliage only
1 tsp sea salt

Extra coarse salt for topping

DO:

Preheat oven to fan forced 180ºC and line 2-3 baking trays with paper.

Place water and EVOO into Thermomix bowl and warm for 1 min/80ºC/speed
1.

Add remaining ingredients and blend for 10 secs/speed 7.

Tip out onto ThermoMat and push together to form a soft
dough. Wrap and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Divide into thirds and roll out each ball of dough separately
as thinly as possible on the prepared trays. Use a pizza cutter to score the
dough, sprinkle with the additional salt and bake for 15-20 minutes or until
crisp.

Break into crackers and return to the turned off oven to
completely dry out. Serve with dip, cheese or other toppings of choice.

Check out the crust!

Well, this was a revelation: I had seen a recipe for this in a Thermomix publication, (which I still cannot find!) but never tried it. Then of course with my recent travels to the beautiful part of Europe from which the Flammkuchen originates, how could I not try it? I LOVED it…love pizza anyhoo, and whilst not strictly pizza, they certainly attended the same culinary school and it was so tasty and soooo easy!

I have also recently discovered the finer differences between dried yeast and its much superior counterpart, fresh yeast! Please seek out fresh yeast and give it a try at least. The beauty of using fresh yeast with the Thermomix is that you can warm it up to get it bubbling and all happy! In Australia fresh yeast is available at good European delicatessens (and possibly some bad ones!) but more easily found at a good health food shop.

This is my take on Flammkuchen; hopefully the traditionalists out there will not be offended.

Base;

NEED:

300g  water

1 tsp sugar

30g fresh yeast

20g EVOO

500g bakers flour

good pinch sea salt

DO:

Place water, sugar, yeast and EVOO into Thermomix bowl and blend for 6 sec/speed 6. Warm for 2 min/37ºC/speed 2.

Add flour and salt and knead for 3 min/Interval.

Turn out onto floured bread mat and punch into a tight ball, wrap and allow to prove for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200ºC plus on a bread baking setting. (As hot as you can go; in Kleenmaid ovens, around the 220ºC mark) If you have a pizza stone, also heat at this point, on the lowest shelf in the oven.

Topping;

NEED:

100g Emmenthal, cubed

200g creme fraiche

100g thick cream (I used double cream)

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

200g speck, roughly chopped

thinly sliced red onion to taste (approx 1 onion for 4 Flammkuchen)

Good handful Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

DO:

Place Emmenthal into Thermomix bowl and mill for 8 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place creme fraiche, cream and seasonings into Thermomix bowl and mix for 5 sec/speed 6.

Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll each out into large thin rounds (or whatever shape they end up, rustic is nice!)

Spread each with the creme fraiche mix, top with speck, red onion and Emmenthal. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until base is crispy and top is well cooked. Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with the parsley. Serve.

Now my little attempt at greenery was more than a styling idea. I found in Germany and Switzerland, that a lot of what they eat in one meal is all white; white potato, with white cheese, or white pasta, or white asparagus, with white sauce, etc and the Flammkuchen looked a little, well, white! So parsley not only added colour, but some fresh flavour, and texture, as well as being chock full of Vitamins C and K, with a lot of iron thrown in for good measure! The Swiss often add beautiful salads to their meals, but they are served separately, so what you see on one plate is all nearly white! I am confident the Germans do the same salad thing, but I was not there long enough to notice…looks like I will have to go back, just to check my facts! Anyway, I give you Flammkuchen, with a little Aussie tweak…

Baked Donuts with Filling

Look I know it’s only June, but June is the month when all good recipe developers mind’s turn to Christmas…and yes, this is sort of a Christmas recipe and so leave it until then if you want to, but if not? Knock yourself out and call it Christmas in July, a bit early! If you wanted to deep fry these as per traditional donuts, I am pretty sure they would work really well. (Of course, they would be double the calories…but quite possibly double the flavour as well! I don’t want to know….)

Dough;

NEED:

Good pinch salt

1 tbsp caster sugar

30g butter

2tsp dried yeast

80-100g milk or buttermilk

1 egg

200g bakers flour

DO:

Place all ingredients except flour into Thermomix bowl and warm for 1 min/37ºC/speed 3.

Add flour and knead for 2 min/Interval. Tip out onto floured mat and bring together with hands. Wrap tightly and prove until doubled.

Filling;

NEED:

35g shelled pistachios

1 vanilla bean

20g sugar

A little almond essence (optional)

1/2 tsp each orange and lemon oil (or use zest and mill with nuts)

35g craisins (dried cranberries)

35g currants

10g rum or brandy or orange juice

DO:

Place nuts, vanilla bean and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 sec/speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients and blend for 10 sec/speed 6 until you have formed a paste. It should be quite workable with wet hands, and not too sticky. Form into a long snake shape and cut into 12 equal pieces.

ASSEMBLE:

Line a tray with baking paper.

Roll dough into long sausage shape and cut into 12 equal portions. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten in the palm of your hand, with an indent in the centre. Push a piece of the filling into the middle and pinch the dough to close. Roll the dough again to form a complete ball or filled donut shape. Repeat. Place at equal intervals on tray, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise.

Meanwhile, preheat oven on a bread baking setting to 180ºC.

When donuts have risen to double, bake for 10-12 minutes or until just golden. Whilst still warm, brush with a simple syrup and roll in caster sugar…or dust with icing sugar if you have a problem with the whole ‘sand’ texture of sugar…(the complaints I get at my house!)

To make a simple syrup, simply combine equal parts icing sugar with warm water and brush on warm donuts with a pastry brush.

Bet you can’t just eat one! Oh, and Merry Christmas in June/July/possibly December as well, depending on how long this takes you to get organised!

Soft Buttermilk Rolls

With all my new found Asian recipe experience, you would think that rolls would be the last thing on my list for this site….but truly, the most beautiful bread rolls I have ever eaten were prepared during my Chinese journey…and I had to share this method, if not the ingredients. Slightly different, (largely because I had made butter and had a surplus of buttermilk!) I used all buttermilk for the liquid component and despite (or because of?) a sticky dough, the outcome was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

A little science about buttermilk in baking can be found here, but essentially, the acid in the buttermilk breaks down the gluten in the flour and voila, you have amazingly Soft Buttermilk Rolls. Eat at your own peril, because one just isn’t enough!

NEED:

Roux:

30g flour

30g sugar

120g buttermilk

Dough;

350g bakers flour

Good pinch salt

25g butter

210g buttermilk

1 sachet dried yeast (2tsp)

DO:

Place Roux ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook for 3 minutes at 80°C on speed 3. Cool slightly. Leave in Thermomix bowl.

Add all dough ingredients except yeast to cooked Roux in Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6. Add yeast and with dial set to closed lid position, knead for 4 minutes at Interval speed. Scrape out onto floured Silicone mat and wrap. Prove until doubled.

Shape into rolls with wet hands. (This makes the stickiness easier to cope with.) Place onto lined baking sheet, cover and rise until doubled. Place into cold oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C.

Serve hot with loads of the butter you had to make to get the buttermilk! (They are pretty darn good cold later as well…)

Roasted Banana Spelt Bread

As you all know (if you are regular visitors to my site dearest readers!) I am a lover of all things bread, and this post is an homage to that. I have collected over the years that I have been slogging away at this blog, several recipes that utilise my love of bread. There is something wonderful about creating a living growing thing, that ultimately tastes fantastic and fills your kitchen with homely fragrance. There are yeasted breads, unyeasted or quick breads all on here, but for your easy recipe surfing, I have selected ten of my faves, (and in no particular order of fave-ness!) not least of which is my…

Dessert pizza post. Ever wanted the pizza theme to continue after the tasty main pizzas are but crumbs? These three quick toppings will compliment any pizza party, and may even stand up in their own right, so give one or two a go today!

Cheesey Mite Scrolls are common place (dare I say iconic?) in Australia and this post has instructions on how to make them…should you need such a thing, but really, does one need a recipe to apply Vegemite and cheese to a bread dough scroll? Apparently the answer to that is yes!

No bread post of mine would be complete without referencing my lovely Pretzels…those crusty yet soft and twisty bread rolls are unique in the world of bread loving and truly delicious…give them a go. Don’t be discouraged if the twisty part gets the better of you, just dip ‘em, cook ‘em and eat ‘em and you’ll be making this one again and again…promise!

No post about breads can be complete without a brioche recipe…and a few tips as to what to do with said brioche. I have been adding chocolate chips in the last knead as well as craisins, and a little melted chocolate. TO DIE FOR! I love to make individual brioche as gifts, or as fancy muffins at a brunch. Try it toasted, or even better, as French toast. Heaven on a plate, quite simply and a great excuse to eat what is almost cake for breakfast, (like I need an excuse)!

I don’t actually have sourdough on here…but you can find a great tutorial on the other blog I write. This could be the next best thing though, and as I am not known for my lo-fat, lo-cal recipes, this is probably unique in that it is fat free. Turkish Bread of course can be used for a myriad of things as well. I personally think Turkish Bread makes the best burger buns. It is fantastic as the base for pizza, Tuna melts are a family fave; boil a couple of eggs, peel and chop, add a tin of tuna in oil, a generous dollop of (homemade) mayo, chop a few pickles of choice. Stir all together, spread over split Turkish Bread, top with grated cheese and toast under a hot grill. Serve with a salad. Of course, there goes the whole no fat thing, but it is delicious.

This recipe for sweet dinner rolls, just had to make the list! I don’t make these often, as put simply I would EAT. THE. LOT. in one sitting. I can make them only when the numbers warrant…so be warned. This recipe is from a friend of mine, who got it from a friend of hers and so on….make them for friends. You (and they) will never forget where you heard it first!

I actually was French in another life…before my Italian life and certainly before my Australian life! This French stick bread recipe is a labour of love, but you will love it back.  I cannot tell you how amazing it is; You simply must brace yourself for a day spent in or near the kitchen and give it a go. Don’t take my word for it…just make it and bake it!

An earlier recipe of note is the Naan Bread. This has inevitably shown up elsewhere on this blog due to its family popularity. Gozleme has become a firm favourite and uses the Naan recipe as its base. Soft, quick (after the rise) and wonderful either sweet or savoury, it is more than just an accompaniment to curries.

Because I can’t get off my yeast kick…this lovely Walnut, Fig and Olive Bread is on the list and is based on a Ciabatta recipe…and I know, I know, it is not a slipper shape…certainly fantastic toasted or untoasted, slippered or unslippered! I love the concept of adding flavourings to bread dough, they are so receptive, so go ahead, knock yourself out. Bread is really just a ratio of liquids to dry ingredients, with a choice of leavening agents, a little salt and whatever you have a mind to put in it.

So were you hoping to get a new recipe this post?? OK, because I am a nice blogger…here is a nice recipe; This is unyeasted and not strictly bread I guess…more of a cake, but still called ‘bread’, can anyone tell me why?