Category: Appetizer

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Chiko Rolls

Recipe courtesy of Matt Can Cook, with a few small (ha) changes. Matt’s photos included below.
2 tsp butter
1.5 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
1 celery stick, finely sliced
1 cup cooked barley
green beans
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, cut in half and finely sliced
200g ground turkey (Matt used beef or cooked ground lamb, which are what the restaurant uses/used)
1 chicken stock cube
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp sugar
Salt
8 sheets egg roll pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil for frying
Remove the egg roll pastry from the fridge to defrost.
Cook the meat until browned and crumbly. I used turkey and the original recipe used lamb or mutton, but now they are made with beef.

 

Melt the butter on a medium heat in a frying pan. Add the onion, cabbage, celery, green beans and carrot to the frying pan and cook until soft.

 

Add the beef and the chicken stock cube and cook until heated through. Add the flour, mix in and cook for a further 5 minutes.

 

Lay out 1 pastry sheet at a time, keeping the rest under a moist clean tea towel.
Lay 3 tablespoons of mixture at the bottom centre of the sheet and fold the sides in to the middle and roll.

 

Brush the end with egg to adhere to the pastry. Cover rolls with a moist tea towel. Repeat until all the mixture is used.
I sprayed lightly with canola oil and cooked in a Philips Air Fryer at 390 degrees until golden brown, but Matt did what you see below, which is way greasier, but probably closer to the fast food place this came from!
Blanch in 300F oil for 5 minutes, drain and allow to cool.

 

Fry in 350F oil until golden.
Posted on » by Dino » Theme:

Australian Sausage Rolls

Australian Sausage Rolls are a seasoned sausage wrapped in a flaky, buttery pastry. They are very popular in Australia and Europe and are delicious for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer.

Recipe by Andy Allen taken from Tastemade

Ingredients

  • 6 garlic cloves, diced (but finely chopped)
  • 6 french shallots, diced (but finely chopped)
  • 1 long red chili, diced (I used two pinches of cayenne pepper)
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, diced (but finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup fennel seeds
  • 4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 granny smith apple, grated
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 kilogram pork (or turkey) mince
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon black pepper
  • 40 grams breadcrumbs
  • 3 sheets of puff pastry
  • 1 egg for the wash
  • Black sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Pre heat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large frying pan, gently saute the garlic, shallots, chili (or cayenne) and diced fennel in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the fennel seeds and also the thyme leaves. Cook the mixture down for a further 2 minutes.
  3. Then, add the apple and the carrot. Continue to saute the mix for a further 3 minutes and then take off the heat. Place the mixture in the fridge to cool.
  4. Once the mix has cooled, in a large mixing bowl, combine the meat mince with the vegetable mixture. Add salt, pepper and the breadcrumbs. Using your hands, combine the mixture until everything is just incorporated. You don’t want to stir too much, or the mince will go tough once it has been cooked, due to overworking the protein.
  5. Place the puff pastry sheets onto the bench and cut them in half, giving you 6 pastry sheets. Then, divide the mixture into 6 even portions. Form the mince into a long, thick sausage at one end of the pastry. Roll the pastry over the length of the sausage to create the sausage roll. Brush the sausage roll with egg wash and then slice into 3 identical smaller sausage rolls.
  6. Transfer the sausage rolls, seam side down, to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with the black sesame seeds and leftover fennel seeds. Bake the sausage rolls for 25 minutes (closer to 35) or until they are golden brown and cooked through.

Video

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Pasta with Tomato and Almond Pesto (Pesto Alla Trapanese)

 Ingredients

  1. ¼ cup slivered almonds
  2. 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups)
  3. ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
  4. 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
  5. 1 small pepperoncini (hot peppers in vinegar), stemmed, seeded, and minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) (see note)
  6. Table salt
  7. pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
  8. ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  9. 1 pound pasta, preferably linguine or spaghetti
  10. 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving

Instructions

Serves 4 to 6

A half teaspoon of red wine vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes can be substituted for the pepperoncini. If you don’t have a food processor, a blender may be substituted. In step 2, pulse ingredients until roughly chopped, then proceed with the recipe, reducing processing times by half.

1. Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature.

2. Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes (if using) in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds.

3. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

4. Add pesto and ½ cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.