Happy New Years! and happy lots of snow and ice, if you live in a northern climate like I do.
I made these super tasty little meat rolls for a New Years Party. Another winner recipe from Claudia Roden's awesomely fabulous Book of Jewish Food.
These are far easier than they sound. And don't be stingy on the butter. when working with Phyllo dough, there is no such thing as too much butter.
oh, and you will need a food processor. there is just no getting around that with this recipe.
Moroccan Meat Rolls - Adapted from The Book of Jewish Food
2 onions, chopped
4 tbsp oil
1 lb ground beef
salt & pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
juice of one lemon
4 tbsp chopped flat leafed parsley
2 tbsp (or more) melted butter
1/2 lb phyllo (if frozen, thaw in the fridge for at least 24 hours)
fry onions in oil or butter till soft. Add the meat, and once it started to brown season with salt & pepper. Add the rest of the spices and lemon juice, and one cup water. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, then simmer uncovered another 5-10 minutes, to get some of the liquid out. fold the parsley into the meat mixture. cool in the fridge for about an hour, then put through a food processor till you get a pasty consistency.
cut your phyllo dough into long rectangles approximately 4" x 13". Stack the sheets, and keep under a dishcloth until the moment you are ready to use them.
Preheat oven to 325, and line a baking sheet with tin foil, and grease the tin foil.
take 2 sheets of phyllo, and put a heaping tablespoon of filling at one end. roll the phyllo up like a cigar, folding the sides in about halfway down. Do not roll too tightly, or it will explode a little in the oven. put the cigar on the baking sheet, and brush liberally with melted butter. Liberally! as in use a lot! Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
We got about 3 dozen meat rolls, and they were a hit!
Showing posts with label Appetizer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Appetizer. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy 2010!!
Hope everyone had a fun New Years Eve filled with friends and good food! I know we did! Some lovely friends of ours hosted a NYE party, and requested heavy hors d'oeurves and desserts. An excuse to make tasty little nibbles? Count me in! We made my Mother's Stuffed Mushrooms, Mediteranean Meat Rolls, and Zucchini Bread. Was faboo!
My Mother's Stuffed Mushrooms
The original recipe calls for two and a half sticks of butter. I suppose you could use that much if you really wanted, but I made this recipe with one stick + a few tablespoons.
these are also great "make ahead" snacks, easily freezable, then you just pop 'em in the oven.
2 10oz packages frozen spinach, thawed
48 large white button mushrooms, or 3-4 8oz packages mushrooms(see note below)
up to 2 sticks up butter (you probably won't need it all)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 shallots, minched
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg
line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. seperate mushroom caps from the stems, and set the stems aside.
start with half a stick of butter and melt it in the microwave or on the stove. Be prepared to melt more as you go along with this step. I had 50 mushrooms, and this step took one whole stick of butter. Don't be stingy with the butter! If you melt your butter on the stove, keep the temp as low as possible. You can either brush the mushroom caps with butter with a pastry brush, or dip them into the melted butter. However you do it, you want them covered in a thin layer of butter. Lay caps on lined baking sheet.
Chop up the mushroom stems, and any mushroom caps that didn't survive the separation anxiety.
Pour any un-used butter into a skillet on the stove, and add chopped mushroom stems, shallots and and garlic and saute gently over medium heat for about 10 minutes. the mushrooms will soak up a lot of butter, so if the skillet gets dry, feel free to add more butter or a splash of olive oil. I know I did.
Add spinach and all other ingredients to skillet, turn heat down a bit, and cook until well blended. add more salt / pepper until you like how it tastes.
Fill caps with mixture.
If you're going to eat these babies now, bake on that same cookie sheet at 375 for 20 minutes, and serve hot.
Not gonna eat 'em now? No problem. toss the cookie sheet into the freezer, and the next morning place the mushrooms into zip lock bags, 12-15 per bag. place frozen caps on cookie sheets, bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
Note on Mushrooms: I bought the ones packaged in the 8oz packages, and some of them were tiny widdle shrooms! So I had a ton of filling left over. If you've got filling left over, no problem - it makes great stuffing for an omelet, and a great sauce tossed with pasta. Use right away, or freeze for later use.
I will post the other recipes as soon as I have time. Happy New Year!
My Mother's Stuffed Mushrooms
The original recipe calls for two and a half sticks of butter. I suppose you could use that much if you really wanted, but I made this recipe with one stick + a few tablespoons.
these are also great "make ahead" snacks, easily freezable, then you just pop 'em in the oven.
2 10oz packages frozen spinach, thawed
48 large white button mushrooms, or 3-4 8oz packages mushrooms(see note below)
up to 2 sticks up butter (you probably won't need it all)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 shallots, minched
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg
line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. seperate mushroom caps from the stems, and set the stems aside.
start with half a stick of butter and melt it in the microwave or on the stove. Be prepared to melt more as you go along with this step. I had 50 mushrooms, and this step took one whole stick of butter. Don't be stingy with the butter! If you melt your butter on the stove, keep the temp as low as possible. You can either brush the mushroom caps with butter with a pastry brush, or dip them into the melted butter. However you do it, you want them covered in a thin layer of butter. Lay caps on lined baking sheet.
Chop up the mushroom stems, and any mushroom caps that didn't survive the separation anxiety.
Pour any un-used butter into a skillet on the stove, and add chopped mushroom stems, shallots and and garlic and saute gently over medium heat for about 10 minutes. the mushrooms will soak up a lot of butter, so if the skillet gets dry, feel free to add more butter or a splash of olive oil. I know I did.
Add spinach and all other ingredients to skillet, turn heat down a bit, and cook until well blended. add more salt / pepper until you like how it tastes.
Fill caps with mixture.
If you're going to eat these babies now, bake on that same cookie sheet at 375 for 20 minutes, and serve hot.
Not gonna eat 'em now? No problem. toss the cookie sheet into the freezer, and the next morning place the mushrooms into zip lock bags, 12-15 per bag. place frozen caps on cookie sheets, bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
Note on Mushrooms: I bought the ones packaged in the 8oz packages, and some of them were tiny widdle shrooms! So I had a ton of filling left over. If you've got filling left over, no problem - it makes great stuffing for an omelet, and a great sauce tossed with pasta. Use right away, or freeze for later use.
I will post the other recipes as soon as I have time. Happy New Year!
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