Brown Rice & Vegetable Rolls

A rediscovered recipe, scrawled on a piece of paper and found languishing between pages of a rarely-used recipe book, reminded me of a lovely version of sausage rolls that I haven't made for a good twenty years of so!  Instead of a meaty filling, these rolls are filled with healthy brown rice and lots of nutritious vegetables. They are most lovely, warm from the oven and with a dollop of fruity chutney on the side. 

Delicious!

Brown Rice & Vegetable Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice 

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup grated carrot

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 capsicum, finely chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 Tablespoons fruit chutney

2 eggs, beaten

3 sheets puff pastry

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 210C.

2. Combine all ingredients, except pastry sheets, in a large bowl to make the filling.

3.  Spoon filling along  one edge of each puff pastry sheet.

4.  Roll up the filling inside the pastry and seal by pressing pastry ends together.

5.  Cut evenly into individual rolls.

6.  Glaze with a little egg or milk before baking. (You could sprinkle with sesame seeds too.)

7.  Bake for approximately 30mins or until pastry is golden.

8.  Serve with some extra fruit chutney.

Ingredients for a meat-free meal.

These rolls are a delicious alternative to everyday sausage rolls and have lots of extra goodness wrapped up in them from the brown rice and the vegetables. It certainly won't be another twenty years before I make them again!

Meg

Rustic Savoury Tart

Sometimes, I come across real "gems" in the cookbooks I borrow from my local library. This simple and delicious savoury tart is one such happy find. I've copied out the recipe to add to my collection so I can make it again and again. Yes, it was that good!

Dinner!

The recipe for this rustic tart was contributed by Cherie Bevan and Tass Tauroa to join those from other talented bakers in The Great Australian Baking Book edited by Greenwood, Harper and Hobday. There are so many gorgeous baked goods in the photos of this book. I'm sure I caught drifts of the tantalising smell of baked goodness wafting from the pages!

A great cookbook from my local library. 

The shell of this scrumptious tart is formed with pizza dough and the filling is a meat-free mix of  fresh ricotta,  roasted pumpkin, spinach and, in my tart, leeks. The recipe includes instructions for the pizza dough but I just used my usual pizza dough recipe. Instead of the caramelised onion of the original recipe, I harvested and sauteed leeks from my garden  - because leeks I have in abundance and onions I have none. I halved the quantities for my little family and that made enough for leftovers the next day. Here's how this tart came together in my kitchen:

Make single quantity of your usual pizza dough.

Combine fresh ricotta,  roast pumpkin, sauteed spinach and leeks  & grated parmesan.

Mix through an egg & season with salt and pepper.

Spread mixture over your pizza base.

Leave a generous border of dough around the edge.

Fold the edges of the pizza dough up to form a ruffled edge.

Bake until golden brown. 

Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

A piece of this delicious tart, served with salad, makes for a lovely meal. Leftovers can be eaten the next day, if there are any that is.

A slice of scrumptious savoury tart.

Slices of this tart would make perfect picnic fare too. Just imagine tucking into a pumpkin-y piece, with your legs stretched out on an old blanket in the shade of a tall gum on a riverbank. Wouldn't get much better than that, would it?

Meg