Pumpkin and Sesame Dip followed by Savoury Bread Puddings

Bit of a double-whammy tonight, as it was our 8 year anniversary (hooray for us!), so I thought I'd go a bit all out! We had Pumpkin and Sesame Dip to start, followed by the Savoury Bread Puddings with a green salad. For dessert we had Blood Orange Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta trifles. If anybody would like the recipe for that, just leave a comment, although be warmed - although it's easy enough to make, it does take a few hours.


Pumpkin and Sesame Dip
1/2 Jap pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Bread of choice, to serve

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin, tossed in the olive oil, in a roasting pan, then bake in oven for 1/2 hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.

2 - Wait for pumpkin to cook, then puree with the sesame oil and 1/2 the seeds. Place in a bowl and top with remaining seeds, and serve with bread.

Savoury Bread Puddings


This is a pretty nifty way of using up that sad loaf of bread that is just about starting to think about moving into mouldy territory. Potential penicillin sources aside, it's also a nice dinner party dish - who doesn't like getting their own individual dish to eat out of? Yeah, yeah, so it's not quite as impressive as a souffle, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier, and you can pretty much pile in any vegetable you like - although for harder vegetables, like carrots, I would recommend steaming them until tender first, like I've done with the sweet potato here. It's also quite handy as you can prepare it ahead of time - just refrigerate after covering with plastic wrap. Bring back to room temperature before baking in oven, though, so your cooking ware doesn't crack.

2 tablespoons olive oil, to grease
9 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed, and each slice cut into quarters
1/2 bunch silverbeet, stems trimmed and leaves well washed and roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced, and steamed until tender
100 grams sun-dried tomatoes strips, drained of oil
100 grams hard feta, chopped roughly
6 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly ground pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick paper, and grease 6 1 cup ramekins with the olive oil.

2 - Over a low heat, saute the silverbeet leaves in a large pan with a little saucepan until the leaves have wilted. Let cool, then squeeze the liquid from the leaves.

3 - Place two triangles of bread at the bottom of each ramekin, then 4 triangles around the sides. Divide the feta, silverbeet, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes among the ramekins.

4 - Beat together the eggs, cream, milk and pepper to taste in a large jug. Add the parmesan, then pour this mixture among the ramekins. Set aside for 20 minutes so the bread can absorb the mixture.

5 - Arrange the ramekins on the baking tray, then cook for 35 minutes, or until the puddings are puffed, golden and set. Let sit for a few minutes before serving with a green salad.

Spanakopita with green salad

I have a theory. Stay with me, it's a good one. Say you have a child. Or a pain in the elbow Uncle, who inconveniently pops around for dinner all the bloody time, but never is happy with what he is served. Do they like eating their greens? Nah, I didn't think so. I mean, when was the last time you saw a child sit down at the dinner table and declare "Oh, hip hip hooray - tonight we're having greens. Full of nutrients and so good for me! Thank you, kind parents!"

However, and this is the ever so slightly evil bit - if you hide the greens amongst all different sorts of cheese, then encase the whole thing in pastry, then the little suckers will be chomping it down with the best of them. Just don't let them know it's healthy! Or expect them to eat the side salad.

Spanakopita

250g frozen spinach, thawed out and squeezed of moisture
1 bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard (same thing, yeah, just one has prettier stems)
4 spring onions, washed well and thinly sliced

handful chopped parsley
5 eggs, beaten well
250g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
300g firm feta cheese, crumbled
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
20 sheets filo pastry, only just taken out from the freezer
100g butter, melted
Sesame seeds

1 - Preheat the oven to 190 C. Remove the stems from the silverbeet/chard, then roughly slice the leaves. Put into a bowl, cover with boiling water, then remove once they have wilted. Let the leaves cool, then mix with the spinach.

2 - Meanwhile, combine the beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, nutmeg, chilli, spring onions, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the silverbeet/spinach mixture, and mix until combined. Set aside.

3 - This is the bit where you have to work carefully and quickly. Oil a large baking dish with a little of the butter. Spread out the filo on a work bench, covering with a damp tea towel between bits. Carefully pick up a single piece of the filo, and place into the dish, gently molding it into place. Don't worry if bits are hanging off the side, we'll fix that up later. Brush the sheet of filo with butter, then place a new one on top of it. Brush it with butter, and repeat until you have layered 10 sheets.

4 - Gently pour in the silverbeet mixture. Spread it over the filo so it is even, then place a sheet of filo on top of it. Brush with butter and so on and so on until the remaining 10 sheets are placed on top.

5 - Tuck the overhanging bits into the dish, or trim, then score the pastry in a diamond pattern. Brush with butter, sprinkle over some sesame seeds, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crinkly. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then slice up and serve.

Green salad

3 handfuls lettuce mix, washed well and dried
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced into batons
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 - Mix the veggies into a bowl.

2 - Right before serving, combine the oil, vinegar and musard in a small bowl then pour over the salad. Toss, then serve.