Tag: vegetarian

“Learning to like it” (with recipes)

It is no revelation to say that I like food. Really really like food.

Not only do I spend a large proportion of my time dreaming about, cooking, recipe developing for, and, of course, consuming food, I also read and write a lot about food. Food gives us energy, and it is safe to say that I expend a fair chunk of that energy by pouring it back into food. I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater, and the list of things I won’t eat is pretty small.

But it certainly wasn’t always the case.… Read More “Learning to like it” (with recipes)

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Recipe: Spanakopita (season finale)

The recipe for this delectable pie comes from years of research (read: eating a piece of every spanakopita I came across) and months of recipe testing. It’s not a wholly authentic recipe, as I have zero Greek heritage or cultural connections, but it is as close as I felt I could get to the perfect genuine Greek spanakopita. It’s the perfect balance of a golden, flaky, buttery crust, that is sturdy enough to hold its own against a rich, robust and flavoursome filling of spinach, herbs and cheese.… Read More Recipe: Spanakopita (season finale)

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Spanakopita series: episodes 4, 5 and 6 (recap)

At this point in my Spanakopita Test Kitchen journey, I was losing enthusiasm. I was still keen, however, to make my own phyllo.

I had looked at a recipe for authentic spanakopita complete with homemade phyllo, which showed the author’s mother rolling bedlinen-sized sheets of dough so thin you could read through it, using an obscenely long and thin rolling pin, before carefully rolling up logs of pie that curl into a silver tapsi for baking.

I am not a Greek yiayia, do not own said rolling pin or a tapsi, and figured my chances of rolling phyllo using this method were slim to nil.… Read More Spanakopita series: episodes 4, 5 and 6 (recap)

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Spanakopita series: episode 3

You could be forgiven for thinking that, after the success of my second pie, there wouldn’t be any more recipe attempting or tinkering.

But I was still itching to try my hand at homemade pastry and, in the interests of being thorough in my research, I still had at least three other recipes I wanted to try to experiment with for the filling.

Feeling invigorated by my recent success, I had another scan of my options.… Read More Spanakopita series: episode 3

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Spanakopita series: episode 2

There were many moments during episode 1 of this series where I honestly believed there would be no episode 2. After clearing out the final piece of my first spanakopita, it was nearly two months before I could gather my strength to try again.

I reviewed my shortlist of recipes again and, though I had decided commercial phyllo wasn’t fit for purpose here, I still had half a pack in the freezer, and its unorthodox use by Nagi of Recipe Tin Eats caught my eye. Everything from Nagi’s recipe was unorthodox, in fact…… Read More Spanakopita series: episode 2

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Spanakopita series: episode 1

Where I last left you, I had just finalised my shortlist of contenders for the perfect spanakopita. Yasmin Khan’s latest book Ripe Figs was already open on my kitchen cookbook stand, so her recipe seemed the natural place to start. If my first Spanakopita post has given you any indication of how long it took me to reach this particular point, you can likely understand that, once I had settled on the recipes, I wanted to jump right in. Nothing could deter me.… Read More Spanakopita series: episode 1

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Spanakopita series: prologue

If you will allow me to wax nostalgic for a moment, let me tell you about the first time I discovered spanakopita (Greek spinach pie).

It was, of course, in Greece, on a trip with my sisters some 10 years ago. In Thessaloniki, we walked past a roadside shop with humongous trays full of the stuff sitting innocuously in the window.

Encased in a flaky yet tender, crumbly yet moist, golden crust, was a filling of hearty, bitter greens with the zip of an abundance of herbs, delicately balanced with the sweetness that only comes from slow-cooked alliums and peppered with salty white cheese. The rich indulgence of the cheese offset the earthy, herbaceous greens beautifully. The two pie elements were married perfectly, neither overpowering the other; the perfect ratio of pastry to stuffing.

Spanakopita had our hearts and our tastebuds.… Read More Spanakopita series: prologue

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Meat and three veg

I sat at the work lunch table on this particular ordinary day. One of my colleagues leaned over and took a deep sniff.

“Yum! What’s that you’ve got?”

Being a home-lunch-packer, I received this question often and was only too happy to oblige. “It’s a South African Indian version of a sort of shepherd’s pie.”

She peered curiously into my pink bento box. “With spaghetti as well as mashed potato?”

The glass shattered.

Yes. This cottage pie did indeed have both mashed potato and spaghetti. Was that unusual? Of course it was unusual. Why had I never realised this before?… Read More Meat and three veg

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An Ode to the Savoury Loaf

An idle scroll through my Instagram account will show you that I tend to bake loaves a lot. I usually bake my sweet cakes in loaf form too, but the savoury loaf sits in pride of place on my breakfast bar and in my heart.

I’ve gathered here my favourite recipes (and tasting notes) for your reading and drooling pleasure, along with links if you so feel inclined to whip out your own loaf tins. Some of the recipes listed below call for baking in a round or square cake tin, and I do occasionally oblige. When baking for communal grazing purposes (office morning teas, picnics, socially distanced events), the muffin tin also works wonders and has the benefits of a high crust-to-inner ratio.

But I always return to the savoury loaf.… Read More An Ode to the Savoury Loaf

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