Easiest party snack ever!

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So this is a very impulsive post, I was not planning to write about this at all. Last night we had some friends over for an impromptu board-games night. It was all spur of the moment and although they were coming post-dinner, I wanted to rustle up some nibbles, to go with the wine. 

I rushed home from work in a blind panic (the kind when you know you have half an hour to clean the living room and the kitchen and make snacks!). 

Invented in such panicked circumstances, this is not a very sophisticated recipe. Nevertheless, it is delicious and I will wholly recommend it as a party snack. It would also make a great starter for an Indian meal, because the filling is an old Punjabi recipe very similar to aloo saag. I have just added one English twist - strong cheddar! 

Anyway, moving on to the recipe, you would need; 

For the filling:

1 tablespoon mild olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped roughly

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 fat cloves garlic, chopped

1 cm piece of ginger cut in strips

2 large potatoes, boiled and mashed (I microwaved them for 5 minutes)

2 handfuls chopped spinach

Salt and red pepper to taste

½ teaspoon garam masala (if you don’t have this you can add oregano)

100 gms cheddar, roughly chopped into small cubes

Shop bought puff pastry sheet

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and lightly fry the ginger and garlic for one minute to release their flavor,

2. Add the chopped onion and sauté until it turns pink and transparent,

3. Now add the tomatoes, mashed potatoes, salt, red pepper and garam masala,

4. Once the tomatoes soften, add the spinach and cheese, mix well and take the pan off the heat.

5. Cut the puff pastry sheet into twelve 8 cm squares and line a shallow muffin pan.

6. Prick the pastry shells with a fork and spoon some filling into each, you can fold them or leave them open as I have done.

7. Bake at 200ºC for around 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

I did not bother to brush with egg mix, who has the time and besides they look good enough as it is. Also, I prefer mixing in the cheese because it tends to burn when sprinkled on top. 

Serving tip: Mint salsa goes very well with this snack.

   

Food Discovery Friday – Pink Grapefruit!

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All right so I have to concede. I am finding it incredibly exciting discovering the new and exotic variety of produce in Cambridge. It has to be one of the highlights in the initial phase of expat life. I can say with certainty, because I am enjoying it to the fullest!  

I love roaming around supermarkets and farmer’s markets like an Alice in wonderland. These places hold endless surprises for me, and I can happily spend hours browsing through fruit and vegetables and herbs and greens. It is hard to believe how much there is to see, and eat!

I have to say it’s a pleasant surprise for me, I did not expect to find anything exotic in the food department here. Unlike countries such as Italy or France, Britain is not exactly known for its cuisine. However, being a former colonial power, it has always been a melting pot of culture and food. Foodstuffs from all it’s colonies reached Britain’s shores and were readily adopted by the people - tea from China, spices and herbs from India and bananas from Bermuda which arrived as late as 1633. The country today is home to diverse ethnic groups and the huge variety of produce available, is a reflection of this multi-cultural society.

Also being a small island country it’s impossible to grow everything here so most of the food is imported. The supermarket shelves are stacked full of thousands of different ingredients from all corners of the world and I am having a wonderful time discovering all of them. One Friday at a time!

Each Friday I will write about one ingredient that is completely new to me – something I never ate, cooked with, or even saw before in my life. As far as possible I will try to keep it seasonal.

The Discovery for this Friday is a Pink Grapefruit! A fruit, which looks like an orange from outside, but inside, it conceals the most loveliest surprise - deep pink colored flesh. A color that will make you gasp – it is so gorgeous! I find myself cutting it open eagerly just to look at the color inside. Almost like opening a specially wrapped gift.

But for all it’s beauty the taste is a bit of a letdown, you would expect such a richly colored fruit to be extremely sweet, but it’s usually quite sour and takes some getting used to. The sourness does go away with cooking though, so many consider it the perfect fruit for baking. I decided to give that a go today morning. It was beautiful and sunny outside, after almost a week and I just had to match that with an equally bright breakfast. Yes, you can have it for breakfast on a weekday! It's one of the quickest breakfast recipes.I Promise.

The recipe is adapted from Sarai’s recipe for baked Grapefruit on her blog “Sweet Sassafras” that I really enjoy reading. I cut the Grapefruit in half, sprinkled some brown sugar, dusted a little cinnamon, chopped a few walnuts over the flesh and popped it into the oven. It was beautiful when it came out of the oven, better than I imagined. The earthy cinnamon tones add depth to the grapefruit while the brown sugar lightens the sourness. All the flavors complement each other perfectly. I am hooked is all I can say. In addition, It’s a gluten-free-feel-good start to the day, what can be more perfect than that?



Like a piece of the Sun on my plate.



Baked Spiced Grapefruit (Adapted from Sarai's recipe on Sweet Sassafras)

Ingredients

1 Grapefruit

½ tsp brown sugar

Sprinkle of Cinnamon powder

1 Walnut – chopped into small pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. Cut the Grapefruit in half then cut around each section so that it will be easier to scoop out later. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Put it on the top shelf in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.