Bella Hyde, Author at Finding Feasts

Roasted pumpkin, ricotta, parmesan and spinach rolls

FinSki's Roasted Pumpkin Ricotta Parmesan & Spinach Rolls — Click on image for recipe

So if I could sum up the last week of March in one photo it would be this…a classic scene out of Bridget Jones’s Diary, her sitting on the couch, drinking wine and belting out Celine Dion’s All By Myself. Yup, that was me and roasted pumpkin, ricotta, parmesan and spinach rolls is what saved me and well maybe a few LARGE glasses of wine!

No I hubby didn’t dump me and whilst I won’t go into the dirty details I will leave it to you the reader to scheme up stories but let’s just say that it was a crappy week all round at every corner and there was definitely plenty of wine consumed with these yummy savoury rolls.

I was hungry, deflated and had limited ingredients so I did what I knew best, raided the pantry and fridge, made a complete mess of the kitchen and baked! Approximately an hour and a half later I had savoury goodness popping out of my oven.

I love these rolls and try to have them in the freezer on standby. I buy my ricotta in bulk. (Blondie taught me this). It comes in this fantastic 1 kg bowl from Harris Farm Markets and made by Paesanella. If you don’t use it straight away you will generally get a life shell of about 2 weeks prior to opening it. Blondie and I will sometimes share it between the two of us too. Roasting the pumpkin gives the rolls depth of flavour and a certain kind of sweetness. Yum!

Great with a fresh green salad and perfect for that meat free night! Also guaranteed to assist where crappy weeks come to bother you as well!

Bella

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Tomato Salsa

FinSki's_Salsa 1 — Click on image for full recipe

I don’t have an fantastic story behind this tomato salsa recipe. I made tacos the other night for dinner (chicken and beef) and I wanted to make my own salsa. I’ve made fresh salsa before from ripe tomatoes but I couldn’t find any in the supermarket so making it from canned organic tomatoes was the next best option.

Like majority of recipes there are plenty of variations of this on other cooking sites and blogs so chances are you will have come across something very similar. Best of all it takes about 15 minutes to prepare and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist either to guess the basic ingredients that will go in, you’ll most likely have these sitting in the pantry.

This basic recipe asks for canned tomatoes, coriander, salt, pepper, sweet paprika, chilli, cumin and lime juice. I love my limes and I love my tomato salsa to pack a ‘zinggy’ punch so I used the juice of one full lime. This makes the tomato salsa come out a little runny but it worked a treat on my soft tacos with gooey cheese.

One of two things happened when I made this…either I was very,very hungry or it was extremely delicious, because it’s almost gone!

How do you make your tomato salsa?

BellaLeave a comment

Gołąbki – Polish cabbage rolls

Gołąbki or Polish cabbage rolls is definitely an autumn comfort food dish and although autumn has just started here in Australia and it is still relatively warm I do crave a good hearty dish every few nights.

Mum mostly made gołąbki on a Sunday for obiad (lunch). I still remember how beautiful the kitchen would smell with the rich tomato sauce bubbling away slowly and warming up the whole house. My favourite bit would be soaking up the tomato sauce at the bottom of the bowl with a piece of rye bread, ensuring that I scraped every last bit!

Gołąbki, pronounced ‘go-wump-kie’ translates to little pigeons. I’ve absolutely no idea why this dish is called that. I have heard stories that back in the day the Poles would actually make the dish from real pigeons so maybe it’s because the rolled cabbage leaf resembles a pigeons body? Regardless of the story behind the name they are delicious and very versatile.

There are plenty of other Eastern European nations that have a variation of this dish and they all look equally yummy! The Finns for example call it kaalikääryleet, now try pronouncing that!

Gołąbki is a humble dish which is traditionally made from mince meat such as pork, beef or veal but you can alter the ingredients to suit your own taste. Last mother’s day I made two versions of this, one with meat and the other with rice, grains and mushrooms. I also made a miso stock to go with the veggie option! Both were equally good however nothing beats an original gołąbki recipe!

A scrumptious dish that will hit the spot on a cool autumn evening that is best enjoyed with a good Polish beer! Would love to know if you have ever tasted these?

Smacznego!

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Smoked onion jam

This smoked onion jam is a gorgeous recipe which is simple to make and will have the crowds begging for more! There are no mystery steps in making this smoked onion jam and there are literally a thousand other similar recipes out there so don’t be afraid to give one a test drive! I guarantee you will be addicted!

Call me old fashioned but there is something very satisfying about making yourself a sandwich with crusty sourdough bread, some ham or turkey, cheese and slapping on a dollop of home made jam and this smoked onion jam goes with almost anything, burgers, hot dogs, cheese and crackers and the list goes on.

When I was growing up products like jam, chutney, relish and pickles conjured up images of little old ladies cooking up a storm in their kitchen for the weekend school fete. Purchasing these neither interested me nor did I have any desire to eat them! I actually ran a mile from such stalls. Fast forward a few years and Blondie will tell you how much I love to browse through market stalls, quirky country corner shops to see what I can come across!

Blondie and I have grand ambitions of having a stall at the local weekend markets this year and while we would love to just sell our wild picked mushrooms we think we need to diversify a little, plus up until the last few day the rain has been very sparse.

So why a smoked onion jam? Why not? I love onions, I love how they take on this amazing flavour when they are slow cooked and caramalised. As for adding a smoky falavour to them well that was a no-brainer! I think it is fair to say that if Blondie and I could come up with a smoked ice cream that tasted absolutely divine…we probably would!

Adding the smoked liquid gives this jam an earthy taste and when the onions melt in your mouth its like you are sitting on the side bench at a cold and miserable game of footy and someone hands you the most perfect tasting, mouth watering hot dog or burger.

I personally love the jam on crusty bread with some fresh ricotta. I dare you to try it!

The jam will keep in your fridge for about 3-4 weeks…if it lasts that long!

Bella

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How to make Christmas turkey gravy

Jamie Oliver’s make ahead Christmas turkey gravy is simply the best! This will be my second year making it and as a gravy lover I have to say that it’s probably one of the best sauces I have tasted.

With only 10 days till Christmas, making this gravy now will save you loads of time and take the stress out of Christmas day. It’s dead easy to make and tastes delish!

Come Christmas day all you’ll need to do is take it out of the freezer, defrost it and warm it up!

Merry Christmas!

BellaLeave a comment

Pickled Green Tomatoes

FinSki's_PIckled Toms Plants — Click on image for recipe

What’s would you make with green tomatoes?

For me it has to be pickled green tomatoes, just perfect with some sourdough bread, a strong cheese and your favourite glass of wine!

The photo you are looking at is of my neighbour’s (Denise) backyard fence which faces onto our carport entry.

Beginning of spring she planted a couple of grape tomato trees and they have GONE WILD! They are the most amazing looking plants which could almost have a starring role in a movie like ‘the attack of the killer tomato trees’ and to my luck they have decided to jump over the fence and grow on my side but hey not that I am complaining! I have already informed Denise that what is on my side is fair game so with bowl and scissors in hand off I went to pick these gorgeous little green plump babies.

About 20 years ago mum made a gorgeous green tomato pickle from her home grown tomatoes and I always promised myself that one day I would add this to my cooking repertoire so that one day was two weeks ago! I currently have them sitting in my fridge, developing their pickled flavour, ready for Christmas nibbles and drinks!

A huge thank you should go to Denise as well for allowing her green babies to grown on my side and for sharing them with me!

PIckled Green Tomatos — Click on image for recipe

BellaLeave a comment

Buche de Noel or Yule Log

FinSkis Buche de Noel — Click on image for full recipe

Buche de Noel, Swiss Roll, Yule Log or Christmas Cake…regardless of what you call it, it’s divine! This chocolate sponge, filled with velvety soft whipped cream, covered in ultra rich chocolate icing is perfect for the Christmas day family gathering.

I’m a sponge virgin! The shot that you are looking at is my very first attempt at a sponge roll and with 38 days till Christmas (ekkk!) I am feeling rather chuffed at my first attempt.

Researching the history of Buche de Noel (thanks to good old wikipedia and Google!) as the name suggests it is French in origin but has links to Celtic tradition which dates back all the way to the Iron Ages. In winter the families would get together in December to celebrate winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. They would decorate yule logs with holly, pine cones or ivy and burn the logs. This would not only usher in spring but also warn off any evil spirits and signify rebirth.

Legend has it that the recipe really came to life when Napoleon issued a law which stopped Parisians using their chimneys because he thought the cold air caused people to get sick. Seeing as people were no longer able to burn logs in their fire places the Parisian bakers invented the dessert as a substitute for the actual process of burning the log.

I tasted my first Buche de Noel a few years ago at my husbands parents place.They bought the most amazingly decorator chocolate log cake I have ever seen, each year the log would come with different decorations which we have kept. The Santa on top of mine is from the very first cake I tasted.

Sponge cakes are easy, providing that you follow the instructions to the nth degree. I did with this one. My sponge was light, fluffy and easy to roll. The secret is to have everything prepared and ready.

So from my family to yours, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and HAPPY BAKING!

Bella

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