Sweetcorn and Feta Pies – Accidentally Vegetarian

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I am becoming an accidental vegetarian. While I cannot see myself giving up steak or bacon completely, there are so many meatless meals to be discovered. For me, a successful vegetarian dish is when I eat something that is so delicious that I don’t notice the absence of meat. My beloved doesn’t believe a meal is complete without some form of animal on the plate, so finding meatless meals that satisfy a carnivorous household is a challenge.

Sweetcorn and Feta Pies - accidentally vegetarian!

With the garden in full production at the moment, there are herbs aplenty and a forest of salad leaves, helping me to meet the meatless task half-way. Fresh mint and flat-leaved parsley are the flavours that lift these pies out of the ordinary.

Make sure there's enough mint left for the cook's Mojito!

Delicious hot or cold, they are a great way of sneaking vegetables past the kids, or making a chic, recession-proof office lunch. Easy to make and easy to eat, preparation time is about 5 minutes, cooking time about 25 minutes, eating time about 30 seconds flat!

For 4 pies you will need...

... to pre-heat the oven to 190°C

2 sheets of all butter ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed

100g tinned sweetcorn kernels

100g feta cheese, roughly mashed

50g fresh spinach, washed, dried and finely shredded

4 spring onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaved parsley

1 egg, beaten

1                    Cut each pastry sheet in half then trim to a square of approximately 14cm (use the trimmings to cut out fancy shapes to decorate if you like – kids love this bit.)

2                    Mix together the rest of the ingredients, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg.

3                    Divide the mixture between the four squares making a sausage shape in the centre of each and leaving a margin of about 1cm at each end of the sausage shape. Brush the edges with a little cold water. Fold the narrow ends in, then fold the wider edges over the top of the mixture to make a neat parcel.

4                    Place each pastry parcel on a non-stick baking sheet, so that the join is underneath. Brush with beaten egg to give the pies a lovely glaze. If decorating with pastry shapes, pop these on top now and brush with egg.

5                    Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown and serve hot or cold, with or without salad.

I ♥ herbs!

Tip: Make tiny versions as canapés and serve with a minty Mojito.

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Horiatiki with Watermelon and Cucumber Pickle – Food of the Gods!

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A Greek holiday for your tastebuds...

I tend not to make too many Greek dishes – Greek food reminds me of the unfortunate incident with my landlord’s grandmother... However I’ve taken inspiration from all the gorgeous watermelon pickles I’ve seen on the blogosphere over the past few weeks and ringed the changes on a Greek favourite – Horiatiki – or Greek Salad.

The sweet-salty Watermelon and Cucumber Pickle is ready in an hour. It concentrates the flavour of the watermelon and the cucumber, makes the onion into a mild mannered creature and marries wonderfully with salty Feta and olives.

Taste-tester said: Opa! Food of the Gods!

For 4 servings you will need…

Pickle

250g watermelon, deseeded and cut into bite-sized chunks

250g cucumber, skin on, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 small onion, red or white (about 100g) cut in half then shredded

1 tablespoon of caster sugar

Salad

1 teaspoon of fine table salt

2 large tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks, or 20 cherry tomatoes

12 fat Kalamata olives (or other decent black olives)

200g Feta cheese, cut into bite-sized cubes

1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh mint

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.                  Place the watermelon, cucumber and onion in a glass bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and salt. Mix gently and cover before refrigerating for an hour.

2.                  When you are ready to eat, remove the pickle from the fridge, drain off the liquid and pat dry using kitchen paper. Place in a serving dish.

3.                  Add the salad ingredients, finishing with the Feta, sprinkled with mint and oregano. Drizzle with the olive oil just before serving. Marvel that something so simple can be so magical.

 

Chop, sprinkle, mix, refrigerate - it's that simple!

By the way, the pickle makes a nice side just as is and the salad is an excellent picnic food that won’t get soggy if it needs to stand by for a few hours.

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Beetroot, Orange and Feta Salad – charmed I’m sure!

Pin It Great recipes are like great stories. To keep them fresh and alive, each recipient must keep the essential ingredients and add some embellishments of their own.

My good friend Lorraine (poet, playwright, novelist and general all round funny girl) throws together an amazing beetroot salad. Could I steal it for my blog, I asked. Sure! She in turn had robbed it from her sister, who had gotten it from someone else, and so on. For me to make a beetroot salad is a big step, given how much I absolutely loathed it for years. If you are in the "loathe" camp, I urge you to try it again. You may surprise yourself.

Simply delicious!

It couldn’t be simpler. Shake some rocket leaves (arugula) onto a plate, add beetroot, orange and goats cheese. Et voila! - a dish full of rustic charm and bursting with flavour, without the kitchen staff breaking a sweat.

Except... my rustic charm gene had turned itself off the day I decided to make this salad. When I went to assemble the ingredients, the result was tasty but looked like a dog’s dinner. The more I tried to fix it, the more it fought back.

I refused to be beaten by beetroot! If it would not be bullied into submission, then I would just have to charm it onto the plate. How to charm it? Just add flowers.

Beetroot, Orange and Feta salad - greater than the sum of its parts

For each serving you will need...

1 beetroot, cooked and peeled

5 orange segments, pith removed
25g feta cheese, roughly crumbled
a selection of salad leaves, including some flat leafed parsley

As well as these essential ingredients, I added the following embellishments:

a tablespoon of fresh rocket flowers(arugula flowers)*

a teaspoon of fresh lavender flowers, unsprayed, organic

Beetroot tends to stain!

1                 Thinly slice the beetroot (a mandolin slicer is best for this job – mind fingers!) Place the beetroot slices on absorbent kitchen paper to blot up any excess juices. I used heart shaped cutters to stamp out pretty shapes for this salad.

2                 Arrange the beetroot in the centre of the plate. Arrange the other ingredients to please your eye. It is as simple as that (most days).

This salad needs no salt as the already salty Feta acts as a seasoning. You could add some vinaigrette to the leaves for an extra layer of flavour.

* I ended up with rocket flowers because I turned my back for a moment and my rocket plants went to seed. The flowers taste just like the leaves. If you are not a careless gardener like me, and don't have an accidental supply of rocket flowers, you could use other edible flowers like nasturtium, or borage as suggested by Mona of Wise Words.

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