On air on bayfm 99.9 community radio Byron Bay on 17 September 2012

On belly today I welcomed back Deanna, the celebrated (drumroll) two time winner of the Mullum farmers market bake-off, who has been sharing the joys and challenges of various types of pastry doughs.  Some she was very familiar with, some, like filo today, she tried to make for the very first time the week before coming on the show.  As with puff pastry, most of us only ever use filo from a packet, so she did a recipe with each type.  But she is very happy with the result of her first time filo.  A couple of hours after telling us she would never make it again, because it turned out well but it is so much work, she went home and made number two.  And she reports that it was much better again than the first dough.  Step by step photos will get posted soon.  She bravely tried to email them last night from “a nightmare of a mess in the kitchen”…mmm, maybe not quite so easy to make.  But it is suck a lovely light way to wrap up all sorts of things, a good dough for spring I think.  And the packet stuff does work really well.

And we have a new bellysister, Sister Cath, who hopefully will be on belly lots in the summer.  She is an organic macadamia and coffee farmer from Rosebank, and used to present the bayfm program “don’t panic, it’s organic”.  She used to advise the government on matters organic, but now hopefully she will talk to and with us about all sorts of delicious belly matters.

Find out more about Cath Ford from:

http://www.training.nsw.gov.au/forms_documents/industry_programs/workforce_development/greenskills/macadamia_casestudy.pdf

http://www.yearofthefarmer.com.au/latest-news/our-stories/55-our-stories/story-submissions/456-organic-coffee-macadamia-farmer-cath-ford-nsw.html

http://www.ruralwomensaward.gov.au/2006Finalists.html

 

DEANNA’S EASY AS PIE – FILO PASTRY

 

 

Deanna went for one of the most famous dishes you can make with filo pastry, baklava.  Did you know there was a baklava procession in Istanbul, on the 15th day of Ramadan, during the Ottoman empire.  The Janissary regiments of the emperor each had the right to get 2 trays of baklava from the palace, which were then paraded in all their sweet glory back to barracks.  One way to keep the troops on your side.  According to the Oxford Companion to food it was the Turks who invented filo (shh, don’t tell your Greek friends, it’s probably as bad as the great pavlova debate with New Zealand).

Of course filo-type pastry sheets are used for many delicate dishes, sweet and savoury, from strudel to Tunisian pastilla (although brik pastry is a bit stiffer than filo, apparently made by tapping dough onto a hot plate and using the part that sticks and dries to a fine sheet.  But maybe we can just use filo and avoid 3rd degree burns).

 

Filo Pastry from Scratch – by Deanna Sudmals

 

1 1/3 cup bread and pizza flour

1/8 tsp. salt

½ cup water

2tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp. cider vinegar

In the bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment, mix flour and salt on low speed.

In a separate bowl combine water, oil, and vinegar. Pour the water mixture slowly into the flour, still mixing on low speed. Continue until in forms a soft dough. Swap the paddle attachment for the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for 10 minutes (or 20 by hand) until have soft, silky dough.

Remove from mixer and knead on flat surface for 2 minutes, whacking it down hard several times during kneading.

Rub with vegetable oil, wrap in plastic and rest for 2 hours minimum. The longer the better

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roll out with a floured rolling pin until it is extremely thin (about 9” x5”) picking up the dough and reflouring the surface underneath it often. When it is as thin as you can roll it, carefully lift and stretch it with your fingers from underneath slowly and gently. When it is stretched enough to read through (if a written paper was underneath) then place on a floured baking sheet and flour between each sheet to stop them from sticking to each other.

[SEE END OF THIS POST FOR THE REST OF MAKING FILO IN PICTURES, & HOW TO ROLL SPANAKOPITA]

Above recipe adapted from: korenainthekitchen.com

 

As well as Deanna’s brave first time experiment and report on making filo pastry, we were lucky enough today to have a contribution from Ilias the Greek, and his long line of filo/phyllo/fillo-making ancestressess.

Here is what he sent to  belly, tune in for lots more from Ilias on October 29.

Fillo tips –  Use a teaspoon of olive oil, vinegar with a pinch salt and knead the mixture (with love) till you feel a smooth dough ( the longer the better) 5min minimum and rest the dough well (covered) min 1hr.

Mum and grandma’s technique is to then to roll the dough as fine as possible with a rolling pin the diameter of a curtain rod and then proceed to stretch the thin pastry by hand over a table lined with cloth until you can read a newspaper through the fine sheet of fillo( this requires an intimate connection with the pastry via the hands to avoid tearing it).

Fillings – The regional delicacy of northern Greece( where I come from) is bougatsa it is a baked fillo wrapped spiced semolina custard that is delectable straight from the oven with light crusty pastry and smooth yummy filling. It’s sister Galaktoboureko is similar and has the addition of a citrus scented syrup poured over it and eats well either warm or cooled.

Kali oreksi from the Greek ‘bon appetit

 

As for sister T’s suggestion to try adding 2 teaspoons of baking powder to each kilo of flour, and using corn flour beteween layers that had at least one Greek cook growling at the radio?  Well it came from the beautiful recent cookbook “Vefa’s Kitchen”, that I, sister T, made quite a few good things from.

 

 

 

Spinach Feta Filo (Phyllo) Triangles (Spanakopita) – recipe Deanna Sudmals

2 bunches English spinach or 2x 250 packages frozen spinach

2 sprigs fresh dill chopped (or 1-2 tsp. dried)

1 onion, diced

4 spring onions chopped

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

200 g feta cheese, crumbled

175 g fresh ricotta

2 tbsp parmesan or pecorino

3 eggs

Good pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Packet of filo pastry (or 18 sheets homemade filo pastry)

150 g melted butter

 

•Chop and wash the spinach, discarding ends. Blanch in hot water.

•OR: Thaw and thoroughly drain frozen spinach, pressing down in colander to get all of the water out.

•Sauté onion and spring onions in a bit of vegetable oil until soft.

• Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and taste for seasoning. This recipe is an approximate; I taste as I go along and adjust to taste. Some people add garlic to spanakopita, but I don’t think its necessary….feel free to add if you want more of a kick.

•Preheat oven to 180 C

•Cover a baking sheet with baking paper

•Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and cover with a dry tea towel covered by a damp tea towel on top (this will prevent dough from drying out).

•Cut the filo sheets into 3 strips and recover with tea towels

•Use a pastry brush to brush one sheet with melted butter. Place a spoonful of filling on the end of the strip and then fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, and then continue to fold up the strip in triangles.

•Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and covering with a towel until ready to bake.

•Baste triangles with butter and then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and crisp.

 

Alternative option:

Grease a rectangular baking pan and then spread six sheets of filo down, brushing each with melted butter before adding the next sheet. Spoon the filling over and then cover with 6 more sheets, buttering each sheet. Score the top 3 sheets with a knife. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool slightly, and then cut into squares and serve warm.

I used homemade filo dough for the spanakopita.

 

 

BAKLAVA – by Deanna Sudmals

Adapted from Korenainthekitchen.com

 

 

½ cup each: walnuts, pistachios and almonds

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch allspice

Honey syrup:

½ cup sugar

½ cup honey

½ cup water

2 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 strip lemon rind

1 tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup melted butter

 

Process nuts in food processor until finely chopped. Combine with sugar, cinnamon and allspice.

Lightly butter bottom of rectangular (9”x5”) baking pan. Place 5 filo sheets in bottom of pan brushing melted butter between each layer. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the filling. Layer and butter 5 more filo sheets then cover with 1/3 more of the mix. Layer/butter 5 more sheets, cover with last 1/3 of the filling and cover with 5 more filo sheets. Cut the filo into squares or triangles and brush the top with melted butter.

Bake for 90 minutes:

30 minutes at 200 C

30 minutes at 150C

30 minutes at 100C

After the first 30 minutes re-cut the baklava following the cuts already made.

While the baklava bakes, make the syrup and allow to cool.

For the syrup:

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil stirring constantly to melt the sugar. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove spices and lemon rind.

As soon as baklava is out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava.

Cool and enjoy!

 

Note by Sister T:  I learned how to make baklava at one of Leah Roland’s classes at the Bangalow Cooking School, very easy & fun if you just use the fresh ready made stuff.  You can play around with the syrup ingredients & the nut mixes (I use pecans & macadamias a lot just because they are the freshest & most local nuts here).  And you can use a standard rectangular oven tray, it fits the ready made sheets more easily.  Also you can control the amount of melted butter you use if you do it yourself, and end up with a much lighter product than the commercial ones – if that is what you want.

 

BELLY BULLETIN

 

In the UK: A report in New Scientist suggests that ‘junk food’ is one of the causes of Alzheimer’s; it explains that some experts are renaming the disease of Alzheimer’s as ‘Type 3 Diabetes’. Excessive eating of junk food has over several decades rendered the anti-junk movement ineffective with their message of human physical deterioration now one of mental deterioration as well. In a report by Viv Groskop in the Independent she quotes “Failure by the ‘Anti Junk Food’ lobby is because junk food is the symptom of a much larger problem. Existing only as part of another vast, spreading disease: the pursuit of profit o, ever common sense, the endless expansion of the work day and the elevation of success over contentment. Ever faster lives; ever bigger debts and ever bigger bellies!

In Australian Food News a website devoted to exposing web-scams called Hoax-Slayer has revealed that there is an email currently doing the rounds purportedly sent by the supermarket chain Woolworths but this time Woollies are not to blame. The email promises you a guaranteed 50 dollar gift voucher, but the scam is designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive personal and financial information to internet criminals.  Such surveys are becoming quite common and usually target customers of high profile companies including McDonald’s; Coca Cola and Westpac.

In CHINA: According to China’s state media outlet, Xinhua-So far this year China has detected 15,000 cases of substandard food and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses since the beginning of the year. Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted by inspectors. The announcement comes just days after the country’s Ministry of Health announced the introduction of more than 200 new national food safety standards under a five year plan.

In ITALY: The Vatican’s permanent observer at the UN in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, claimed market activities such as arbitrage , which is the buying and selling of goods to exploit price differences, and the use of derivatives trading in grain supply chains, are ‘hampering the poorest and the neediest’. In a Vatican radio interview, Archbishop Tomasi said that the worsening crisis in food price volatility ‘will have social consequences’. He said ‘poor countries require not only urgent help, but also investment to change to realities of life and make them more human.” The Vatican’s moral pressure on the G20 follows widespread condemnation of giant commodities trading companies for reportedly seeing drought and the resulting global food insecurity as opportunities for profit.Chris Mahoney, Director of Agricultural products for the Glencore Group said that ‘high prices, lots of volatility, a lot of dislocation, tightness and a lot of arbitrage opportunities; made for a ‘good’ environment for the company, prompting the UN and leading aid agencies to call for a fast track reform of international regulations.

In the USA: Huffington Post reports that concept of ‘food synergy’ has made new inroads identifying so called super foods that when coupled together may give you a ‘bigger bang for your buck’ when benefiting our health in complex ways. After 10 years of research, food synergy has come a long way according to Elaine Magee author of a recent book on the subject detailing how knowledge of phytochemicals like lycopene (making tomatoes famous) or anthocyanins and pterostilbene (which have propelled blueberries into the news) suggest the following foods are better paired together.

They are Tomatoes and Avocados

Rosemary and grilled meat

Oatmeal and Orange Juice

Spinach and lemon

Broccoli and tomatoes

Apples and grapes

Turmeric and black pepper

Garlic and fish.

And of course lovely listeners incredibly delicious!

In Malaysia: Royal watchers in Asia have there eyes peeled for all details concerning Prince William and Duchess Kate. The belly bulletin has done extensive investigations into what our listeners really want to know about the Royals!

Yes! lovely listeners we can confirm that Prince William’s favourite foods are : Cottage Pie and Banana Flan.  Duchess Kate’s favourite is Sticky Toffee Pudding.

And that is the Belly Bulletin for the week of 17.09.2012, compiled by Sister Cath.

 

WEEDS LOVELY WEEDS

To destroy raze to the ground utterly eliminate make like Russia with Napoleon, the scorched earth way to victory…. or see as part of the great natural world, live with, go gently, use.  Well we have done a lot of damage to this area by bringing in all sorts of plants that like it just a bit too much and swamp everything else, so there is lots to be said for both sides of that argument.  So get along to lovely Whian Whian this Saturday 22 September, where Sister Cath is involved in a debate called “to weed or not to weed”.

And let us know which weeds you most like to eat – yes it is all a matter of definition, is it a weed or is it a delicious food.  There are plenty of websites to help you choose the right weeds (aka free & wild plants) to eat.  But basic rules : make sure you know what it is, & I wouldn’t pick something that has has a whole lot of traffic fumes or other nasties around it, in the air or in the ground.

Whian Whian Memorial Hall – 7pm

Whian Whian Road Whian Whian NSW 2480

Ph: (02) 6689 5488 Ph: (02) 6689 5696

Email: menere@ozemail.com.au

 

MUSIC

 

Lanie Lane – Ain’t Hungry

Anouar Brahim – Kerkenah

Kristi Stassinopolou – Waves

Ilios, Akoustic Odyssey

Sian Evans – The definition of

Sarah Blasko and Ajak Kwai  – Nyiir Ienqarr

 

EDIBLE QUOTE :  “Eating is an agricultural act”, Wendell Berry, in “What are people for?”

 

love and chocolate-dipped nasturtium flowers, sister T

 

 

MAKING FILO CONTINUED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROLLING SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH TRIANGLES – AND ANY OTHER STUFFED FILO TRIANGLES)