Name: Spinach, Feta and Ricotta Rolls
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 sheets Pampas all butter Puff pastry; 200g Feta Cheese; 300g Ricotta Cheese; 150g Baby Spinach, finely chopped; Red Chilli Flakes, to taste; Salt, to taste; Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste; 1 egg; Black sesame seeds, to sprinkle over

Back when I was working at my last job, a colleague, who happened to be my work bestie, introduced me to this treat. We’d take our breaks together whenever we could and hop over to Muffin Break. Our Muffin Break outlet made the best Spinach and Feta Rolls (sidenote – their Bran muffins were to die for). But I’d never noticed these little beauties before this. I was on a first name basis with its Non-vegetarian counterpart – the sausage roll. I’ve had quite a few of those. But on this particular day, when we went over to Muffin Break, she ordered a Spinach and Feta Roll to go with her coffee. Needless, to say, I was intrigued. So I ordered one for myself too. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From that day on, if I ever need to grab a bite and am in the mood for something savoury, I pick up one of their Spinach and Feta Rolls. They are seriously good. And, I like to think that I’m getting a little extra Spinach in my diet that day.

So getting back to yesterday. When I found myself with a big basket of Ricotta cheese and a bag of Spinach I needed to use up, I decided to see if I could use the two together and come up with something delicious. After a little looking around, I found just the thing. I’ve based my rolls on a similar recipe I found online and I just switched it up to my liking. This time around, I used store bought Puff pastry. I had a packet in the freezer that I wanted to use up too. This recipe has just 2 basic components – the pastry and the filling. The filling is really easy to put together. You just mix up all the ingredients and your ready to go. The verdict – These rolls are really good. They’re not exactly like the Muffin Break ones. I am now convinced that there is some flour added to their filling, possibly to bulk it up. But these homemade rolls can give them a serious run for their money. And this time, I know for sure that there’s a heap of spinach in there. And everyone knows that Spinach with Ricotta and Feta is a match made in heaven. So let’s have a look at these Spinach Rolls, shall we?

Spinach, Feta and Ricotta Rolls

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: SnacksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Full of the goodness of spinach and two different types of cheese, these rolls are a great lunchbox snack and also work pretty well as a tea-time snack.

Ingredients

3 sheets Pampas all butter Puff pastry
200g Feta Cheese
300g Ricotta Cheese
150g Baby Spinach, finely chopped
Red Chilli Flakes, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 egg
Black sesame seeds, to sprinkle over

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Place the baking tray in the oven.
Thaw 3 sheets of puff pastry. The pastry should be soft enough to work with but still cold. If it warms up too much, it gets sticky and difficult to work with.
Crumble the feta into a bowl.
Now add the Ricotta and crumble that in as well.
Add crushed black pepper to taste.
Taste the mix and add more salt if you want. I didn’t need to add any salt at this stage.
Add the spinach and red chili flakes. Mix well.
Crack the egg into a small bowl. Whisk and keep aside.
Working with one sheet at a time, cut the sheet in half.
Spoon the mix to form a long log in the center of each half of the pastry (lengthwise).
Brush one side (along the length) of each half of the sheet with the whisked egg.
Roll the other side of pastry over the spinach into a tight log. The egg will help seal the pastry.
Cut each roll into 3 pieces. (Alternatively, you can cut the pieces into the size you’d like.)
Place the rolls on greaseproof paper, seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the pastry.
Carefully place the paper onto the heated tray.
Brush the tops of the rolls with the whisked egg (egg wash).
Crack some black pepper on the top of each roll and sprinkle some black sesame seeds on the rolls.
Bake for about 30 minutes or till golden brown in colour.

Serve hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers

This post comes with a little bit of a back story. One, that made me very sceptical about trying it out. Back in the day when we stayed over at my in-laws place for a short while, a chana dal with spinach would ever so often appear in the dinner rotation. I usually am very tolerant with food and will eat anything gratefully. So, I somehow ate what was essentially a bland mash of spinach and chana dal. Not one of my favorite food memories. Turns out this dish used to be made very well by my late mother in law, but the gang hasn’t been able to replicate or even come close to the dish she used to prepare. My husband often asked my to try it out. Between you and me, I was not very eager, after tasting the infamous mush.

Eventually I gave in to his requests and decided to try something different, something that essential had chana dal and spinach but was nothing like the original version. The resulting chana dal with spinach is really good. It packs a good amount of flavour and textures and has worked its way into my heart and my dinner rotation.

It is a simple dish and you can choose to serve it with some rotis / chapatis or as a side to your favourite meat dish.

Chana Dal with Spinach

125g Chana dal
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 green chillies, finely chopped (You can use just one if you’d like)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 fresh curry leaves
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped (You can also use baby spinach)
Salt, to taste

Wash the chana dal a couple of times in water and drain.

Soak the chana dal for about an hour. Drain the water.

Boil the chana dal in some fresh water (about 3 cups) and a tsp of salt. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Cook the dal till it has softened but still has some bite to it. You DO NOT want a mush.

Drain and reserve some of the liquids.

Heat the ghee in a large pan over medium high heat.

Add the curry leaves, garlic and cumin.

Once the cumin sputters, add the ginger, chilli and turmeric and stir to mix well.

Once the spices have turned fragrant and have mixed well (should take about a minute or so).

Add the chopped tomato and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes, till the tomato softens and breaks down a little.

Add the chopped spinach / baby spinach and stir it into the spices till it has just wilted.

Add the drained chana dal and stir through. You can add a tablespoon or 2 of the reserved liquid, if you think it is too dry.

You want the liquid to all mostly dry up. Add it one tbsp at a time. You just want enough liquid to help warm the dal through without burning. You may not need any of the liquid at all.

Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Serve hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian