Pita Rustica

I love country food! It's warm, welcoming and super enjoyable. This definitely is a go-to recipe every time I am in a baking mood and it's always a hit. I've heard it being called pizza rustica, rustic pie, country pie, Easter ham pie..., but the first time I had it was called pita rustica and I am choosing to stick to that name :-)

Brisket Biscuit Sliders

Oh how I love weekends!! It's always so much fun to think of a nice dinner idea, have the house smell like heaven and indulge like never before...
Well, this weekend it was time for my Brisket Biscuit Sliders!! Yep, I know... It sounds amazing :-) And the best thing is that it's super easy to put this together. I cooked my brisket in a slow cooker, but you can also do this in the oven. So, let's roll!

Stuffed Sour Cabbage Meat Rolls (Sarma)

Since winter is nearly here, I had the make the first Sarma. This is a MUST when it comes to a typical Macedonian meal on the Christmas table. There is something so comforting and enjoyable about eating Sarma. The best thing is, the longer it sits, the better it gets. So this is how the recipe goes:

Makes 28 rolls:

Ingredients:

- 1 onion, chopped
- 1cup leeks, chopped
- 700g mince (pork and beef) meat
- 150g uncooked rice
- 130g smoked bacon, finely chopped
- 30 sour cabbage leaves
- 100g shredded sour cabbage
- 2tsp smoked paprika
- 5-6tbs vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Process:

- In a skillet, add the oil, onion and leeks, turn the heat to medium and let them go until soft.
- Add the mince meat and fry until it's is cooked all the way.
- When the meat is done, take the skillet off the heat, add the uncooked rice, a little bit of salt, pepper and 1tsp paprika. Give it a good stir.
- In a big casserole dish, add a little bit of oil and place the shredded cabbage on the bottom of the pot and sprinkle a little bit of black pepper and paprika.
- Place a cabbage leaf (if the leaf is is too big, cut it into two pieces, so the roll isn't too thick) on a cutting board, spoon 1tbs of the meat mixture, place a little bit of chopped bacon on top and roll. Squeeze gently so the excess water comes out and place on top of the shredded cabbage. Keep going until all rolls are in the dish. (The following photos help with the rolling process.)

- When you are done rolling the 28 rolls, sprinkle with the leftover bacon.

- Place the last two cabbage leaves on top to cover everything.

- In the same skillet you used for the meat, add about 4 cups of water, 1tsp smoked paprika and bring it to a boil.
- When boiling, put a clean plate on top of the rolls and while holding it with one hand add the water with the other one to cover them. The plate helps for the rolls not to swim to the surface.
- Preheat your oven to 200 C degrees. Cover the casserole dish with a lid or aluminium foil and put it in the oven. After about 40min, lower it to 150 C degrees and let it slow cook for 5-6 hours or overnight.
- When done, the water will be gone and the Sarma will be delicious. Enjoy!

Boozy Bolognese

How many Bolognese Sauce recipes are out there? Thousands! Maybe even more than that. Every family probably has it's own recipe. I've made this sauce for years and I've heard advices like "use beef broth instead of wine", "use Worcestershire Sauce instead of wine", "wine is really not necessary"...

So today I figured maybe I should add some red wine to the sauce and decide by myself whether it plays a relevant role or not. And trust me, it does! It gives that deep flavour, that's so indulgent and addictive (no worries, the alcohol cooks out). So here it goes...

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 500g minced beef
- 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
- 1 generous glass red wine
- 2 cans of chopped or crushed tomatoes
- 3tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Process:

-  Place a sauce pan over a high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the beef, break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for about 4-5min.
- Add the onions, and cook for a few minutes so they soften up.
- Add the red wine and cook for 2min, so the alcohol cooks away.
- Then add the tomatoes and give it a stir.
- Partially cover the sauce pan, set the temperature to as low as it can go and let it simmer for about 2h. This allows for the flavours to "marry".
- Add your favourite pasta to it and enjoy!

Beef Cannelloni

I love cannelloni and I happened to have a few begs of bechamel sauce in the fridge so I thought I should give this a try. I like using the no pre-boil pasta because it seems like it's easier to handle. Here is what I did:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- 22 no pre-boil cannelloni tubes
- 800g minced beef
- 600g bechamel sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- cheddar and parmesan cheese to taste

Process:

- Preheat your oven to 180 C degrees.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper and mix it around so it's seasoned all over.
- Fill the cannelloni tubes with the meat.
- Spoon a little bit of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, place the cannelloni tubes and cover them with the rest of the sauce.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese, then cover with cheddar cheese.
- Cover the dish with a piece of aluminium foil and bake for 20min. Then uncover, put the heat up to 200 C degrees and bake for additional 10min.
- Let it cool for about 10min and enjoy!

Minced Beef Wellington

After watching this being made on Hell's Kitchen and some other blogs, I decided to do my own spin on the Beef Wellington.

I used filo pastry instead of puff pastry, and in my opinion this makes the meal much lighter. A quick tip, keep the pastry in the fridge till the last minute, otherwise it starts breaking when it reaches room temperature.

Ingredients:

- 500g minced beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 2 medium-sized potatos, peeled and diced
- 6 sheets of filo (phyllo) pastry, defrosted and kept in the fridge
- 2tbs fresh marjoram (any herbs would work)
- 2tbs olive oil
- 2tbs melted butter
- salt and pepper to taste

Process:

- In a skillet, pour the olive oil and throw in the onion, garlic, and potatoes and sauté until soft. Add the marjoram, salt and pepper and let it cool completely.
- When the mixture is cool add the minced beef and mix it with clean hands.
- Preheat your oven to 175 C degrees.
- Take a filo sheet, and brush the edges with melted butter. Place another sheet on top, and repeat the process until you have all 6 sheets one on top of another*.
- Put the meat mixture on the side of the filo stack and roll it like a burrito. Pinch the edges together, and brush the top and sides with the remaining of the melted butter.
- With a sharp knife cut a few slits on the top of the pastry so the heat can circulate.
- Place on a baking sheet, bake for 25-30min or until golden brown.
- Serve with salad and enjoy!

* As you see on the photo, I made two Beef Wellington rolls. Instead of using all 6 filo sheets for one, I used 3 sheets for each roll and it turned out nicely. But of course you can make one using all 6 sheets.