Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Prawn and Vegetable Strudel
Dinner tonight was supposed to be incredibly simple. I'm trying to empty the fridge again for a change in my ongoing attempt to defrost the freezer. It also seems like a good idea to use up the old stuff before my mum arrives in two days time. She likes her food (although Lofty and I are starting to doubt her understanding of it) and she loves to go shopping, two qualities that during her last visit resulted in overflowing cupboards and a packed fridge and freezer for us. I wanted to prevent such excess this time and hoped that a strikingly empty fridge might cause her to slow down in her raid of Dublin's food outlets. It didn't but that's a story for another day. Today, we are still blessed with emptiness. Apart from a few vegetables and a big load of condiments we really didn't have a lot. So, I thought, simply cook the vegetables with a dollop of cream cheese and some herbs and spices, defrost some filo pastry and wrap the whole lot up into a strudel. Unfortunately my pastry was not up to the job. Unlike the stuff I know from home, which tends to be quite dry and insubstantial, this pastry was quite moist and dough-like, which resulted in it going soft and soggy rather than crispy during the baking process. The roast tomato salsa did make the whole lot palatable, but if you are considering using Jus Roll pastry, be warned. You need very little of it, your filling should be as dry as possible (substitute the cream cheese below with crumbled goats cheese or some such thing) and it might be an idea to cook it on a paper-lined rack rather than a baking tray. If, on the other hand, you have proper strudel pastry or good quality filo pastry available, you should be fine following my recipe below. If neither is the case, use puff pastry and go for the dry option to prevent the dish from going soggy.For the strudel:
3 sheets filo pastry
melted butter, for brushing
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1kg mixed vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, zucchini, spinach and cauliflower, but as with quiche absolutely anything can be used here)
a good handful of cooked prawns
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese (alternatively cream cheese or even goats cheese)
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
½ tbsp sage leaves, chopped
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
For the roast tomato salsa:
500g cherry tomatoes
250g zebra or heritage tomatoes (ordinary tomatoes will do, but I find that the green colour of the zebra tomatoes makes the dish more interesting)
2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for the roasting tin)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tbsp fresh basil, chopped
a pinch of chilli powder
sea salt
The salsa needs a while, so start with that. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthways and place them cut-side up in a lightly oiled, shallow roasting tin. Sprinkle with salt and some black pepper and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour until they have shrivelled in size but are still slightly juicy in the centre. Remove and set aside to cool.
While the tomatoes are baking, chop the vegetables and prawns into bite-sized pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large shallow frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add the vegetables in order of their cooking times. Hard vegetables go in first, followed by softer ones that may release a lot of liquid (such as mushrooms) and finally those that don't need long to cook. Stir-fry until they are tender and have released most of their liquid. Now add the prawns and herbs, followed by the cheese. Heat through and allow most of the liquid to evaporate again. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside to cool.
When the tomatoes are cooked, increase the heat of the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Lay one of the three sheets of filo pastry out on the kitchen countertop. Brush with melted butter, place the second sheet on top and repeat, then top with the third. Place the cooled vegetable mixture onto the filo and roll up to make a sausage shape, tucking the sides in as you go. Place on a baking sheet, brush with more butter and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until the outside is well browned.
To finish the salsa, chop all tomatoes (dried and fresh) into chunks and mix with the other ingredients. Season to taste with chilli and sea salt. Serve alongside the sliced strudel.
Christine at 8:48 pm
