Short and Tweet Challenge 13: Spinach and ricotta pasties or Buckwheat kugel
This week’s #shortandtweet challenge from Dan Lepard’s Short & Sweet was for Spinach and ricotta pasties pg 538 or Buckwheat onion kugel pg 539. Yet again, I’d selected these recipes with some reservations that I discovered to be shared by others (judging by various comments on Twitter or in blog posts) but, yet again, we seem to have been won round by the recipe and our enjoyment of the results. [I’ve opened with @north_19’s photograph of her kugel exploits.]
@north_19 of North_19 offers us a charming post with a dash of childhood reminiscence and useful asides on noodle making: Buckwheat kugel: it’s all in the noodle. Go, admire the grit as she refuses to be daunted by her first (unhappy) attempt at the noodles. Stay for the successful attempt, helpful notes and superb photographs.
As far as I know, everyone else opted for the Spinach and ricotta pasties, or some variation on them although several of us have kugel on their schedule (including me).
For me, one of the entertaining and slightly intimdating aspects of reading through other people’s #shortandtweet is the blend of homesteading and effort that goes into their rendition of the recipes. A while ago, I learned that several people had used their home-brewed vinegar to make the Cider Vinegar Muffins; last week, @BakerHay mentioned she’s used her husband’s homemade stem ginger for her cookies; and, this week, @CarlLegge of Carl Legge used home-prepared ingredients for pretty much everything bar growing and grinding the wheat: Nettle & brocciu pasties (yes, that does include his own whey cheese). The photograph shows said pasties with Carl’s home-canned beans (of course).
It was good to see @BakerHay’s delicious pasty and what she declares to be “Amazing aroma”.
I had a, “We’ve all been there” wry moment when reading @jerronimmissus of Jerronimissus Short and Tweet challenge pasties in “turned out ok” shocker! First of all, congratulations on conquering the oven problems and baking a successful batch of cookies. Secondly, I was tickled pink by Little E: “The dough started off a nice pinky colour and Little E got very excited that I was going to make a pink dinner. I tried to explain they wouldn’t stay pink but she still got very cross and refused to eat them once cooked as they went a lovely orange. In fact, the dough was looking very orange by the time it came to be rolled out”.
@TonyInga of Pane Artigiano enjoyed making these pasties and thought the mushrooms added a meaty texture to the spinach and the pastry was like a bread dough that worked really well. However, although for different reasons to Little E, it seems the his children weren’t too fussed on them, which leaves more pasties for appreciative adults.
Misky of Misk Cooks was pleased to report that even by her discerning standards (she’s done several #shortandtweet challenges a second time to ‘get it right’) this recipe worked for her, “Either this recipe is dead easy, or my skills are improving because I didn’t need a second go to get it right”: Dan Lepard’s Short & Tweet Challenge: Spinach Pasties. The pastry was so straightforward that the only issue was the wilting of the spinach: there’s a discussion in the comments and I’ve left several links on the same topic over at Jerronimissus’ post.
Reading through Short and Tweet: Spinach and Ricotta Pasties by @underthebluegum of Under the Blue Gum Tree, I was pleased to read: “The crust was a revelation, being not so much the pastry that one would expect to encase a pasty, but rather a bread dough that had to be kneaded and rested repeatedly”. It echoes my thoughts on this pastry because I typically consider pastry to be quite finicky and demanding in a way that I don’t have time to indulge (spare the rod, spoil the mille feuille and all that).
@lapindor of Lapin d’Or and More is another virtual member of the ‘appreciative of unfussy pastry club’: Spinach and Ricotta Pasties. ” I was initially uninspired as I am not a great fan of pastry but yeah these are made with an enrichened yeast dough rather than buttery pastry so suddenly I felt compelled to make them.” Judging by their lovely, golden colour they were well worth it.
I was pleased with our pasties despite being disappointed that I had to use frozen spinach as no fresh was readily available. I can add that variations of broccoli, cauliflower, leeks and feta cheese all work very well with this fuss-free, useful pastry that doesn’t demand molly-coddling of the sort I’m not prepared to give for a mid-week dinner.
I should also mention that several of those who’ve baked the pasties have reported that they reheat well or are good cold (and ideal for a packed lunch because it’s a good, robust pastry). Various blogs have tips about wringing out spinach distributed amongst them and are definitely worth filing away those hints for other recipes.
It’s apparent that #shortandtweet search doesn’t always show everyone’s tweets so I apologise if I missed any notifications - please let me know and I’ll update this compilation.
Next week’s challenge recipes are Lentil-stuffed flatbreads pg 73; Superwraps pg 72 or North-South cornbread pg 53: the Feb. schedule has notes on the first two of these recipes so please consult them as they may be relevant. If you blog about your experience with a recipe, please post links in the comments or tweet pictures or links to @foodcraftspace or @evidencematters using the hashtag #shortandtweet - Thank you. It’s the same procedure if you don’t blog but just post a photograph of your work. Please send the links by 8pm 5 February or as soon thereafter as practical.
Schedule for the #shortandtweet February 2012 challenge.
Outline for #shortandtweet challenge and its conditions. Thank you to everyone for taking part. I look forward to seeing next week’s breads with curries, stews or other sustaining fillings.
