PASTRY

I have been looking for pastry recipes that do not use butter for some time now. Commercial pastry has disappointed often as it will include vegetable oil without specifying which type. My suspicion that “vegetable oil " was indeed palm oil was confirmed by making phone call to the manufacturer of one of those brands that has been a long time household name in Australia.

Happily not all manufacturers succumb to this failing. My local supermarket now carries Antoniou filo pastry that is a joy. It includes safflower oil.

I have included recipes here that have approach the pastry dilemma ina different way. One of the first recipes I found that fitted the bill was a fluffy dough used in steamed buns. My version has a spicy mushroom filling.

Another approach that works very well is a simple dough that combines flour hot water and oil. It is a very eastic and strong dough that can be rolled very thinly. This dough can be used as a pancake recipe as for the Eggplant rolls.

Yeast based dough has worked well for vegetable pies and spinach pies. If you havea bread machine preparation is very easy. The dough has more yeast than most bread I have cooked which makes it light and flexible. I have found that any leftover dough can also be used to make fruit or perhaps olive bread by simply rolling it out not so thinly and spreading it with the filling of your choice. Then rolling the dough like you would a roulade. Leave it to rise again before baking.

And there is a clever way to use bread in Salad Tarts.

VEGETABLE PIE

This recipe uses the yeast dough pastry.


FILLING
Quantities do not need to be exact: you can vary your ingredient to suit as well

1 stick of celery finely diced
2 carrots diced
Several cauliflower flowerets broken iot small pieces
A handful of peas.
1 onion finely diced
1 potato diced
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 teaspoon of soy sauce.
Pepper and salt to taste.

· Sauté onions celery and carrots until soft.
· Add other vegetables and stock and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until most of the moisture is absorbed.
· Divide pastry into four pieces. Two pieces will make a pie. Reserve the other pastry for another pie or bread.
· Roll out the first piece on a floured board and roll to fit a well oiled pie dish.
· Blind bake for about 10 minutes. The dough will start to harden but will be flexible enough to still bind with the top cover
· Fill with vegetable filling and cover with second piece of rolled pastry
· Glaze with egg white. Slash the top of the pie with a blade to release steam
· Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or golden brown.

SALAD TARTS

24 slices of white bread

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

250g grape tomatoes

75g kalamata olives pitted and halved

1 roasted red capsicum seeded and finely chopped

1 table spoon of capers drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
24 basil leaves.

· Preheat oven to 190 C
· Using a rolling pin, flatten bread slices on a chopping board
· Cut out 24 rounds from bread slices using a 7 cm pastry cutter
· Combine ¼ cup oil and garlic in a small bowl. grease 12 hole 5cm tart tin trays with oil mixture
· Press bread rounds into the tart tins then using the bottom of a small glass press down firmly on bread to fit into the base and corners
· Brush generously with oil mixture and bake for 20 minutes or until golden set aside and cool
· Combine tomatoes , olives roasted capsicum capers vinegar and remaining oil in a bowl and season with salt and pepper
· Just prior to serving line the bread cases with basil leaves then as a spoonful of tomatoes filling and serve,

SIMPLE PASTRY (with oil)

Pastry
This makes a very elastic pastry that can be rolled thinly
It is a light crisp pie crust.

Flour 250 gm
Boiling Water 250 ml
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
· Sift flour into a bowl and gradually add the water until you get a smooth dough.
· Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 3 minutes
· Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes
· Divide the pastry and roll as required.

BRAISED EGGPLANT ROLLS

Serves 4 to 6
PANCAKES
Flour 250 gm
Boiling Water 250 ml
Sesame seeds ½ cup
Sesame oil 2 tablespoons
· Sift flour into a bowl and gradually add the water until you get a smooth dough.
· Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 3 minutes
· Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes
· Spread sesame seed on a dinner plate
· Working on a floured surface divide the dough into n18 Pieces and roll into balls
· Rolls 2 balls out a little and brush with sesame oil
· Top with the other flattened ball then press both sides into the seeds
· Roll the double pancake out to a 15 cm diameter.
· Repeat with the remaining dough
· Heat the frying pan over medium heat and cook pancakes one at a time for 1-2 minutes until firm and just starting to colour
· Separate the two pancakes immediately and stack them ona plate and cover tightly with foil.
· Keep in a warm oven if serving immediately or refrigerate until needed( reheating in a steamer for a few minutes.
EGGPLANT.
Eggplant 1medium or 4 to 5 narrow eggplants.
Peanut oil ( or preferred oil) 2 tablespoons
Garlic 4 cloves crushed
Dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon
Oyster Sauce 1 tablespoon
Shaoxing Cooking wine or brandy 1 tablespoon
Grated ginger 2 teaspoons
Cucumber ½ seeded and cut into matchsticks
Spring onions 4 finely sliced lengthwise

· Cut the eggplant into 1.5 cm slices and cut them into 1.5 cm sticks and then into 6 cm sticks
· Heat oil in wok and cook garlic and eggplant tossing to give a good mix
· Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently until brown
· Add soy sauce , oyster sauce Shaoxing or brandy , ginger and sugar
· Cover and cook for 10 minutes
· Transfer to serving dish
· Serve with warm pancakes and dishes of cucumber and spring onion

YEAST DOUGH PASTRY

3 ½ Teaspoons of dried yeast
450 g plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
· Mix yeast in a jug with a spoonful of flour and a small amount of cold water to make a paste
· Stir in 150ml lukewarm water , and leave ina warm place for about 10 minutes.
· Sift flour and salt into a bowl.
· Make a well in the centre and add the oil and yeast mixture
· Mix together gradually adding another 150ml lukewarm water until incorporated
· Turn onto flours surface and knead for 15 minutes until shiny and elastic
· Fold into a ball and leave in lightly oiled bowl covered with cling wrap
· Leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours for the dough to double in size

Alternatively you can combine ingredients in a bread machine ( if available) and set on dough making setting

COOK'S NOTE:

This quantity of dough will make two medium pies.
A small loaf of bread
Suitable to smaller pastry recipes such as Spinach pastries:

SPINACH PASTRIES

This recipe uses the yeast dough pastry.







Filling :
A generous bunch of spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
100 g pine nuts ( 1 cup)
100 g walnuts
100 g sultanas
1 teaspoon ground sumac
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
This will make about 30 pastries.
Use the pastry recipe provided (yeast based recipe) prepare dough.

Prepare filling
· Chop the spinach leaves and squeeze dry
· Sauté onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic pine nuts and walnuts until browning
· Add spinach and cook 2 -3 minutes until wilted
· Add sumac , sultanas and lemon juice
· Check seasoning


· Pre heat oven to 190degrees C ( 375F )
· Divide pastry into four
· Roll out one part one floured board and cut into circle using a 10mm round pastry cutter.
· Fill each round with a teaspoon of filling and press pastry together to make a three sided parcel. Place on oiled baking tray
· Repeat until all the pastry and filling are used.
· Glaze with egg white
· Bake in oven for 5 minutes before reducing temp to 180 degree C and baking for a further 15 minutes.

STEAMED MUSHROOM BUNS (WITH FLUFFY DOUGH)

FLUFFY DOUGH
230 g Plain flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of cater sugar
½ teaspoon of salt or to taste
80 ml soy or rice milk
60 ml water
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
· Sift flour with baking powder and salt into a large bowl
· Add sugar and combine well
· Make a well in the centre of the flour
· Combine the oil milk and water , pour into the well and combine with the flour until all liquid is taken up and the dough is formed
· Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead for about 1 minute until elastic. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.

MUSHROOM FILLING
250 g of mushrooms
3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of Shaoshing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
1 tablespoon of hot chilli sauce
Freshly ground pepper
· Combine soy sauce, honey , Shaoshing or sherry and hot chilli sauce
· Add mushrooms and marinate for one to two hours.
· To prepare the buns divine the pastry into 24 pieces and from a 6 cam disc , using your fingers , with each
· Place a teaspoon of mushroom mix in each pastry round and gather the dough around it. Pinch together the edges and seal with a twist. Place each bun on a 4 cm square of baking paper in a steamer allowing for each bun to swell by about 2 cm.
· Steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook’s note: these buns can be easily made a day in advance. Steam again for about 5 minutes before serving.