Tuna, red pepper and sweet potato pie

Recently I spent a few days in Torquay and was pressed into service to cook a fish pie. So when I returned to Melbourne fish and pies were on my mind. What was at the shops? Fresh tuna, sweet potato and red pepper! Yum yum!! And there it was.

Ingredients 

350 gr tuna

Half red pepper

Half sweet potato 

1 clove garlic

1 tsp crushed ginger

1 tsp Sambal oelek 

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Poppy seed

Mode

Preheat oven to 180c

Remove pastry to thaw

Chop sweet potato and microwave for 5 minutes

Roughly chop red pepper

Place one sheet of pastry on base of square baking dish

Add tuna

Place red pepper and sweet potato around the tuna

Crush ginger and garlic and add to the pie contents

Add Sambal oelek

Place second sheet of puff pastry on pie

Press to seal

Sprinkle poppyseeds 

Place in 180c oven for 45 minutes

Σεσκουλόπιττα

This afternoon I was coming home from the cinema with my friend, Dina. She asked me what I was thinking of having for dinner. I quickly replied « spanakopitta ». You are going to start it this late she asked? No, I had already steamed the vegetables I said and it isn’t actually spanakopitta, I am making it with silverbeet. And not using phyllo. And I’m using garlic and chilli and ginger. And thanks for reminding me about the spring onions: I’ll have to cook the vegetables a bit more.

So this is my little experiment for you, Dina! 

Ingredients

Half bunch silverbeet (including stalks)

2 spring onions

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp Sambal oelek

1 tsp crushed ginger

50 gr fetta

2 tbs grated Parmesan

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Poppyseeds 

Mode

Place a steamer on the stove and bring water to the boil

Remove pastry from freezer to thaw

Turn on oven to preheat to 180c

Meanwhile roughly chop half a bunch of silverbeet including white stalks

Add to steamer

Chop spring onions and add to steamer

Crush garlic and ginger add to steamer

Steam until vegetables tender

Place one sheet of pastry in the bottom of a square oven dish

Spoon the vegetables onto the pastry

Crumble the fetta on top

Grate the Parmesan on top to taste

Place the second sheet of pastry over the vegetables and cheese

Fold the two sheets of pastry together and press to seal

Sprinkle poppyseed on top

Cook in 180c oven for 45 minutes

Pork and coriander meatballs

On 2 January I attended the funeral of Peter Smyth, the brother of my friend Trish. The speeches made so many mentions of meatballs and red wine that I returned home wanting to make meatballs and drink red wine. I did neither that evening.

But today I want to dedicate this post to Peter Smyth. I have no idea what his famous meatballs were like but am sure that with my love of meatballs of all types that I would have enjoyed them. 

My meatballs are made from pork and coriander as the key ingredients with fusion ingredients of ginger and chilli matched with olive oil and tomato-based sauce and pasta. You can cook them separately and serve with stirfry vegetables with rice or noodles or as I did yesterday in a tomato-based sauce with pasta.  Enjoy!! 

Ingredients 

500 gr minced pork

1 spring onion

2 handfuls chopped coriander

2 tablespoons crushed ginger

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce

Olive oil

500 gr ready made tomato based pasta sauce

Water

Mode 

Place minced pork in bowl

Chop spring onion and coriander and add

Add sweet chilli sauce

Crush ginger and garlic and add

Meanwhile place tomato sauce in pan or saucepan to heat with cup of water

With hands form the meatball mixture 

Heat olive oil in a frying pan

Add meatballs and fry to seal

Add to pan with tomato sauce

Simmer for about 30 minutes until cooked

Serve with rice or pasta