Nonnax9's Blog

SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients

A quantity of good sausage mince I usually buy about a kilo
1 grated zucchini
1 grated carrot
1 grated onion
And if using a kilo of mince you need about 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
Pinch of salt and pepper

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well

Thaw out a packet of Pampas puff pastry and I use pampas because it seems to be the best one. I’ve tried them all.

Fill a piping bag with mince and squeeze a quantity down each side then roll up. Slice into whatever size you want but I make 8 from each sheet of pastry. Glaze with egg and poke a few holes in the top of each roll with a pointy knife and bake until they look done. About 20 mins in 180 oven. This will make about 100 rolls if you make 8 to a sheet.
Great for kids parties and they freeze well

Served up

These are time consuming and fiddly to both make and eat.  However I have loved them since I was a little girl so I think it is well worth it.
If I don’t write the recipe down it will die with me because no one else makes them really except Midge my sister.

This is not something any of the trendy chefs would cook or use

Fancy tearing away half the artichoke.  At $3 each

eat it all and don’t waste the outside leaves.

I always make four at a time only because they fit into my big pot snugly and don’t fall over while cooking.

Sara and Kate both love artichokes and Melinda seems to like them as well, David can’t stand them and the grandchildren won’t ever taste them.  They don’t know what they are missing.  Sara’s husband Craig can’t bear looking or smelling them for some reason. Silly Craig.

Method
and ingredients:

4 firm fresh artichokes with stems removed and washed and dried.

Several cloves of garlic chopped finely

One loaf of white bread made into breadcrumbs

2 cups of pecorino cheese

1 large bunch of fresh mint finely chopped.

Teaspoon salt.

Mix the crumbs, cheese, garlic and mint together in a large bowl.

Gently ease the leaves of the artichoke open starting on the outside and stuff crumb mixture into each leaf going around and around until you get to the very firm centre heart bit.  You probably won’t be able to get any more crumbs into there.

 And stand pot on stove and start to heat up.  Gently pour boiling water down the side of the saucepan until it comes half way up the artichoke.  Gently simmer until the leaves come away
easily and taste test that they are tender.
I find they always take ages.
About 1.5 hrs.  If they are old artichokes they will take longer

Peel the hard outer fibrous stuff of the stems and you are left with the white core.  I add this to the pot as it cooks
up to lovely and tender and tasty.

Careful serving them up.  You need two big spoons
to get them out as they do tend to fall apart. 
Serve with some of the broth they were cooked in.  Yum. 

You eat them by pulling them through your front teeth to get the tender inside of the leaf off and the stuffing is delicious

I have just made some so am off to eat them nowout 1.5 hrs

This seems to be a family favourite.  I am always asked to bring this when there is something on.  Good for the family Vegetarian (Stephanie)

• 3 tabsp of virgin olive oil
• 1 large white onion finely chopped
• 4 zucchini approx 550g unpeeled and finely sliced
• 7 eggs
• 100g grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Heat 1 tabsp of oil in a large non stick pan and add onions (23cm in diameter and rounded sides) and saute gently until soft

Add zucchinis turn frequently until they begin to wilt.  They should remain slightly crisp.

Lightly beat the eggs with a fork.

Add Cheese and fried zucchini and onion.

Mix well and add salt and pepper.

Heat remaining oil until hot but not smking.

Pour in mixture. Cook on medium heat 5 – 7 mins.  Finish under grill for a bit until set.

Turn out onto platter and serve warm or room temp with a crisp green salad

CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE

Ingredients:

½ cup flour

½ teasp white pepper

1 teasp salt

500g diced chicken breast fillets

2 tabsp olive oil

25g butter

2 leeks (white parts only)

2 cloves garlic crushed

1/3 cup wine

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup cream

1 cup defrosted peas

1-2 tabsp tarragon

¼ cup chopped parsley

Method:

Place flour, pepper and salt in a bowl and stir.  Add chicken and toss well.  Shake off any excess flour.  Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over high heat.  Add chicken pieces and stir fry until lightly browned and sealed, but not cooked all the way through.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Place leeks and garlic in the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft and wilted.  Add wine and boil for 1 minute.  Add stock and cream and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes.  Add chicken, peas and tarragon and cook for a minute longer.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Stir in parsley. Put into pie cases.

I doubled the quantity but used only 3 leeks.  It made 26 pies in the pie maker

NONNA’S  SPAGHETTI AND BROTH

Quantities for David’s family. (5children and 2 adults) This makes qute a lot.

Depending how many you are cooking for but this will feed a large family

3 large pkts of chicken stock. (Campbells is best) Get one unsalted as they are salty.

Pour into large saucepan and just bring it to the simmer.

Add a couple of chopped up tomatoes a handful of chopped parsley (I do this in my little whizzer) and a couple of sticks of celery leaves and all

In the meantime make the meatballs and prepare the chook

 1 kg of mince

2 eggs should be enough

11/2 slices of breadcrumbs

A generous amount of cheese. Probably a big cup. (Pecorino)

Salt and pepper

Mix well and roll in to balls.

Get the chook ready by cutting into pieces or just buy drum sticks.

I like to pull the skin off and cut the fat off where I can.

Gently drop the meatballs into the simmering stock and then bring back to the simmer and drop the chicken pieces into it.

Stir in a desert spoon of vegemite only because this is what mum used to do and it does make it a bit richer

You can add a cup of water along the way if you want and I usually do this when I am making a large amount I probably add a couple of cups.

When ready to eat cook up whatever quanity of pasta you think you need. Little shapes work best. When very al dente drain and then return to the pot and finish of cooking by spooning the simmering broth over the pasta.

Do not cook the pasta until you are ready to eat because it will soak up all the broth.

 Best cooked the broth the day before however if necessary use kitchen paper to skim the fat off before adding to the spaghetti

 Love

Nonna

David:  You will need 3 pkts of chicken stock probably and add extra water to it.  You will probably need 1½ k of mince for all your mob