Greek Cheese Pastries - (I Quit Sugar - well nearly )

Got more than I bargained for when I decided to try and take sugar completely out of my diet. Massive headaches, migraines, blurred vision and nausea - but that was a long time ago. My doctor at the time told me I was too crazy; "get some fruit into your body and the pains will stop", he told me - and he was right of course.

But now there are new ways to quit sugar and I've realised that if I do it slowly and readjust some of my recipes, it may not be THAT bad. But I've got to thinking what drives us to eat such sweet meats? From what I've read it appears that once you start eating something sweet, the high you get from that tells your brain to eat more, so you get onto that vicious cycle - the more you eat, the more you want.

So I'm trying to do it bit by bit - yes I still have the occasional craving for a sweet treat and sorry Sarah Wilson I will continue to eat the odd fresh date, but I am trying to rid myself of the cakes, biscuits, ice cream, chocolate and hidden sugars in any packaged foods. I'll just have to go back to my kitchen and try out new ways of cooking without sugar or honey.  I hope you will stay with me for the journey.

So when I long for a piece of cake - I just dip into the Hummus instead! Bwahhhh!

Now these incredibly tasty pastries have no sugar, so I am happy to start with these. I've served them with a fresh Greek Salad (minus the Feta) and I think they make a delicious meal. Hope you enjoy them.

Anyone got cake recipes without sugar or honey???

GREEK CHEESE PASTRIES

Ingredients - Makes enough for 4 people

2 tablespoons of butter, melted

1 lemon, zested

1 tablespoon lemon juice

5 sheets filo pastry

200g feta cheese

250g cottage cheese

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

1 egg beaten

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbls plain flour

grated nutmeg

1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

2 tbls finely chopped coriander

Vegetable oil

Mix together feta and cottage cheese, yoghurt, egg, garlic, flour, grated nutmeg, lemon zest, juice and coriander. Keep a little coriander for serving.

Take 5 sheets of filo pastry and brush with melted butter.

Divide the mixture between the sheets of filo, spreading it on the long side of the rectangle of pastry. Leave enough at the ends to roll up, tucking in the sides.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

In a non stick fry pan heat oil and fry each pastry until nice and brown, turning over once. This will only take a few minutes. Now cut each one into 2 pieces and serve with a wedge of lemon and a sprinkling of chopped coriander.

  

Lentil, Mushroom and Brussel Sprout Strudel

My mother had no formal training as a chef yet she cooked for a large number of people for a long time. She became 'famous' locally for her steak and kidney pies, Yorkshire puddings and roast meats.

As a child we always had plenty of food on the table, vegetables my father grew; beans, peas, cabbages, potatoes and with butchers in the family even during hard times we ate well. Our neighbour handed over bruised apples from his tree and with my rhubarb (found on an old allotment and brought home for dad to plant) we ate fabulous crumbles with custard for dessert.

But my mum was a lousy vegetable cook; Over cooking was something she was accustomed to from her childhood. Carrots with a little bite were 'under done', runner beans with a 'squeak', were 'not cooked properly'. So for me to become vegetarian from a relatively young age, seemed somewhat odd.

I have memories of sprouts cooked in boiling water for ever, until they were just a load of mush and served proudly with Sunday roast and lashings of gravy. If you have similar memories then I know what you are thinking! Brussel Sprout Strudel - no way!

Although my childhood sprouts weren't OK,  I haven't been discouraged from eating them but I cook them very differently to my mum and I love experimenting with sprout recipes. My love of sprouts and lentils gave me the inspiration for this recipe. Add mushrooms and it makes perfect sense, to me anyway. 

The lentils are strong and firm and with the butteriness (if indeed that is a word) of the sprouts, they just melt in your mouth.

I am pretty sure that most people who like to cook have some recipes where the ingredients are just completely absurd. And I bet that once you tell people what's in the dish, they seem surprised that they go together so well. 

This is that kind of recipe. Don't be scared now, just give it a go and you might surprise yourself. 

  LENTIL, MUSHROOM AND BRUSSEL SPROUT STRUDEL

Serves 4 people

225g Brussel sprouts

1 x 425g can lentils

200g can/jar of roasted red peppers

125g mushrooms, chopped

1 brown onion, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

20g butter

50g Parmesan cheese finely grated

3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Filo pastry about 12 sheets

salt and pepper

20g extra butter for the filo pastry

Sauce

1 cup white wine

1 - 2 tablespoons flour

1 knob of butter

1 cup stock or a stock cube and water

Steam/ cook  Brussel sprouts until almost tender. Remove and set aside.

In a large frypan add olive oil and 20g butter and cook onions and garlic on low until they are soft and just starting to brown. This will take around 15 minutes.

Add mushrooms, brown for a few minutes then add roasted pepper. Cook uncovered, stirring often for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Chop the sprouts in half and ad these to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring and seasoning as you go.

Remove from the heat and place them in a bowl and set aside.

Using the same pan, make the sauce. Add the butter, flour to make a rue then add cup of white wine and stock and cook, stirring until the sauce thickens.

Cook the sauce for a couple of minutes then return the vegetables to the pan and mix until they are well coated. Now take them off the heat and allow to cool before making up the strudel.

Once the vegetables have cooled, it's time to make the strudel. 

Melt the extra butter in a microwave container. Take one piece of filo pastry and using a pastry brush, brush butter over the surface. Don't take too long or the pastry will dry out. Now sprinkle over a little cheese and breadcrumbs and add another layer. Repeat until you have 4 pieces of filo on top of each other.

Take half the mixture and place it in a line along the long side of the pastry, leaving a little pastry free at the ends to tuck in. Now fold the ends over the mixture and roll up like a big sausage roll.

Repeat this with 4 more sheets of filo and mixture. You should make 2 strudels out of this mixture. Lastly brush the tops of the strudels with any remaining butter. Place them on a baking tray lines with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven 190º/375º for 20 - 30 minutes until the pastry is nice and brown.

 Serve with a salad or two or your favourite vegetables and a dollop of chutney or pickle.