Spinach and Mushroom Schlorp

'Schlorp' is a term Morgan and I use to describe a curry or stew-like concoction that (usually) has a high protein and umami ratio. It is thick enough that you eat it with a fork over rice or some other carb. Although, additional carbs are not a necessary part of enjoying schlorp! ;)

Tonight I made schlorp from the bolognese sauce leftovers.


I really wanted to use the rest of the bunch of silverbeet after reading about the high amounts of ALA in dark green leafy vegetables (our bodies can turn ALAs into omega-3s). Of course spinach is high in a lot of nutrients including: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Thiamin, Folate and Zinc. Whew!


Fry up some garlic and fresh chillies on very low heat in a little olive oil.


Add spinach, mushrooms & 1 cup of chicken stock (the last two are excellent umami flavours). Find out more about umami here


Add lentils (that's to add good vegetarian protein), leftover bolognese sauce (you can use any tomato-based sauce leftovers), 2tbsp sour cream (more umami) & 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice.


Simmer for about 10mins


Serve over brown rice with a little Parmesan cheese (more umami!).

Proscuitto, silverbeet and ricotta frittata

Ingredients

5 eggs



1 baby brown onion (I love these in the box this week. They are so fresh and sweet. They don't make your eyes weep and don't need pre-cooking)
1-2 cloves chopped garlic
1 stalk silverbeet leaves shredded
100g ricotta
2 slices proscuitto chopped
Salt to taste

Beat eggs together. Add all other ingredients. Pour into a greased oven-proof pan (I used butter). Pop into a medium oven for 15mins.


Ours was in for a little too long. But, the golden colour is gorgeous.


Serve slices next to cos lettuce, baby tomatoes with a little olive oil and balsamic dressing.

Shepherd's Stew

After enjoying lovely roast lamb last night and hot lamb sandwiches for lunch today, we thought we'd turn leftovers into a shepherd's pie, although we ended up with delicious Shepherd's stew!



Morgan removed the remaining meat off the bone and then we made fresh stock by simmering the bones in enough water to cover them. I added a roughly chopped onion, carrot, bay leaf and celery.



After 1hr I removed the bits and reduced the stock down to 4 cups and added salt and pepper. Meanwhile I made mashed potatoes with both regular and sweet potato. I used butter and a little cream and whipped them together with a whisk. I also added 2tbsp of Parmesan cheese to the mash.

I finely chopped up one red onion, 2 stalks of celery and 1 carrot and sauteed them in a little olive oil for 5 minutes.



Into the stock I added 2tbsp tomato paste, 2 tsp beef stock powder, 2tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2tbsp plain flour. Then, I added the diced lamb, new bay leaf and sauteed vegetables and cook for 10mins to reduce the liquid. Finally add shredded silverbeet and dobbed mashed potato on top.

I had too much stock and too little potato, so I just allowed a few icebergs of potato to float on the top of the 'pie' as I put it into the oven.

When I checked on the pie 20minutes later, the potato had spread around the top by itself. Neat! I added a little butter on top to help the edges gain a golden colour. Cook for a final 20mins.


Shepherd's Stew!


Sprinkled with parsley, salt and pepper. Eat with a spoon instead of a fork! :)

Calzone

Tonight we made a version of Jamie Oliver's calzone using half the dough from our pizza a week ago. It is great that dough survives being frozen. I don't know how the yeast manages it. :)


Instead of using Jamie's suggestion of 'tomato sauce', I made some using mixed heirloom tomatoes


I fried up 1 brown onion in some olive oil for 10mins and added tomatoes, 2 red chillies finely chopped, 1 stick of dried rosemary (leaves, not stalks) and 1 baby eggplant (not salted!).


I added a big knob of butter, 4 cloves of garlic, silverbeet and tomato paste.


Finally I added sliced swiss mushrooms, 1tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt & some cracked pepper and cooked slowly until the liquid mostly evaporated.


Morgan created the Calzone using shaved Parmesan and feta--we didn't have any mozzarella.


Folded over. We made two calzones. The first had a thinner crust and more filling, but fell apart a little more (pictured here). The second one was more robust (pictured below). With practice we will get the ratios right.


Into the oven on the pizza stone for 15min.


So tasty-looking.


Why go out for dinner?


Yep, it tasted as good as it looks. The pizza dough was crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. I am amazed really. The last time I ate a calzone was in NJ and it was bland and dripping in fat. What a difference this was!