After realising that I can be a bit of a frozen puff-pastry hoarder, I’ve been looking for ways to make sure we use up the packets before they are lost in the depths of our chest freezer. Sausage rolls, in the traditional sense, have been baked in abundance for this reason, and are definitely a ‘go to’ for parties and entertaining. As are my favourite savoury scrolls – which are always a great lunchbox addition.
So when I was looking for a vegetarian dish to contribute to our recent Good Friday lunch, and also a way to finish off the half pack of puff pastry I had in the freezer, these lovely little spinach and ricotta rolls came to be.
Filled with the goodness of spinach, and jazzed up with both ricotta and feta – this vegetarian take on the ol’ sausage roll proved rather delicious. And they will now feature on my ‘bring a plate’ favourites list for sure!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Servings |
rolls
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- 400 g frozen spinach thawed
- 300 g ricotta
- 100 g feta crumbled
- 1 egg lightly whisked (+ 1 extra)
- 1 lemon zested
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry just thawed
- 1 tbs sesame seeds
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 200C and line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach as you can, then place in a large bowl with the ricotta, feta, egg and lemon zest. Stir to combine, and season.
- Cut each pastry sheet in half. Place 1/4 of the spinach mixture down the long side of each sheet. Brush the opposite side with egg, and roll to enclose.
- Cut each roll into 6 pieces, and place onto the lined baking trays. Brush the tops with a little more egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
And just like that, the Summer holidays have come to a close. School uniforms have been ironed, school and day-care bags have been cleaned, and school lunches are again, inevitably, on my mind.
These were made even easier by using ready-made puff pastry. For all I had to do was top the sheets of pastry (I went with cheesy vegemite and “‘pizza”), roll them, slice and bake.
And while the kids demolished quite a few scrolls straight from the oven, the others were packaged up and placed in the freezer for a quick ‘grab and go’ addition to the lunchbox. My kids don’t mind eating the scrolls cold once thawed, however you can easily re-heat them for 10 minutes or so in the oven if you are wanting a nice after-school treat. 
I spoke a little while ago about make ahead meals. Ones that I can prepare in advance, then reheat when dinnertime arrives. Well the other advantage of these meals is that you often have leftovers too – which can be portioned and frozen for future meals.
This vegetarian chilli is packed with beans, spices and vegetables. In fact, it is so filled with flavour that you don’t miss the meat component at all. 
And while on this occasion I served the chilli with quinoa, you could easily substitute the quinoa for rice or even tortillas. The addition of fresh avocado or some natural yoghurt or sour cream would also work beautifully if you had any on hand. 
It’s minus 4 outside as I type this post, with an expected top of 10 (which we will reach after midday, if we are lucky). There is a heavy layer of frost on the grass, and ice on the cars in the street, although the sky is clear and there is no fog to be seen.
On this particular occasion I went with a pumpkin soup. But not just any pumpkin soup. This one was jazzed up with miso paste and ginger (inspired by a recipe I found in a recent Taste magazine edition). It also had a lovely creamy texture owing to the addition of coconut milk, and a little zing from fresh lime juice. 
Day 2 – Teriyaki Chicken Bowls 
Chicken, grilled with a little teriyaki marinade, served with the pre-cooked ramen noodles, carrot, grilled zucchini, greens, coriander and sesame seeds.
Just reheat and eat. Served with a toasted English muffin (also from the freezer!!), one half topped with cheese and tomato, the other topped with ham and avocado. 
Last time we crumbed them, but this time I went with something even simpler. Just defrosted and pan-fried, and topped with a marsala sauce (made simply with a good splash of marsala and cream, seasoned). Served alongside potato mash and steamed beans / zucchini.
Day 5 – Savoury Mince with roasted sweet potatoes
I defrosted the beef overnight, then reheated it gently in a frypan, before adding some store bought massaman curry sauce, zucchini and beans. Simmered until cooked through and the meat was back to its tender self. Served with brown rice, spinach and fresh coriander – and you’d never have guessed that the beef had been in the freezer only the day before!!. 
These pizzas ended up being a great way to finish off leftover veggies we had in the fridge too – zucchini, spinach, tomatoes and pineapple. All topped and ready to bake!
On the menu? Souvlaki bowls! Filled with grilled lamb (that I had marinated in lemon, garlic and oregano), pearl couscous and roasted vegetable salad and greens. Topped with some natural yoghurt and hummus and, of course, the Lebanese bread – which was perfect for dipping!