Category Archives: Lunch

Shortcrust Pastry (Savoury) – Beef and Vegetable Parcels

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Makes 6

Pastry:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 ¾ cups plain flour
  • 125g butter straight from the fridge
  • 2 tsp cold water

Filling:

  • 200g beef mince
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 medium potato
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • A dash of Garam Masala
  • A little milk
  1. Pastry: Chop butter into squares and place in a food processor with flour. Process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water and continue processing until mixture comes together. Knead for a short time until dough is cohesive and smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  2. Filling: heat olive oil, beef mince and onion in a fry pan on high; continue until beef is cooked though. Mix through remaining ingredients. Cover and continue cooking on low heat for ten minutes.
  3. Assembly: Preheat oven to 200 degrees C and line a biscuit tray with greaseproof paper. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a plate or bowl to cut out circles approximately 15cm in diameter. Place a small mound of filling down the centre of the circle. Fold sides of circle up to meet each other and press together. Brush top with a little milk. Place on biscuit tray and bake for 30 mins.
  4. Note: Although you will need to collect the remnants of dough and roll out again, aim to do so as few times as possible, as overworking the dough makes it difficult to work with.

Savoury Muffins

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A delicious lunch box treat or perfect for a picnic … as well as something to use up the left-over ham after Christmas.

  • 1 egg
  • 80g butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • 100g feta cheese
  • 100g diced ham
  • 1/3 cup semi-dried tomatoes
  • 1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1/3 cup shredded cheese
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 12-hole muffin tray.
  2. Melt butter in a pyrex jug. Add milk and egg and whisk to combine.
  3. Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the butter, milk and egg mixture into the well and stir until almost combined.
  4. Finely chop the semi-dried tomatoes and crumble the fetta cheese. Add the semi-dried tomatoes, fetta, ham and rosemary leaves to the dough, folding through until the mixture just comes together.
  5. Distribute the mixture evenly among the holes in the muffin tray and top with a little shredded cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on a wire rack. Most delicious served warm with butter.

Macaroni Lunch Slice

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This recipe is perfectly suited to using up left-over vegetables after a roast or barbeque, lending itself well to chargrilled capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. Add sundried tomatoes or olives for more intense flavours. When I don’t have left-over veggies, I tend to use a jar of char-grilled marinated vegetables, which goes like a treat! Macaroni lunch slice packs well for mid-week lunches or a weekend picnic.

  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup macaroni (uncooked)
  • 1 cup (250g tub) cottage cheese
  • ½ cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 1 cup cooked vegetables
  • 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
  • 2/3 cup shredded tasty cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin.
  2. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for ten minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.
  3. Add the parsley, cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables and herbs to the pasta and combine. Season to taste.
  4. Press into the baking tin, using the back of a spoon to smooth over the top. Spread shredded cheese over top.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for a while in the pan before removing and cutting into squares. Serve warm or cold.