The perfect dish
The right dish for the right occasion
SLOW SUNDAYS ARE FOR herbed roast chicken with buttery croutons and silky smooth panna cotta. Eating outside means cheddar and chive scones and fresh, spring salads. Friends coming by for afternoon coffee calls for a simple blackberry yoghurt loaf or comforting ginger cake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
Home cook Julia Busuttil Nishimura always knows the right dish for the occasion, weather or time of day. She also understands the power food has to bring people together around the table, whether that’s to prepare a meal or enjoy the delicious results.
With recipes ranging from quick, flavourful meals for busy weeknights to simple indulgences for summer feasts, Around the Table perfectly matches dishes to time and place.
STUFFED FLATBREADS
These stuffed flatbreads are so simple to make and I love how versatile they are. They are inspired by the bo¨ rek and go¨ zleme I buy when I go to my weekly farmers’ market. Filled with spinach and feta or spicy lamb, with a big wedge of lemon on the side to squeeze over the top, eating them at my local market is a tradition I love to keep. Here, I offer a spinach and feta filling, but also a potato, fennel and herb one, inspired by Indian aloo paratha, which is so satisfying and hard to resist. The dough has both yoghurt and yeast in it, which makes it very fluffy and lovely to handle.
Ingredients
500g (3 1⁄3 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
7g active dried yeast
8g (1 1⁄2 tsp) sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
200g full-fat plain yoghurt
To serve: lemon wedges, dill fronds, fullfat plain yoghurt, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper
Potato, fennel & herb filling
3 dutch creampotatoes (about 500g), peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped, fronds reserved
1⁄2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds sea salt and black pepper
1 long green chilli, sliced
1 bunch of dill, all the fronds and a few stalks finely chopped
1 bunch coriander, all the leaves and a few stalks finely chopped
1 bunch of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped juice of 1 lime
Spinach & feta filling
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp cumin seeds zest of 1 lemon
1⁄2 bunch of dill, fronds picked and chopped
1⁄2 bunch of parsley, leaves picked and chopped
300g spinach leaves, roughly chopped, washed and thoroughly dried 300g Greek feta, crumbled sea salt and black pepper
Method
Place the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, yoghurt and 200 ml of warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed to begin, then increase the speed to mediumhigh speed and mix for 10-12 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl every 4-5 minutes. The dough should be shiny, elastic and coming away from the side of the bowl.
Stop the mixer and lift up the arm. Take a little piece of the dough and stretch it out between your hands. You should be able to stretch it without tearing until it’s almost transparent enough to let light in. This is called the windowpane method and it’s a good way to see if enough gluten has developed in the dough. Continue mixing and checking until you can create a ‘windowpane’ successfully.
Transfer to a well-oiled bowl and roll the dough to coat in the oil, folding the dough in on itself a few times to create a smooth surface, then cover and set aside to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
For potato, fennel & herb filling: Place the potato in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and set aside.
Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Gently fry the onion, fennel, fennel seeds and coriander seeds with a good pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, until the onion and fennel are soft. Add the chilli and cook a further minute, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl to to cool.
Add the potato and, using a fork, crush the mixture into a rough mash (some small lumps are fine). Add the herbs, reserved fennel fronds and lime juice and mix well. Season to taste.
For spinach & feta filling: Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Gently fry the onion for about 10 minutes, until soft and beginning to colour. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the garlic is soft and the cumin is fragrant. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and drizzle with some olive oil — just a tablespoon is enough. Mix the filling well, ensuring no large pieces of feta remain. Season to taste.
To assemble: Knock back the dough and turn it out on to a lightly floured work surface, then evenly divide it into eight portions. Flatten each portion with the palm of your hand into a rough disc. Spoon half a cup of your chosen filling into the centre of the dough and fold over the edges of the dough over the filling to meet the centre, pinching it to seal. Repeat with remaining portions of dough and filling.
Dust the little parcels with flour on both sides so they don’t stick to your work surface, then gently roll the parcels into rounds, about 1cm thick.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and, working with one at a time, cook the flatbreads for about 2 minutes each side, unil golden and cooked through.
Serve the flatbreads with wedges of lemon, a few dill fronds and yoghurt drizzled with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. —