Addictive Parmesan Cheese & Garlic Rolls

These mouthwatering cheese rolls are so good, I hardly had enough time to photograph them before they all disappeared from the tray without a trace. And to top that, they are easy to make you'll find yourself fighting the urge to make them every week.

While I was making them, a friend was visiting and I really wanted to spoil her a little bit, becoming a new mom and all. So while we were chatting away, the smell of baked goods was spreading around the house. Oh.. the magic begins...

My friend devoured them one by one and by the time she got to the third one said it was the perfect company for a cold glass of bear. So we opened up one and had a fantastic "after noon tea". 

They did go fast, they didn't even have enough time to cool, but I did manage to put a side a couple of these comfort magic balls for my darling husband to munch on when he got home. He said they were like little pizza rolls without the tomato sauce.... mmm... now that's a thought for next time! 

No Yeast! No Raising time! No waiting! Very fast and easy!

Let's bake!

To make the dough mix in a bowl the cottage cheese and yogurt (You can use a mixer if you want to but it's not a must). Sift flour, baking power, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix well. 

Add the flour mixture into the cottage cheese and mix well until a ball of dough forms. Work it a little bit until unified.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a generously floured surface to a 1/2 cm thick rectangle. 

Melt butter and mix with garlic, basil and a pinch of salt. We are going to use this mixture to spread over the dough, brush the baking tin, and brush the rolls once they are out of the oven, so son't use all of it on the dough. Scatter the cheese evenly and roll the dough starting from the wide edge to a long roll.

Trim the edges and cut rolled dough into 2 portions. Then cut each portion into 2 again. So we have 4 rolls. Now cut each roll into 3 portions to end up with 12 rolls.

Brush a muffin tin with some of the butter mixture (saving the last bit for later) and place the rolls, cut-side facing up.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until puffed and golden and the cheese is bubbly. 

Now all is left is to fight off all the little hands coming to see what smells soooooo good in the kitchen.

Cheese & Garlic Rolls

Great for entertaining, superb as a quick breakfast.

Makes 12 prep: 10min cook: 20min

Adapted from "My Sweets" by Chen Shoukroon

For the dough:

250 gr Cottage cheese

200 gr Plain yogurt 

350 gr Plain flour

10 gr Baking powder

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp Salt

For the Filling:

100 gr Butter

100 gr Parmesan cheese (or any other kind you like)

2 tbsp Chopped fresh Basil

4 Cloves of garlic crushed

Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200°C. 

Mix in a bowl cottage cheese and yogurt.

Sift flour, baking power, bicarbonate of soda. Add salt and mix well. 

Add the flour mixture into the cottage cheese one and mix well until a ball of dough forms. Work it a little bit until unified.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a generously floured surface to a large rectangle until 1/2 cm thick. 

Melt butter in the microwave, and mix with garlic, basil and a pinch of salt Spread half of the butter mixture onto the dough (Remember, save some for late). 

Coarsely grate cheese and scatter evenly on top of the butter.

Roll the dough into a long roll starting from the wide edge.

Using a sharp knife trim the uneven edges.

Cut the roll into 2 portions. Then cut each portion into 2 again. So we have 4 rolls. Now cut each roll into 3 portions to end up with 12 rolls.

Brush the muffin tin with some of the butter mixture (saving the last bit for later) and place each roll in a hole cut side facing up.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until rolls puffed and golden and the cheese is bubbly. 

Notes:

1. In my old oven the baking process took 20 minutes. Different ovens will have different baking times.

Happy days my friends. Happy days.

Feta Cheese & Sour Cream Boorekas

These scrumptious feta cheese filled puff triangles, are a traditional street food in Israel, my home country. The best ones will be sold out of a cart or a tiny bakery and will be accompanied by a boiled egg and pickles. Also they are a big part of any celebration and are consumed over the weekend by the kilos. They come in many shapes and fillings like potato, mushroom, and even eggplant, but the most popular ones are the feta cheese or feta cheese & spinach. They are also recognizable with other nationalities such as Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans. 

What I love about them, is that they are very quick and easy to make, suits any occasion and are versatile. I made them yesterday for a light weekend lunch accompanied with fresh vegetables and herbs. 

When it comes to pastry I'm more of a "make it yourself" kind of person, there is nothing like a home made fresh pastry. But when it's puff pastry we are talking about, it's a laborious way to make something very simple. Sure you can't argue with the beautiful crisp outcome of a thousand layers of heaven, but it can be challenging making it work and creating those gorges layers of buttered pastry. So I use good quality store bought puff pastry sheets with butter and take them out of the freezer to defrost 5 minutes before I start.

  

Cut every sheet into 4 equal squares with a sharp knife. Cut into 9 squares if you fancy, for even smaller party snacks. You will get a mountain of them.

 Mix the Feta cheese with the sour cream and black paper. Make sure the mixture is not too runny or it will be impossible to seal the triangles. Also not too dry or it won't be as pleasant to eat.

 Place a table spoon of the filling in the center of each pastry square.

Fold each square to create a triangle and press edges with fingertips to seal it properly. If the triangles are not sealed well the filling will ooze out of the pastry during baking time.

Press the edges with a fork to create a nice pattern. It's not a must but it looks nice, it take no time and it help making sure the triangles are sealed properly.

Place triangles on the prepared tray lined with parchment paper. You can place them close to each other but not touching because they do tend to stick to one another. Placing them in a square shape will save some room on the tray for baking more at a time.

Beat together egg yolk and milk for a nice wash.

Brush triangles with the egg yolk mixture.

Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, and pop into the preheated oven.

These are best straight out of the oven.

Warning! Do not blink or turn your back on them, they will be gone within seconds.

Feta & Sour Cream Boorekas

Wonderful option for a light meal or entertainment.

Makes 16 prep: 20min cook: 15min 

Ingredients: 

4 sheet       Puff pastry defrosted
1                Egg yolk
1 tbs          Milk
2 tbs          Poppy seeds or sesame seeds

For the filling:

200 gr        Feta cheese (Greek or danish style)

1/2 cup      Sour cream
A sprinkle of black pepper


Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan forced. Line a baking try with baking parchment.
Cut pastry sheets with a sharp knife into 4 equal squares.  

In a medium size bawl break the feta cheese and mash it with a fork. Mix in the sour cream and a sprinkle of black paper. 

Place a table spoon of the filling in the center of each pastry square.

Fold each square to create a triangle and press edges with fingertips to seal it properly.

Press the edges with a fork to create a nice pattern and place on the prepared tray (you might be able to fit 4 -6 at a time depending on the size of your baking tray).

Make the egg wash by beating the egg yolk and milk in a small bawl.

Brush triangles with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Pop into the oven and bake in batches for 15-20 minutes or until golden. 

When golden I like to turn them to the other side and bake for 5 more minuets to crisp them up even more.  

As I said before once they are out of the oven keep an eye on them...

Notes:
1. You can try and play a little with filling, try Ricotta instead of cream cheese or make mash potato's and use that for a filling. 
2. In my old oven it took about 15 min to bake. The baking time might change with your oven.
3. Unfortunately like any other puff pastry products its not the same the next day. 
4. Freezing in not recommended.


I would love to know what you think about my new blog, what you would love to see here and if you bake any of the recipes I put up here please share your experience with me. Looking forward to hearing from you.