This week I am doing one of my favourites that my mother in law used to spoil us with. Malka Yemini may her memory be blessed was a renowned cook with many feathers in her culinary cap, part Yemenite part Sephardi she had a well-stocked and colourful larder.
Bougatchia which means ‘Drunkard’ in Ladino is a rich philo pastry delicacy filled with spinach and cheeses, it can be eaten by hand like a boureka out of a brown paper bag or baked in béchamel and eaten with a knife and fork from a plate. Claudia Roden in her gastronomic ‘The History of Jewish food’ encompassing, European, Middle Eastern and Asian Jewish cooking explains that the term Bougatchia or ‘Drunkard’ comes from the soaking of the pastry in milk before baking.
I am going to call my Bougatchia ‘legless’ as I use puff pastry so infused with Butter it literally melts in your mouth and has no need for soaking in milk.
Bougatchia filled with Spinach and Feta cheese.
In the previous column I wrote on Napoleon Cake there is a good recipe and method for a decent puff pastry that can be used for making the Bougatchia.
These days of course you can purchase ready-made puff pastry at any supermarket (I mean who has the time anymore!), so anyone can make themselves a tasty Bougatchia for lunch or supper.
Bougatchia (makes 6 to 8 portions)
Ingredients:
- Butter Puff Pastry x 400 gram
- Silver Beet x two good bunches
- Medium Red Onion x 1
- Garlic clove x 2
- Ground Black pepper x 1/4 teaspoon
- Feta Cheese x 200 gram
- Kashkaval Cheese x 100 gram
- Egg x 1 for egg wash
- Flour for Dusting
Method:
Wash and dry fresh silverbeet, remove hard central stems, cut green leaves into centimetre wide strips. Cut red onion in thin strips, separating pieces, dice finely garlic clove. All of this into a mixing bowl, grate kashkaval and crumble Feta, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground Black pepper and mix all together. Set aside.
Dust the work surface with flour, place puff pastry on dusted work surface, dust top with flour and gently roll out puff pastry until it is 3 mm in thickness and rectangular in shape, all the time making sure the dough is well dusted with flour on both sides.
Cut the rolled out puff pastry into 10-12 cm wide strips, place the silverbeet filling along the edge closest to you, brush the further edge with egg mixture, roll as tight as you can and leave the join underneath, bend into circle, pressing the two edges together, brush the rest of the visible dough with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds or leave plain. Place on baking paper on tray, with join underneath, preheat oven to 210 Centigrade and bake for 10 minutes, drop the temperature to 190 Centigrade and bake for another 10 minutes or until nicely browned,
Remove to cool a little and eat while still warm with a nice fresh salad. Freezes well for those quick meals when you really don’t have any time.
Next week homemade ice cream. I know New Zealand has brass monkey weather down there right now, up here in Jerusalem we have had a string of mid-thirty degree days and ice cream is a nice non-alcoholic way to cool off.
NB.
No need to waste your money on Ben and Jerries when you can cook your own in the blink of an eye, tastier, cheaper and sans politics in your ice cream.
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