The kids are going to love this spring recipe, but that said, these healthy little parcels make for a lovely meal idea and a great addition to lunchboxes.
Make use of whatever veg you have growing in your productive garden or whatever is in the fridge, the combinations are endless. We used sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, mushroom, corn & spring onions.
Enjoy!!
Ingredients.
1 tbs olive oil.
1 cup chopped bacon. (5 Rashers)
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
1/3 cup of finely chopped parsley. Or herbs of your choice!
6 cups of mixed vegetables – diced.
25g butter.
1 tbs plain flour.
185ml (3/4 cup) milk.
25g (1/3 cup) grated cheddar cheese.
1 egg lightly whisked.
4-5 sheets of frozen puff pastry, partially thawed.
2 tbs of sesame seeds.
Salt & Pepper to taste.
Method.
Step 1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook your bacon or other chosen meat adding the onion or shallots along with the garlic. Once to your liking set aside in a large bowl. Add the hard vegetables (carrot, potato, pumpkin etc) to the saucepan and saute. Once tender, add the other vegetables & the herbs. Saute them for another 5 min stirring regularly & then remove from the heat & add to the meat along with some S & P. Combine thoroughly and leave to cool.
Step 2. Remove pastry sheets from the freezer, separate and set aside to thaw.
Step 3. Preheat the oven to 200C fan forced. Line 3 baking trays with baking paper.
Step 4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the flour and stir for 1-2min to cook off the flour. Gradually add the milk, whisking
constantly until smooth. Stir for 5 min over a medium heat until the mixture thickens, stir in the cheese and once the cheese has melted, add to the vegetable and bacon
mixture. Stir to combine and leave to cool.
Step 5. Cut each pastry sheet into four equal squares. Place around 1/4 cup of the veggie/meat mixture into the centre of each square. Fold the corners of the pastry towards the centre & pinch to seal the filling in. Place the parcels on the trays ensuring there is plenty of room between them. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 25 min or until they are golden and cooked through.
(This will depend on how cool your filling is.)
Be creative and make different shaped parcels, the kids will love them in their lunchboxes!
Want to learn how to grow your own veggies?
Start today with our Vegetable Garden eBooklet and you’ll be harvesting before you know it!