Wow, what a difference warm weather makes! Spring is in the air and, along with a good spring clean, it’s time to try out a few new recipes from IGA that are sure to become family favourites.
There’s a big lamb lover in my family so my eyes immediately spotted this one which ticks many boxes for me - Mini Calzones with Lamb and Devondale Shredded Mozzarella.
Pick up the ingredients at your local IGA store and hold on to your receipt as IGA will also give you the chance to win a share of $100K from their Spring into Action competition.
Entering is easy, simply buy a product from one of IGA’s supporting spring brands, hold onto your receipt and enter your details at .http://www.iga.com.au/spring
I made my calzones small enough to hold in your hand so the left overs could double as lunch box treats. Only mistake I made was not doubling the recipe! :)
The lamb mince filling was a breeze to prepare and the flavour combination of garlic, cinnamon, sweet paprika, tomato, pine nuts and currants topped with mozzarella would be a winner in a wide variety of situations. I’d like to see it in little pies – sort of a Sheppard’s pie, with the cheese just under the potato crust on top.
I used the left overs to make some delicious stuffed capsicums with the shredded mozzarella cheese sealing in the juices at the top.
If you were short of time, you could substitute the pizza dough with store bought pastry and call them pasties. Filo pastry would be another interesting variation. There are more great easy recipes at www.iga.com.au/spring
Mini Lamb Calzones with Devondale Shredded Mozzarella
Dough
300 g plain four
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
200 ml warm water
1. Sift flour into the mixer bowl, then add yeast, sugar, salt and mix. (You can still make the dough without a mixer – just knead the pastry until it is soft and elastic.)
2. Add oil and water and mix for approximately 5 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. Cover bowl with cling film and allow dough to prove in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
3. Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat lightly into a 2cm thick disc. Cut into 8 equal portions and roll each out to approximately 10 cm in diameter.
Lamb filling
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin – ground
2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
100 g pine nuts
100g currants
3 tablespoons tomato paste
300g lamb mince
200 Devondale Shredded Mozzarella
1. Preheat oven to 210 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Fry onion and garlic with spices over a medium heat until soft and fragrant.
3. Add pine nuts, currants, tomato paste and fry for a further 1-2 minutes.
4. Place cooked mixture into a bowl with raw mince, season with salt and mix well.
5. Place 2 tablespoons of the mixture evenly over one side of each calzone dough round.
6. Sprinkle generously with Devondale Shredded Mozzarella
7. Fold over and crimp edges to seal
8. Cook on baking paper until pastry is golden – approximately 20 minutes
We ate two of these each with salad and peperonata for dinner.
Kerry Heaney
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by IGA.