Gidget Roots - Journey Through Family Recipes - Episode 31: Spinach Rolls

 Hey there Scrappy Gidget friends! If you have been following along with the #GidgetRoots journey  you may recall Chapter/Episode 8 where we made "Not your King's Pasty". Although this is NOT that recipe, the way it is made is really similar, so if you were brave enough to try that you should be an expert!

I found it interesting that there were two different dough recipes, one for the Pasty, and another that was called "Granny M's Dough" - they are very similar but still slightly different and I wish I could speak to my 3x great grandma to ask why there are differences.  I believe either dough recipe would work. 

I will admit I was apprehensive for this dish - I have not really had many introductions or experiences with savory pastry dishes. I will admit now I feel like I am a fan - or at least am excited to experiment!

First step is the dough. We navigated away from the cookbook by using two of our own dough options. My aunts made their homemade dough, and I chose to use a refrigerated french dough (I have a really small kitchen, limited counter space, don't judge! )  :-)  Once you have the dough, you can roll it out. If you are using the refrigerated dough like I did, you will want to spread it out evenly.  After I had finished I felt that I maybe should have tried rolling it out a little thinner.

Next, you can use fresh spinach or frozen spinach that has been thawed and well drained. I used fresh spinach that was cut chiffonade while my aunts chunked out and separated some well drained frozen (thawed) spinach and spread it evenly over the dough.

Next step - time to get CHEESY!  The recipe says to "sprinkle" with either cottage cheese or Velveeta cheese that has been cut into cubes. 

Our cookbook says that my great grandmother used a little of both, so my aunts decided to go that route and used both.  

 

 

 

 AGAIN with the word choice - I am not sure how to "sprinkle" cottage cheese - if anyone figures it out let me know ha! I did not have Velveeta so I went strictly with some #OurFamily Cottage cheese and carefully spread the cheese over the spinach. 

 

Next - time to season! Again, if you have been following along, some of our family recipes are slightly missing some of that spice. Although the recipe simply said to season with salt, we decided to add a little garlic powder, along with salt and pepper - I also added some red pepper flakes because my ancestors told me to. 

 Now its time to get rolling! Roll like you would the pasty, similar to that of rolling a cinnamon roll, and set on a pan to bake in a 350 degree oven.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately our original recipe didn't provide a time.  I believe our spinach rolls cooked for quite some time (I may have to remake the recipe to get a specific time!)  Until the outside is golden brown about 25-50 minutes??? This is the downside to being behind on the story posts of experiencing the recipes - poor notes equals poorly relayed data!

 

 

 Once we thought the rolls were done it was time to cut up and serve.  I felt mine could have baked longer as the dough still seemed 'steamed' and slightly gummy on the inside. 

 

Although this was a little disappointing and did not quite meet my expectations I was truly inspired. I have so many food combo adaptations in mind for this recipe so we shall see what the future holds in that regard. What do you think? Are there any food combos you think would be fantastic to try?

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ORIGINAL RECIPES:

GRANNY M'S DOUGH

This dough recipe can be used for Pasty, Spinach Roll, and for Pumpkin Roll. 

Ingredients: 4 1/2 cups flour        2 1/4 tsp salt                 2 cups shortening

Enough warm water to make dough that can be rolled out.

Directions:

Sift the flour and salt together into a mixing bowl. You can use a spoon or 2 knives to do this. Add enough water, a little at a time, so you have a ball of dough.  Turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll out until the dough is quite thin. This will be quite large.

Spread on whichever filling you want. Roll up and place in a 350 degree oven until golden brown. Depending on the size of the roll and least an hour and a half. 

 FILLINGS FOR THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROLLS:

SPINACH ROLL:

Spread the rolled out dough with spinach. You can use fresh spinach which has been chopped or frozen spinach that has been thawed and well drained. Then sprinkle with either cottage cheese or velveeta cheese that has been cut into cubes. (Bopka - I use some of both) add salt and roll up into a roll. Place in a pan and bake in a 350 degree oven.

SWEET ROLL:

Spread rolled out dough with cottage cheese and raisins that have been softened in hot water and drained. Add 1 or 2 apples that have been peeled, cored and cut into fairly small pieces. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up into a roll and bake in a 350 degree oven.

PUMPKIN ROLL:

You can do this one of two ways. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and scrape the pumpkin meat with a spoon or you can peel the pumpkin and shred the pumpkin meat like you do potatoes for hash browns. (This is much easier for me). Spread the pumpkin on the rolled out dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up into a roll and bake in a 350 degree oven.