Recipe of the Week: Spinach & Mushroom Pockets

Eventhough Thanksgiving has already come and gone for us Canucks, I certainly have lots to be especially grateful for; this past week was like early Christmas for me! Yay! (Guess I've been a very good girl!) I received 2 packages in the mail that made their way in absolute record time, given the fact I live in the boondocks. One was full of all sorts of goodies I'd ordered online that my good friend Joz forwarded to me. (Ahhh! The joys of living in Canada, eh? You'd be surprised how many outfits won't ship outside the US!) So now I'm loaded up in various raw items, including three new recipe books: Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw (Can't wait to try the 'tofu'; totally ingenious!), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw by Mark Reinfeld and Sweet Gratitude, devoted solely to Cafe Gratitude's magnificent desserts. (Good Lord! Un-be-lie-va-ble!) The other package contained Irish moss from Elaina Love; something I've been meaning to experiment with for ages! Hours of fun in the kitchen awaiting Heathy and I during her coming visit... Woo hoo! The 'to make' list is getting longer by the day! lol

In fact, it seems I've been doing more browsing for new recipes than actually preparing them. So much so that I was a bit at a loss as to what dish to feature this week. But that only lasted until I fetched out of the freezer the mini pockets Mosaica and I made during our last savory D day. The funny thing is that they came about totally unexpectedly. (Isn't it how some of the best recipes get created?) After assembling Russell James' excellent Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiches, we ended up with lots of let-over filling. Hum, what to do? As we were also planning to make the Veggie Pizza Crusts, we swiftly changed plans and used the filling for mini pockets.

All I can say is "Wow!" I'm in love with pockets!!! So many possibilities to play with and so fun to eat! Bet they would make a fantastic take-along snack too. As I'm munching on them, I have to remind myself that these are raw! lol


Spinach & Mushroom Pockets

Makes 10-12 mini pockets

Herb Crust
4 cups sprouted buckwheat
4 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup ground golden flax seeds
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp tamari or salt (to taste)
2 tsp Herbes de Provence

Process in food processor until a dough-like consistency is reached.

Form batter into small half circles on Teflex sheets, between 1/8 and 1/4 " thick.

Dehydrate for a couple of hours at 110 degrees. Flip onto mesh, dehydrate some more until dry to the touch (another hour or so). You still want the dough to be pliable so as to pinch the edges together when assembling the pockets.


Spinach & Mushroom Filling
Adapted from a recipe by Russell James

2 cups crimini or button mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice

Wash and roughly chop the mushrooms, then marinate them in the salt and lemon juice and set aside.

2 cups zucchini
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup white miso
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 medium white onion
3 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs powdered psyllium husk
1/2 tsp salt

Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.

2 cups tightly-packed spinach
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Pulse spinach, olive oil and salt in a food processor for 10 to 20 seconds until broken down.

Drain the mushrooms from earlier and transfer them to a large bowl, along with the blended courgette (zucchini) mixture, and spinach. Then also mix in the following ingredients:

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 tbs minced basil (or 1 tsp dried)

Once thoroughly mixed, pour this mixture into the bases. You'll need to slightly overfill the bases as the filling will reduce slightly in the dehydrator.

Dehydrate overnight and during the day, for anything up to 24 hours.

Remove from the dehydrator and decorate with slices of tomato and fresh basil sprigs. It's also a good idea to brush the top of the quiche with a small amount of olive oil, to make them more appealing in their appearance.

Assembly:
Spread a few tablespoons of filling on a half circle of crust.

Place other half on top and carefully pinch the edges together. (Dipping your fingers in water helps the process.)

Dehydrate the assembled pockets at 110 degrees for 8 hours or so. (I left mine overnight.)


Carmella's Notes:
~ In order to facilitate the pinching process, I usually spray a little water along the edges of each half-circle and let it sink in before getting to work.

~ You may have some filling leaking out as you pinch. That's okay; just wipe it away and make sure to close the sides well.

I served these bites of deliciousness with Creamy Lemon Herb “Noodles” posted on Julie's Raw Ambition blog and a mixed green salad with my house dressing.

Delish!