Quajado, pronounced kwah-shah-doh, is a Sephardic Jewish dish of spinach, feta cheese, garlic, onion, Parmesan cheese and lots of dill.  Make it in a pie plate, or muffin cups for easy to wrap and pack in lunchboxes.  The flavors are Mediterranean with a moist spongy center topped with crunchy browned Parmesan cheese.  The same recipe can be made for appetizers by simply spreading the mixture over a 7X11 inch rectangular pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake as directed below and cut into fingers or squares.

If feta cheese is too salty or expensive for your tastes, substitute small curd cottage cheese, queso blanco crumbled or homemade ricotta cheese.  I used homemade queso blanco for the one shown here.  Greek seasoning, 1 tsp, can be be used in place of  pepper, dill, onion and garlic.  If using frozen spinach, thaw two 12-oz packages and squeeze dry before combining with other ingredients.  This is super easy and your family and guests will rave.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fresh spinach, washed and chopped
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (homemade)
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (queso blanco, cottage cheese or ricotta with 1 tsp salt)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh dill leaves, chopped
• 3 leaves fresh basil, 3 sprigs parsley, 3 sprigs oregano chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Butter a quiche pan, muffin pan or line a 9-inch square baking pan with kitchen parchment and set aside.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add fresh spinach, onion and garlic and stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Remove to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
3. Mix all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese,  in a large bowl and then pack into prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until browned on top and a knife comes out clean.  Cool, remove parchment paper from bottom and cut into serving pieces.
5. Serve with chicken soup and tomato salad for lunch or a light supper.  Great for Sunday brunch and lunchboxes too.

One of my favorite dishes is made with fresh pumpkin blossoms, stuffed with chicken liver paté and poached in chicken stock with butter.  I was asked to cater appetizers and desserts for the grand opening of a medical clinic in one of the villages on the main island of Tonga.  The King and Prime Minister officiated and were served this stuffed pumpkin blossom appetizer.  They sent the server back for refills and compliments to the chef.  I was elated!  Pumpkin squash is the foremost cash crop of the islands, selling tons of squash pumpkins to Japan yearly.  There is so much rejected pumpkin on island rotting in heaps after the boats are loaded that the fly-swarms become unbearable.  The Health Minister finally told everyone to bury the rotting heaps and that stopped the swarms of flies.  The Tongans feed their pigs with a lot of the rejected pumpkins and they cook pumpkins filled with coconut milk in their umu’s (underground ovens).  They also boil and mash pumpkin for babies and the elderly, and grill wedges of pumpkin along side sausages, chicken and lamb chops. 

Mea’ kai Faka Tonga, my cooking show series on local Tongan TV, had just started so I dedicated one show to pumpkin, demonstrating various ways to use pumpkins in muffins, bread, cookies, pie, stuffed with meat, and stirred fried with other veggies.   People were very appreciative and often stopped me in the market or on the street with compliments.  It was an enormously satisfying time in my life.

Preparation of blossoms:

12 male squash blossoms from zucchini, pumpkin, summer squash, acorn, etc.

Rinse carefully and trim stems to 1/8 inch from bottom of blossom.  Dry on paper towels.  Use a pastry bag or demitasse spoon to fill blossoms.

Quick Appetizers

• 3/4 cup chicken liver pate of your choice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 4 Tbsp butter

Stuff each blossom with pate.  In a sauce pan, boil stock and butter until butter melts, reduce heat to medium and poach stuffed blossoms, a few at a time (do not crowd) for 3-4 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Serve warm with garlic toast.

Variations:

• semi soft cheese with fresh herbs (goats cheese works well)
• devilled ham
• small piece of mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto

• Prosciutto Wraps – goat cheese spread on a thin slice of prosciutto with arugula and half a fig
• Melon & Prosciutto - a small slice of honeydew melon or cantaloupe wrapped in a thin slice of prosciutto
• Smorgesbröd (dainty, open faced sandwiches on buttered slices from a mini-loaf of deli bread) with frilly lettuce, smoked turkey, and basil pesto on sourdough
• Smorgesbröd of lettuce, roast beef, Havarti, horse radish, and dill pickle on pumpernickel
• Smorgesbröd of lettuce, smoked salmon, capers and onion on bagel slices with cream cheese
• Stuffed cherry tomatoes with olive tapenade and goat cheese dollop
• Mediterranean Black bean salad in endive leaves
• Platter of crudites with a blue cheese dipping sauce
• Platter of pickles – Kalamata olives, sweet cornichons, sweet & sour plums, spicy figs, dilled green beans, dilled okra, antipasto, small marinated bocaccini cheese balls, beet pickles, pickled herring and marinated octopus
• Baskets of crisp breads, crackers, and pita triangles with bowls of avocado yogurt salsa and sun-dried tomato pesto