Savoury Bread Cases

Its been a week since I’ve come back from Dubai and I can start to see the beginning of what will turn out to be a hot summer in Sydney. Already I find myself holding up my purse or anything else in my hand to shield out the sun when I’m walking around. But that doesn’t prevent me from being a full-time pedestrian. And that’s one of the things I love about living in Sydney- being able to walk. It’s how I get everywhere, starting from the shops to the bank and even the train station, all on foot. I must say its a lot easier to walk outside in Sydney summer it is in Dubai!

This is a really fun snack to make, something I’ve made a few times and each time I can never remember the exact recipe. However, I made it again while I was in Dubai and wrote down the ingredients and amounts I used just so I could remember how I made it. The concept is similar to making a meat pie, where you fill puff pastry with meat and bake it in a muffin tray. But here, instead of using puff pastry or dough, I used bread. I cut off all the crusts and pressed white bread into muffin tins to make little cases. Then I brushed them with a little butter and baked them in the oven until browned.

Unfortunately my bread cases don’t look so brown. I was in a hurry and didn’t leave them in the oven for long enough. So don’t worry about the white bottoms as that’s just a result of my laziness. The savoury filling is made beforehand and then spooned into the crispy cases and baked until fully heated through. Be sure to serve them hot because that’s when they taste great.

Try  and make the cups look a little neater instead of just stuffing them into a muffin tray like I did. The bread corners should be pointing up neatly. I’ve used leftover cooked chicken for the filling but you can use almost anything. Beef & corn, chicken & veges, whatever you can think of.

Here’s to hoping that my first summer here after ages will turn out to be a lot more enjoyable than they ever were back at home.

Ingredients:
1 loaf square white bread,
melted butter, for brushing
For the filling:
60 grams butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard
2 green chillies, chopped
1 cup leftover cooked chicken meat
salt & pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Using a serrated knife, cut off the crusts from the bread slices. Press the slices into greased muffin tins. Brush the bread slices with melted butter. Bake in 180 C oven for about 10 minutes or until the bread cases are golden brown.

2. Melt the butter in a pan under low heat. Add the flour and stir for about 1 minute until the smell of flour is gone. Pour in the milk, and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Simmer on low heat for a few minutes until the mixture thickens.

3. Add mustard, chicken, green chillies and seasoning to the bechamel mixture. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the bread cases and bake in 180 C oven for about 5-10 minutes until the filling is completely heated through. Serve hot.