Confit Capsicum

I’m fascinated by all the different, yet often, interchangeable terms in cooking. I’m also compelled, when writing, to honour Mrs Alexander’s pedantry words to always use synonyms in our writing to add colour and movement to the language. She was my Year 11 and 12 English teacher and perhaps the one teacher who’s words and lessons I remember most. She had a way of loving, nurturing and inspiring her students all at once and they returned that love and ardour tenfold, many of her greatest yet at the time seemingly small lessons still impact me today.

So it is with naming this dish. It reminds me of the zucchini dish of a few weeks ago, cooked low and slow, with few ingredients gently coaxing the natural flavours out like a rose emerging in spring releasing it’s sweet heady fragrance in morning sunshine. Not quite a braise, favouring low temperatures without caramelising nor a stew , the brightly coloured globes bathed in glistening flavoursome olive oil rather than a salty stock. It’s most definitely a confit, though not with the rich gamey flavour of duck that first comes to mind when you think of confit. It seems this method of gently enveloping the ingredients in warmed oil and letting the dish murmur on the stove for a while, rather than sizzle, extends beyond that which it’s more recently become famous for.

As it’s listed below, confit of capsicum will be a nice side for 4-6 alongside some other sides or 2-3 as a main with some protein padding. I like to serve it atop a grilled chicken breast with rice pilaf though I ate some of this with some canned chickpeas for a quick lunch. Topped with a poached egg next to some grilled sourdough for breakfast or an easy end of the week dinner on the couch goes well too.

Ingredients:

¼ C Extra virgin olive oil

3 Eschalots peeled and sliced

3 Garlic cloves peeled and squashed lightly

1 heaped tsp washed salted capers

1 Tbs tomato paste

3 Capsicums various colours, deseeded and chopped in large dice, roughly 2cm square’ish

1 long red chilli pierced with a fork a few times

1 small zucchini finely diced

1 tsp raw or white sugar

1 Tb White balsamic or white wine vinegar

*Basil shreds or whole fresh oregano leaves to serve

Method:

On a low heat in a medium sized shallow pan gently warm the olive oil. Add the eschalots and stir constantly for a minute or two while they settle in to prevent browning. They’ll quieten down to a gently hum and can sit gently like that needing a stir only every few minutes. Cook like this for five minutes then add garlic and capers to the pan, Stir to coat in the oil and allow to lightly cook for another five minutes. Pop the tomato paste in the pan and stir to combine, it won’t amalgamate completely but don’t worry it will sort itself out later. After a couple minutes stirring, tumble in the remaining ingredients mixing everything thoroughly. Cover with a lid, preferably glass so you can keep your eye on it, and gently simmer on a very low heat (I like to use a jet smaller than pan) for 40 minutes stirring occasionally. Season with salt flakes to taste and sprinkle with shredded basil or whole oregano leaves to serve.

Corn and Potato Chowder

Do you still have your wisdom teeth? We’re a family with none now. Our youngest had his removed last Friday. As a parent it was a strange experience stepping through the doors of the very same, very small suburban hospital in which mine were extracted 33 years ago, albeit with a different surgeon thankfully. Day surgery in covid times is very different from what we’re used to, forcing a brief check in and more perfunctory goodbyes. These days a wisdom teeth patient is returned home hours after their surgery where parents don their Florence Nightingale persona and care for the ‘patient.’ Part of this was catering for the long list of eating do’s and don’ts. Lots of soft food, very little texture, acid and colour. It’s been a stretch. I peeked early with Sophie Hansen’s Winter Sun Soup from her book In Good Company, full of flavour, ginger, garlic and turmeric for healing. From there it went downhill quickly, the menu featuring such sterling culinary offerings as overcooked pasta, eggs for days and fluffy white sliced bread. Then I remembered this old favourite. Thankfully the weather is cool in the evenings here now as the seasons turn. Likewise in the northern hemisphere with cold weather lingering you too may be nursing a ‘patient’ in need of something to fill a belly and heart with a big warm bowl of the best comfort there is…soup.

Potato and Corn Chowder is a bowl of goodness to nourish the body and soul. It’s all those comfort flavours, starchy filling potato, smooth rich cream and sweet corn. It’s delicious served with warm crusty bread, hot buttered toast or just a sprinkle of a flavourful cheese like parmesan or gruyere. I like a dollop of sour cream on top because there’s never enough creaminess and a sprinkle of bacon at the end adds a little hit of texture and saltiness.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

3 rashers (approx. 150gm) of bacon chopped

1 leek white part chopped

1 garlic clove finely choppe

1 celery stick finely diced

25 gm butter

1 TB plain flour

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 cups diced peeled potatoes (roughly 2cm dice)

Generous pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

1 tsp of chopped fresh thyme

1 Ltr chicken or vegetable stock

2/3 C thickened/pouring cream.

METHOD:

In a large heavy based saucepan warm olive oil on medium heat and fry off bacon pieces until almost crispy on edges, it will keep cooking off the heat. Remove bacon with slotted spoon keeping oil and juices from bacon in pan. Turn heat down to low and gently sauté leek for five minutes stirring frequently to prevent browning. Add corn, celery, garlic, thyme and nutmeg and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add butter, melt and stir through vegies to coat. Sprinkle in flour and stir to combine thoroughly and cook off flour for a couple minutes. Pour in a small amount of stock whisking to combine with the vegies and roux ensuring there’s no floury lumps. Tip in potatoes and remaining stock stirring gently to combine. Bring to a simmer still over medium to low heat. The liquid should reduce and thicken to a consistency of a soup that’s simmered for hours. Simmer for 40 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom but go gently to keep the potatoes in shape. When ready to serve, stir through cream, and stir lightly to combine but still carefully for those little spud cubes.

Serve with a sprinkling of the bacon and top with a dollop of sour cream and or grated cheese such as parmesan or gruyere.

Scones, Jam and Cream

A couple of weeks ago I was reading a NY Times food article written by Krysten Chambrot on scones. I reached out to her on Instagram having a chat about the difference between the anglo version and north American one. Only a week later Lindsay Cameron Wilson‘s always wonderful newsletter told the story of a swirly delicsous bundt cake which used a cup of 7Up in the ingredients. Another online conversation ensued where I shared with Lindsay my favourite recipe for scones. A food nerd like myself, and perhaps intrigued by using the 7 Up in a different context, she suggested she’d try the recipe for post ski race snacks for her son.

Food is often a bridge between cultures, one that spans sometimes great divides. Something as seemingly simple as a scone sparked conversations between oceans and highlighted the evolution of a simple recipe to something quite different and enjoyed differently. Little conversations like this really are like small exercises in anthropology and a study in different interpretations of the same thing, interestingly in this case, in two English speaking countries both with British ancestry. Perhaps as I’ve alluded to before food really is the common ‘currency’ of humanity.

This scone is made with what Australians call lemonade. In north America this drink is called 7Up or Sprite using its commercial name. I’m not sure why we use the generic term of lemonade but when you hear an Aussie use that term they’re most likely not referring to the drink traditional made with lemon, sugar and water and no fizz. This recipe is used by Australia’s famed Country Women’s Association for their large-scale catering in times of crisis and country shows (a fair for international readers). They’re fast and easy and always reliable. Just like the jam recipe I’m sharing with you. You don’t need to be an export to make this jam just remember it’s a little like chemistry and require a little loyalty to the recipe, don’t go rogue and experiment if you’ve never made jam before. Also fast it does however require your full attention and is a lovely opportunity to switch off from the world for a little while and just concentrate on the sweet alchemy of deeply coloured, fragrant fruit bubbling away on the stove.

***Note: As mentioned above when I refer to lemonade I’m referring to the clear canned fizzy soft drink commercially known with such popular brands as 7Up and Sprite.

Ingredients:

Scones:

3 c self raising flour

¼ salt flakes

1 c lemonade/7Up/Sprite

1 c cream (thickened or thick pouring cream for whipping)

Jam:

200 gm blueberries

200 gm raspberries

100 gm blackberries halved crossways if they’re large

100 gm rhubarb sliced

1 vanilla bean halved and scraped seed pod reserved

Peel of an orange peeled using a veg peeler or pairing knife(preferably blood orange if available)

2 tb fresh orange juice from the orange

1 tb lemon juice

200 gm white sugar

Cream to serve whipped with vanilla and icing/powdered sugar.

Method:

Preheat oven to 220c without a fan if possible 200 c if using fan forced.

Measure flour and salt in a large bowl mixing lightly with a balloon whisk to lighten and break up any clumping. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cream then the ‘lemonade’ over the top. Gently fold together until all the moisture is only just absorbed. Using floured hands gently bring together until starting to look resemble a dough and turn out onto a floured surface. With a light touch softly knead with a few turn to smoot out the surface. Pat down rather than roll to flatten to no less than 2 cms thick. Using a 6 cm cutter cut rounds placing on a baking tray/sheet. I like to place them ½ cm apart so they kudge up against each other as they expand and rise. This makes a bakers dozen. Brush with full cream/whole milk and bake for 12-15 minutes. They should have doubled in height and have a lovely burnished golden brown top.

Fast Chocolate Cake

As she reversed out of the driveway waving, concern etched on her face, I worked hard to maintain my poorly palour waving a reassuring hand back to her. Once the car was gone and I was sure I was alone I turned and walked to the fridge, retrieved my prize and turned on the television. The year was 1984, I was 13 and the LA Olympics were the first to be broadcast to the extent that the Hollywood games were. I’d pulled it off, I’d convinced my mum I was too sick for school and should definitely stay home for the day for the first time on my own and I’d managed to avoid a day of that teen angst and uncertainty of the firwst year of high school, which I wasn’t loving. Chocolate cake on the coffee table, Olympics on the screen, I was set. Now I’m not promoting the great aussie ‘sicky’ (that’s a fake sick day at home for overseas readers) nor am I promoting the health ‘benefits’ of a sedentary day on the couch with chocolate cake. What I am suggesting is that sometimes a slice of chocolate cake is the greatest comfort food and the greatest escape. Not too sweet, chocolatey, a little squishy, crumbly on the palate, the perfect salve on days when a little bit of comfort food is the only answer.

All that said there’s nothing worse than needing to satisfy that yearning but being short on time and motivation. Now if you guys have made my Chai Cake you’ll know I love a melt and mix for a quick fix and this one is no different. In the oven 15 minutes after the urge hits, she’ll be out of the oven by the time you’ve finished cleaning up. A bit of time to cool, crowned in oozy chocolate icing and you’re good. Don’t forget cream, no cake is complete without a good dollop.

Ingredients:

150gm butter melted and cooled

50 gm dark chocolate melted and cooled ( do this in the microwave, work smarter not harder)

1 ½ c self raising flour

100 gm caster sugar

100 gm brown sugar

½ tsp baking powder

¼ cocoa powder (the unsweetened variety)

2/3 c buttermilk ( or full cream milk with a 1 tsp lemon juice left to stand for 5 mins before using)

2 eggs at room temperature beaten

1 tsp of vanilla

Pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 c. Line and grease a 20cm round springform cake tin.

Melt butter and chocolate separately and leave to cool while you assemble all the other ingredients.

Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and stir with a balloon whisk to combine thoroughly, break up any lumps and add a little lightness. You can sift them all together if you less lazy than me if you wish but it doesn’t make a huge difference.

Pour over all the wet ingredients and begin mixing in a stand mixer on low to bring everything together then increase to high speed for 30 second- 1 minute or until everything is just combined.

Spoon into prepared baking tin, smooth over top lightly and bang on the bench a couple times to move any big air bubbles.

Bake 50 minutes or until the old skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool in tin placed on a wire rack 15 mins then remove from time cooling right side up on rack until completely cooled.

Top with icing and tuck in.

Icing:

1 ½ c icing sugar

2 tb cocoa (dutch process please)

100 gm soft butter

1-2 tb milk

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and 1 tb milk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine on slow until it’s all wet enough( you may need some or all of that second Tb of milk for this) to not leave you in a cloud of icing sugar when you increase speed. Increase too high and mix until light and fluffy. We’re aiming for something resembling chocolate butter cream though lighter in texture, silky and indulgent.

Zucchini Confit with Charred Lemon and Chilli.

Last year was our first year without a child in school and therefore tied to school holiday periods for holidays. With dear friends and treasured traveling companions our little late summer holiday tradition began. Touring rural roads stopping at farm gates for supplies our camp cook ups are often driven by seasonal produce. Last year while camped on a north Tasmanian beach with a haul of local goodies I pulled together an idea that became the seed of today’s recipe. You can read about it here. As with many at this time of year gardens are overflowing with a glut of late season summer veg. At a recent farmers market my favourite market gardener threw handfuls of zucchini into my basket all but begging me to take them off his hands. I was tempted to try Stanley Tucci’s much lauded zucchini pasta recipe but instead was drawn to rework my olive oil braised zucchini recipe and gosh am I a happy zucc lover.

Ingredients:

¼ c extra virgin olive oil

3 (500gm) zucchinis halved lengthwise and sliced on the diagonal about 1cm thick.

1 garlic clove peeled and thinly sliced

2 french shallots peeled and thinly sliced

Red chilli thinly sliced to taste. I like to deseed to control the heat and have used one whole long chilli here but you do you.

1 tb butter

Half a whole lemon

Method:

In a heavy based fry pan large enough to hold all the zucchini gently warm the olive oil over a low heat. Add the shallots and cook gently stirring frequently until translucent and soft, around 5 minutes. Avoid allowing the shallot to colour as we’ll caramelise it later and don’t want to do that now or it will burn later. Add garlic and chilli and cook for three minutes to soften again avoiding colour.

Add zucchini and stir frequently cooking for 5 minutes stirring often to keep the shallots and garlic moving. Once the edges of the zucchini start to colour and caramelise add the halved lemon flesh side down to the centre of the pan and increase heat to medium. We’re trying to caramelise the lemon flesh to release the tang and gently flavour the dish without a harsh sharp citrus flavour. Keep the zucchini moving around the lemon for 3-5 mins. Once the lemon flesh has began to brown add the butter and still constantly to incorporate everything keeping that lemon flesh side down (now I’m sounding like a nag but stay with me). At this point the zucchini will have softened and taken on a darker almost translucent colour, the shallots will have caramelised almost crisping up slightly. Cook for a further few minutes to gently begin to brown the butter and finish the dish nicely.

Notes and suggestions:

* Sprinkle lightly toasted pine nuts over the finished dish for some crunch.

* I served this alongside my White Bean Dip. It will sit happily on a bed of humus, yoghurt or labne. Goats cheese is also delicious dotted on top.

* You could stir through pasta for a lovely vegetarian dinner.

* While this is a very versatile dish it’s a particularly lovely accompaniment to Lamb Shoulder.

White Bean Dip

Combine the following in a blender and blend to your preferred consistency. Mine is a little textured here but sometimes I go a little further and make it much smoother. You may need to stop blending a couple times and scrape down.

1 lightly drained can of white beans, (any kind of white beans will be fine)

1 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 Tb lemon juice

Finely grated rind of a lemon

2-3 Tbs water (this will help loosen it and help it move through the blender more efficiently)

1 garlic clove peeled

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp salt flakes

½ tsp tahini

* Sprinkle lightly toasted pine nuts over the finished dish for some crunch.

* I served this alongside my White Bean Dip. It will sit happily on a bed of humus, yoghurt or labne. Goats cheese is also delicious dotted on top.

* You could stir through pasta for a lovely vegetarian dinner.

* While this is a very versatile dish it’s a particularly lovely accompaniment to Lamb Shoulder.

Porcupine Meatball Curry

There’s a lot to love about camping holidays, particularly at the moment. Long days in the sun, swimming, exploring and generally relaxing. Reading books at leisure in the shade of towering old gum trees while the waters of a river or creek gentle bubble by, no chores to draw you away or distract your mind and hands. All this vacation utopia until the tummy rumbles, the one task that follows you everywhere. Now don’t get me wrong I actually enjoy the challenge of a campfire cook and creatively throwing together what’s in the camping fridge but I also enjoy the break and have employed the greatest camping hack ever!! In the week or so leading up to a trip I have a bit of a cook up and vacuum pack meals. Portioned in just the right amount and sealed up for easy and safe packing in the fridge, dinner becomes as complicated as choosing and warming up.

In doing my pre-holiday cook this time around, I tried to think of something new using some old ideas. If you grew up in Australia there’s a whole lot about this recipe that will be familiar. The alchemy of three ideas into one my Porcupine Curry is pretty easy, healthy and can be turned up or down for little palettes or older ones.

PS: This holds almost no semblance to anything evenly remotely authentic but if you love a curry you’ll most likely still enjoy it.

NB: I promise no porcupines were harmed in the making of this dish. 

Ingredients:

1 kg Mince Beef (Any minced/ground meat will work though)

1/3 c uncooked rice

2 tsps grated ginger

2 tsps grated garlic

1 heaped tsp curry powder

1 ½ tsp salt flakes

2 tbs ghee

1 onion sliced

1 c beef stock

2 Tbs Indian style curry paste

1 700gm bottle tomato passata/sauce (the Italian style)

100 gm frozen spinach (vegies sorted)

1 Tb peanut butter

Method:

Combine meat, uncooked rice, ½ the ginger and garlic, curry powder and salt flakes in a bowl. Work with your hands to thoroughly combine. Doing this well, squeezing the mixture through your hands activates the proteins making it sticky enough to amalgamate without additional ingredients like egg and breadcrumbs. Form into balls the size of golf balls or small passionfruit and pop in the fridge on a plate in a single layer to firm up while you make the sauce, we’re not going to brown them.

Heat a fry pan big enough to hold all the meatballs in a single layer over medium heat. Melt/heat ghee until beginning to bubble. Add onion and fry gently over low heat until soft, moving around occasionally to prevent browning, around 5 minutes. Add remaining garlic and ginger and fry 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Turn heat up to medium-high and add curry paste and fry off until also fragrant, 3’ish minutes. Add tomato passata and frozen and spinach, stir to combine until spinach is broken up. Allow sauce to simmer after this for 5 minutes until it’s gently bubbling. Stir in peanut butter until thoroughly broken up and combined. Turn heat down to a gentle simmer and gently return meatballs to the pan in a single layer. Gently spoon sauce over balls to ensure they’re all coated in sauce, cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. This is when the meatballs will start to cook and firm up allowing you to be able to stir later. After 15 minutes remove lid and allow to simmer for a further 45 minutes. This is when the magic happens and the balls will grow little porcupine spikes as the rice cooks in the moisture. Some rice grains will escape and float in the sauce, this is totally fine and delicious. Serve with additional rice and yoghurt and other yummy Indian style accoutrements.

Notes:

If you want to turn the volume down on the spice try using a milder style curry paste before you add less paste to maintain the delicious curry flavour and balance. I’ve used a korma paste in the photo but it’s fine with all styles. The curry powder in the balls doesn’t really add to the heat so start with the paste if you want a milder dish.

If you’re using minced/ground chicken go gently placing the balls in the sauce as it’s a much wetter product. Resist the urge to add an absorbing ingredient like breadcrumbs as this will absorb the sauce and affect the rice cooking well.

Brown Sugar and Streusel Muffins

Earlier this week, as I moved through the early morning, I heard the sweet sounds of excited little voices returning to school. Our house borders a popular walking track that leads to a much loved local primary school who welcomed back hundreds of excited little students returning to what will hopefully be a more settled and familiar school year. Listening to the giggles, rollicking chatter and eager feet running down the path I was transported back to those days of the first morning wake up and school run of the year. The day where it felt like long languorous summer days ending and the new year had really began. I used to love summer holidays, waking up with no plans and letting the weather and day take you where it would. It always felt indecent having to resume the normal routine and grind in weather that would induce a hot shimmer on the road and leave little bodies hot sweaty and tired. Coupled with this sense of sadness at the end of summer fun was always the annual motivation of renewed vigour to improve my lunchbox game. I think at one point I owned every single lunchbox cookbook, magazine and newspaper liftout ever printed. With that recipe collection was a million attempts at muffins, the lunchbox stalwart. I’m ‘blessed’ with one fruit lover and one fruit avoider so finding the muffin sweet spot was always tricky. So as my kids, both now adults, return to work and study my mind has wandered back to baked treats for packed lunches and after work/uni gobbles.

In creating this muffin recipe I was driven to reproduce the first ever American style muffin I ever tasted. Growing up in Australia the only muffins I knew were the English style ones. Bread like, with a large open crumb they were served toasted and topped with lashings of melting butter and vegemite or jam or a Sunday fry up of eggs and all the trimmings. So in the southern summer of 1989 my family jetted north to the USA to fulfill a dream of a white Christmas. Ensconced in a cottage at historic Gurneys Resort in Montauk, Long Island (which at the time more resembled a scene from the movie dirty dancing than the luxury high end resort it is today) we awoke the first morning to snow outside our windows and a breakfast basket delivered to our door. I will never forget that first buttery crumbly taste of cinnamon spiced streusel atop a warm cakey breakfast treat.

I think I’ve come pretty close with my Brown Sugar Streusel muffins. Eaten warm from the oven with a spread of butter or packed in a lunch box, either way they’ll suit all the happy little feet trouping off to school, and bring back memories of warm breakfast baskets.

Ingredients:

Steusel topping:

1/3 cup plain flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

½ tsp of cinnamon

¼ tsp of salt flakes crumbled

40 gm of butter

Muffin Mix:

2 cup plain flour

½ tsp of cinnamon

¾ tsp of salt flakes

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp of bicarb (baking) soda

100 gm butter

1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature

2 eggs also at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 200c and line a 12 whole muffin tin with muffin wraps.

Combine all streusel ingredients in bowl rubbing together with your fingertips as if rubbing butter and flour together to make scones or pastry. Once the mixture resembles clumped wet sand pop the bowl in the fridge while we mix everything else.

Melt butter to just melted, we don’t want to hear up too much, and allow to cool to room temp.

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well. I always use a whisk to do this (thanks for that tip @_michellecrawford), which breaks everything up and adds air like sifting would.

Once butter is lukewarm, in a second bowl, add to room temp buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. It’s best to try and do this with all ingredients close in temp to prevent the butter resetting and forming lumps.

Pour wet mixture over dry and gently fold together until just folded. It can be tempting to keep mixing until it looks more like a cake batter. But please don’t, back away from the bowl once combine.

Divide mixture amongst the muffin cases, about 2/3 full. Top each with 1 tb each of streusel topping and bake immediately 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and lift each muffin from tray and cool on rack.

Bruschetta Salad

Cicadas buzzing in the trees, laughter trilling on the breeze and glasses clinking. The sounds of summer often punctuates our little street on Sunday’s at dusk as neighbours who’re friends and friends who are neighbours gather together in the shade of my next door neighbours backyard to chat about their week and enjoy a final unwind as the weekend winds down. It’s a glorious tradition enjoyed periodically where delicious wines are shared and a little afternoon nibble is passed around. The spontaneity of our gatherings adds to their enjoyment and calls on our creativity diving into our kitchens in search of offerings to share. With a glass of bubbles in hand last Sunday my other hand, held delicious bruschetta topped with a mixture of little jewel tomato threaded with basil shreds fresh from our hostess’s garden. She’s quite the urban farmer who generously shares her glut of produce, often in surprise bowls at the front door. During a recent such soiree, as the juices of macerated tomatoes dripped between my fingers and the clock ticked towards dinner time my mind wandered to what was left in my own kitchen and the bowl of tomatoes grown in the little micro market garden surrounding me sitting on my own bench. Later, while meat sizzled on the BBQ, I threw together basil from my own garden with tomatoes from my neighbour and a few other embellishments to create a salad that harked back to those garlicky summery flavours of fresh bruschetta.

Bruschetta Salad can be as easy as you wish or a little more involved if you’re feeling fancy and have a few extra minutes up your sleeve. I’ll give you the tips for the easy version below the recipe for the Sunday “I’ve got time,” version. Inspired by Lucy Tweed and her brilliant book Every Night of the Week, I love to serve this salad only semi constructed showing off all the beautiful colours and produce but also allowing diners to choose all the bits they love and almost build their own little salad while they serve themselves. If you prefer to serve like a tossed salad style be sure and add the bready bits just before serving to preserve the crunch.

Ingredients:

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and flattened with the back of a knife.

¼ C extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp salt flakes

3-4 thick slices of sourdough the bread. The older the better though obviously sans mould. We don’t want it that old.

3 Cups of cut up mixed tomatoes.

¼ cup shredded basil leaves. Don’t cut these up until you’re ready to assemble.

3 handfuls of your favourite salad leaves. I prefer baby butter lettuce but baby cos (romaine) is also delicious. You want to use something fairly neutral in flavour.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200c

Combine squashed garlic cloves, olive oil and salt and allow to sit while you prepare the bread. You can tear up bread into small pieces or slice into cubes, whichever you prefer. Toss in a bowl with half the olive oil. Spread evenly in one layer over a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Cool on the bench on their trays while you prepare the toms.

If you’re using cherry tomatoes simply halve them. If you’re using larger regular tomatoes chop into large chunks like the size you’d cut into for regular bruschetta. In another bowl combine tomatoes, remaining garlicky oil and shredded basil and leave to marainate a few mins.

On a platter spread washed leaves out in one layer. Mound tomatoes on top and place croutons in another mound next to them. Serve immediately.

Last minute/Cheat’s/’I can’t be bothered’ Version:

Now…This can be made a whole lot faster when you get that call from family or friends as you walk out of work on Friday night saying “hey let’s get together…we’ll come to you…” Don’t panic my friends. They’ll look at this placed on the table and think you’ve been slaving away for hours.

Instead of making the croutons, you can buy these pre-made at the supermarket. While you’re there run into the oil aisle and grab some flavoured olive oil for the garlic oil (also a great option if fresh garlic upsets your digestive system). These two quick short cuts will save you time and get you to pretty much the same place.

Panettone Bread & Butter Pudding

Walking into my Nana’s kitchen through the back door on the evening of the second Sunday of December annually would always make my eyes pop. Even though I knew what awaited I would eagerly skip through the side gate running through the flowers, past the heaving plum tree and up the four steps through their back door. Joining my cousins, aunties and uncles in my Nana and Papa’s small kitchen my eyes would fall longingly on the kitchen table covered in every dessert imaginable. Everyone would gather and mingle sharing stories of the year and season’s preparations. We’d all eagerly await the full compliment of family members to arrive before being seated with Uncle Ron’s rousing “howdy folks,” always the final greeting and signal that everyone was in attendance. I suspect he would watch from his front window next door until everyone had arrived before making his cheery entrance seemingly enjoying the groan, jeers and laughter his late would always elicit. Dinner was always a classic traditional roast served on a collection of trestle tables and fold up card tables all dressed in the finest family linens kept only for this annual evening and my Papa’s birthday in December. Plates were passed down the line until everyone was served and the accompanying silence a sign of the enjoyment of nana’s days of labour creating our Christmas feast. While we all munched happily we’d all be preoccupied with that kitchen table. My Nana’s love language was food before love languages were a thing. She’d toil for the week leading up to our celebration ensuring that everyone was served their favourite dessert. There’d always be plum pudding for Papa, a collection of slices for one family, another set of cousins eagerly feasted on loganberry pie and my brother and I would tuck in to apple pie with custard.

This tradition that we all still reminisce about is my strongest Christmas dinner memory and one of the biggest lessons I learnt from her. To make the time to make sure there’d always be everyone’s favourites at the table at the one time of the year where there can never be enough food or delicious desserts on offer.

In the spirit of this tradition I’ve tried to create some of my own favourites that we can look forward to every year. And so I offer you my personal favourite, Panettone Bread and Butter pudding. A smorgasbord of Christmas flavours and comfort food all rolled into one using the traditional Italian Christmas bread and the English method of baking old bread in a custard mixture. It can be made ahead and warmed on the day and can even double as breakfast served with yoghurt….or cream and custard because its Christmas and we’re not going to split dairy hairs.

Dating back to the Middle Ages Pane di Toni (as it was originally named after the young chef who invented the dish) Panettone has evolved through time to become as big a part of Christmas food traditions as Roast Turkey, Plum Pudding, Egg Nog and any other delicious Christmas treat you can imagine. The citrus and fruit flavours reminiscent of the heavier plum pudding or fruit cake options bring a seasonal zing baked in the custard laced with a little hint of spiced rum and tang from a sprinkling of dried cranberries. Inspired by Stephanie Alexander’s Bread and Butter pudding this is my Christmas take on the classic.

1 medium sized traditional panettone – I use this one which weighs in at 700gm

50 gm butter very soft for spreading

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups thickened cream

1/2 cup milk of your choice

¼ c caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp spiced rum

1 Tb dried cranberries

1Tb sliced or slivered almonds

1-2 Tb of raw sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 180c.

Prepare a ceramic or glass baking dish greasing well with batter. I used a 24 cm round as pictured.

Combine eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, sugar and rum and whisk well. Allow to sit while you construct the pudding.

Halve your loaf from top to bottom creating two half circle pieces. Slice each piece in thick slices approximately 2cm thick. Spread each slice with softened butter. The block type that you’d bake with not the spreading type from a tub…because it’s Christmas. Lay slices in dish sprinkling cranberries over first layer of slices then top with a second layer of bread.

Pour custard mixture over bread evenly and gently press bread slices with your flat hand to help the bread absorb the custard. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes while you clean up, or even a couple hours in the fridge, so all the custard has soaked into the panettone. Just before placing in the oven sprinkle over the raw sugar and almonds, bake 45 minutes.

Check the pudding after 20 minutes to check how it’s browning. My oven can be quite warm at the back so I always rotate it half way through so it browns eavenly.

Allow to sit for half an hour before breaking into it to allow it to firm up a little making it easier to serve.

Notes:

Use heavy cream or whipping cream in place of what we call ‘thickened cream’ if you’re reading from the northern hemisphere.

If you’re panettone is little plainer in flavour you can add a tsp of freshy grated orange rind to the custard.

For a richer pudding spread marmalade or a Christmas flavoured jam on half the slices. Cherry or redcurrant jam works well.

If you prefer an alternative to the cranberries halved pitted cherries are delicious dotted through the pudding between bread layers.

Brandy can be used in place of the rum or omitted if you prefer.

Sponge, Peach and Cherry Pudding

During my life I’ve had a rather complicated relationship with peaches. I know…melodramatic much! As a child it was the ‘fur’ and later as a young woman a very small window of ripeness during which I’d crunch on one. Yes crunch. Almost slightly like an apple, I had a preference for yellow clingstones a day or two shy of juicy and ripe. I was, what amounted to, a stone fruit neanderthal.

Fast forward to February 2019 when I attended a food and photography workshop in Orange, NSW (you can read about that here) when I was converted. Plump, juicy orbs of amber coloured summer jewels warm from sunshine, nectar running between fingers I was almost embarrassed at my foolishness. Emiko Davies prepared her Pesce ripiene for the group and I suddenly understood the ardour others for the seasonal joy of a ripe peach. Needless to say I’ve spent the last few years catching up.

With the addition of fresh summer cherries this pudding makes a lovely addition to December menus. Ripe, juicy peaches tumbled with cherries and topped with feather light sponge it’s a festive alternative for guests who aren’t ones for the more traditional Christmas dessert fair. You can prepare ahead and serve at room temperature or gently warm in the oven covered with foil to protect the golden sponge topping.

Finish with a snowfall of icing sugar laced with Christmas spices and serve with creamy vanilla ice cream and or thick cream or just ‘and’ because it’s Christmas and there’s never enough creamy embellishments to a fruity dessert. Pop a little thimble full of dessert wine nearby and prepare for that full bellied Christmas dinner sigh.

Ingredients:

4-6 juicy ripe peaches the size of the ones you start craving in late spring as the weather warms up

200 grams of cherries pitted and halved

1 tb caster sugar

¼ tsp ground ginger

Zest of and orange

80 gm caster sugar extra

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

80 gm sifted plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

Method:

Preheat oven at 180c. Grease a round 20-22 cm ceramic ovenproof dish.

Slice peaches, add cherries, 1 tbs caster sugar, ground ginger and zest. Tumble the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish and allow to sit while you prepare the sponge.

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment combine the extra caster sugar and eggs. Mix on high speed for 5 minutes or until doubled in volume, the colour of cream and almost meringue like.

Sift flour and baking powder over egg mixture and very gently fold through until only just combined.

Gently dollop all over fruit without spreading. Just dollop all over. We’re trying to preserve as much air as possible.

Place in heated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Check the oven after half an hour to ensure it’s not browning too much.

Serve warm with whatever creamy additions you desire.

Maple Raisin, Pecan & Choc Chip Cookies

I have no idea how old I was when I first discovered Mrs Fields Cookies but I do remember being a little girl who until then had no idea a cookie could taste like that. Soft, chewy, oozy and all those flavours. All I’d ever eaten was crisp and crunchy cookies, or biscuits as we call them here (I know, so confusing for American readers). Following British culture at the time, the traditional American cookie style treat was a revelation to my little tastebuds. Now, of course they’re the norm here and available all over as are recipes for them.

My kids love a traditional chocolate chip cookie, nice and simple with milk chocolate chips. I on the other hand and not surprisingly like something a bit more interesting, a loaded cookie if you will. Adding a little bit of dark chocolate with raisins steeped in warmed maple syrup seems to make each flavour a little richer and dance around together amidst a little crunch of fresh pecans. Ever so slightly undercooked to preserve that soft chewy middle something yummy bursts forth in each bite.

Ingredients:

2/3 c raisins

2 tb maple syrup

250 gm unsalted butter at room temp

¾ c brown sugar

¼ c white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract/paste

2 ½ c plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking powder

2 eggs beaten at room temp

2/3 c chocolate chips (I use dark but a mix of dark and milk or just mild is fine)

2/3 c roughly chopped pecans

1 tsp salt flakes

Method:

Preheat oven 180 c.

In a small saucepan, over a low heat, warm the maple syrup until small bubbles form on the edge of the pan. Immediately pour over the raisins and allow to stand in a small bowl to cool.

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment start the butter on low speed until smooth (1-2 mins) then increase to high speed for 2 mins scraping down once during that time. Add sugars and vanilla and cream on high speed until lighter in colour. Add the beaten eggs in two batches until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients and set the mixer to low speed until combined completely.

Pop the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes while you prepare your trays and tidy up. This allows, what is a wettish mixture to firm up slightly in order to roll them,

Roll the mixture into golf ball size balls and place a few cms apart as they will spread. Gently press down with your hand or the back of a spoon to half the height and bake for 8-10. They’ll be light brown on the edges. Allow to cool five mins on the tray then transfer to a rack to cool.

Classic Essential Salad Dressings

Ten houses down the street. The stretch of road I knew like the back of my hand, each front garden and it’s blooms in every season, each dog’s bark and each neighbour’s wave, the path to my best friend’s house. A well worn path two little girls, later teenagers and later again young women, would tread to each other’s homes where we’d each slip into each other’s families assuming the honorary place in the tribe and pecking order we were lovingly afforded. Where we’d feel as much at home as we did in our own homes, where reaching into a timber louvred pantry door to obtain ingredients to contribute to the ‘family’ meal felt as normal as it did at the other end of the ten homes. It was at these times that you were reminded that whilst always welcome and warmly embraced this family had it’s own pantry. One holding different flavours and ingredients for meals that made their memories special and that shaped their tastes and time together.

It's in this kitchen I discovered many flavours and dishes different from the ones my own family had shared meals in. Where soup was made of many different types of grated vegies and chicken simmered for a few hours or where mustard was king as a condiment on fresh fluffy white bread rolls with thinly sliced smoky ham for Saturday lunch. Condiments and embellishments for food often took pride of place in the centre of the table where tender, juicy roast beef was served with horseradish and hot English mustard and siblings competed with each other for the prize of the most resilient palate to tolerate the heat of the spicy yellow spread to loud cheers and jeers from amused parents. And in summer herby crumbed chicken fillets sizzled in a pan were served next to a fresh salad of crunchy iceberg lettuce and tomatoes robed with all manner of dressings. This both delighted and astonished me. I came from of a kitchen of plain foods with few additions and fewer flavours. The notion that even a simple salad could be finished with a flourish and elevated was one of the discoveries that fascinated me.

Whilst the dressings were often of the bottled Kraft Foods variety Italian and French being my favourite, the thin tangy homemade mayonnaise made by Joan the matriarch of my second family was also notorious and even higher in my emerging culinary esteem. Now, inspired by those moments in that compact kitchen that exploded with flavour, even the simplest of salads always reach my table adorned with glistening ribbons of dressings threading flavour through the leaves and greens nestled together.

This coming summer, I thought you might like to try some of the dressings I use to add flavour to our sides inspired by Joan and a family who always made room at the family table for one more mouth and lots of flavour.

Tangy Mustard Vinaigrette:

120 ml extra virgin olive oil

20 ml honey dijon mustard

20 lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Ranch’ish Yoghurt Dressing:

½ c Greek yoghurt

1 tsp onion powder

1 garlic clove crushed

½ tsp dried dill OR 1tsp fresh dill finely chopped

1 tsp fresh parsley finely chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

1 Tb (20 ml) water

Classic Mustard Vinaigrette:

120 ml extra virgin olive oil

20 ml honey Dijon mustard

20 ml white balsamic/white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Sesame & Honey Dressing:

1/3 c (80ml) olive oil

1Tb tahini

2 tsp honey

3 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

With each dressing you can use one of a few methods. You can whizz in a blender until smooth and fully emulsified, usually less than a minute. I use a Vitamix using one of the small cups and blend for 20 seconds. You could also use a stick blender as per your appliance’s instructions. Alternatively and probably the most versatile is to place all ingredients in a jar with a secure lid and get your muscles working shaking until thoroughly combined. A good job for the kids if you have helpers.

They all keep well in the fridge though the yoghurt dressing probably should be discarded after five days….if it lasts that long.

Roast Vegetable Salad

I’m pretty lucky for the most part with the lovely blokes I share my table with. They’re good eaters with an adventurous enough palette to indulge my experiments. But… and there’s always a but…they’re not the biggest vegie lovers. Each has their own preferences only a few of which cross over though the three all share a distaste for pumpkin. So some days out of exasperation I fall back on this old favourite. It’s colourful and vibrant, it cleans out the vegie drawer in the fridge, it goes with nearly anything, can be built up to be a meal in itself and is excellent for sharing with vegetarians. And the best part…. It’s all muddled together so more vegies are consumed than perhaps the eater may or may not intend.

I’ve shared the basis of what makes this salad but like a lot of family recipes it’s different every time in one way or another acting as a blank canvas of sorts to transform into whatever you need.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small, orange sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

3 cups of pumpkin cut into chunks the same size as the sweet potato

2 large carrots peeled and sliced thickly

1 spanish onion cut into wedges

2 garlic cloves bruised

1 capsicum cored, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 zucchini quartered lengthways and sliced thickly

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

2 handuls of baby spinach leaves or rocket (arugula) leaves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Dressing:

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

½ tbs brown sugar (I’ve used my favourite Panela Sugar here)

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 small garlic clove, crushed or grated

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c.

Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar shake well and set aside allowing the flavours to combine while you make the salad.

Place sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot and garlic in a bowl with half the olive oil toss to coat, spread out on a large baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.

Combine onion, capsicum, zucchini and cherry tomatoes with remaining oil, toss to coat again. Add to the other veg on the same baking tray after the initial 20 minutes and return to oven for a further 15 minutes or until tender and softened and the edges are just caramelised.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the thyme leaves straight away. The heat from the vegies will warm the thyme and bring out the fragrance and flavour.

Allow to cool a little so the veggies don’t wilt the leaves too much. Serve on a platter either layering with the fresh leaves or gently tossing them through. Drizzle over the dressing (give it another shake before you do this), sprinkle over sea salt flakes and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Notes:

Slice 1-2 chorizos, fry and sprinkle the cooked slices over just before serving.

You can bulk up the salad, especially for vegetarians, by gently folding through a can of drained beans, lentils or chickpeas.

Sliced 100 gm of haloumi. Fry over and toss over salad just before serving.

Sprinkle over crumbled feta to taste.

Dried chilli flakes are also delicious sprinkled over.

Strawberry, Almond & Yoghurt Sheet Cake

When I was a young woman my then boyfriend and I would spend our weekends at a small coastal town a couple hours from home, him working on dive boats and me exploring nearby villages. I’d spend my time meandering through local farmer’s markets, collecting fresh produce from farm gates and walking on sun kissed beaches, toes in fine golden sand and water lapping at my feet. As the middle of the day would roll around I’d meet him and his boss at the pier in between dives to deliver a basket of food to sustain them through the busy afternoons taking tourists out in the bay. Amongst those goodies was often a hearty yoghurt cake to finish off their lunch and offer a little sweet treat. It was a simple cake reminiscent of a pound cake and symbolic of my cooking skills and taste at the time. Well those parcels of love must have worked because that boyfriend is now my husband and this cake like our life together has evolved to something even more enjoyable and interesting.

And like our life together, the cake too, has grown in size. The original recipe that’s inspired this week’s recipe was a normal small round cake perfect for two young lovers. But this more interesting version is what’s today known as a slab or sheet cake, perfect for a larger family, a group of friends enjoying a picnic or get together. It’s dotted with sweet bright strawberries and textured with both ground and sliced almonds. Scented with finely grated orange zest, it’s finished with a drizzle of citrusy icing.

Ingredients:

2 ¼ C plain flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ C ground almond meal/almond flour

1 ¼ C sugar

125 G butter melted

3 eggs lightly beaten

¾ C greek yoghurt

¼ C Milk

250 gm strawberries hulled and halved

Grated rind of a blood orange (regular orange is fine if blood orange notin season)

1 tsp Vanilla extract or paste

¼ c almond slices

Icing:

¼ Icing sugar

1 tbs blood orange or regular orange juice

Combine and mix until smooth and runny for drizzling.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c, grease and line a 32cm x 22cm high sided pan.

Combine all dry dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and give it a quick stir with a hand whisk or for to ensure everything is thoroughly combined. Add all wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combine then mix on high speed for 1-2 minutes until lighter in colour and slightly increased in volume.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth over with the back of a spatula or large spoon. Place strawberry halves even spread over top and gently pushed half way in. Sprinkle over almond slices and bake 30 minutes or until skewer in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool in tin. Drizzle icing over and slice to serve.

Notes:

The strawberries are also lovely mixed through the cake. If you want to do this fold them through before pouring batter into tin.

Any berries will work well. If using blueberries try lemon rind and juice for the cake and icing.

Beetroot Dip and White Bean Dip

As spring emerges we often head out with friends camping and exploring. Now for some the C word (camping that is) can make the toes curl of some travellers who prefer only five stars to sleep under rather than the billions that twinkle and adorn the night skies of open spaces. Fear not though my friends we’re not ones to rough it too much and indeed never want for anything. Travelling with friends, as we do, is as social and abundant as if we’re were dining together around our table at home. As the sun sets on our days, fold up tables heave under the weight of many delicious contributions to pre-dinner drinks and grazing as laughter and the clinking of glasses fills the air. Aside from delicious finds on the journey we also travel with well stocked fridges. In my fridge you’ll usually find easy homemade dips to share with fresh bread and crudites. They’re easy to whip up and keep well for a number of days, though they never last that long.

Requiring only a few ingredients and blender or food processor I thought you might enjoy them too. They’re both handy recipes to have to pull together at short notice when friends drop in or to make ahead to kick off a festive get together.

White Bean and Sesame Dip

Ingredients:

400g of white beans (any variety)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice and rind of a lemon

2 Tb water

1 garlic clove crushed or grated

1 tsp of cumin

¼ tsp of salt flakes

1 tsp sesame seeds lightly toasted

1 tsp tahini

In a hot dry fry pan, lightly toast the sesame seeds swirling them frequently. This should only take a couple minutes. Allow to cool while preparing the remaining ingredients.

Lightly drain beans. Allowing the beans to remain lightly coated in the aquafaba from the can will help the dip whip and thicken.

Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor. A regular blender will be fine if that’s what you have it just may take a little longer and a few scrapes of the bowl/jug to ensure everything is properly processed and smooth.

Whizz on high until a smooth dip is achieved. Check for taste and adjust as suits. I sometimes increase the lemon a little as, strangely, lemon flavour can vary.

Beetroot Hummus

Ingredients:

400 gm can of Chickpeas lightly drained

100-120gm of Beetroot cooked/prepared beetroot

2 Tb lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

1 garlic clove grated or crushed

1 Tb water

½ tsp salt flakes

1 Tb extra olive oil

As with the White Bean Dip, lightly drain chickpeas.

If preparing your own beetroot as I have here, wrap whole beetroot in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a slice of citrus of your choic and roast in a moderate oven (180c/350f) for 45-60 mins or until a skewer inserted goes in easily. Allow to cool completely peel and roughly cut into large chunks. Alternatively drain canned beetroot well.

Combine all ingredients in blender/food processor and whizz until smooth.

If using canned beetroot hold back on the water until processing and only use if required as canned is a wetter product than home cooked and may not require extra liuquid.

Notes:

I use a Vitamix blender which has a dip function on it. If you have a blender with such a function use this to process. I don’t have a thermomix or similar though suspect they may be the same.

If using a food processor stop processing once it’s a coarse pasted and scrape down as required and resume mixing.

Smoothie makers are also great for making dips if you don’t have any other mixing appliance.

If you’re pressed for time and or inclination when making the white bean and sesame dip and don’t want to toast the sesame seeds just add them fresh, it’s still declicious.

The white bean dip makes a great sauce too and just needs to be thinned down a little. I just use water for this but add it spoonful at a time slowly so as not to make it too thin.

Tex Mex Pulled Chicken

Once upon a time in a supermarket not too far away a mum and her ‘little boy’ wandered aimlessly around the aisles. The mum was daydreaming, staring into space imagining herself under a palm tree sipping cocktails while an invisible chef in a tropical resort worried about what to feed her family. The ‘little’ boy, who was actually six foot two and full of spunk and life, noticed his mother’s inattention and proceeded to quietly fill the trolley with items, that even at 18 his mother wouldn’t buy him. Struggling for inspiration the mother asked “What should we have for dinner?” The boy hopefully suggested ‘pulled chicken.’ Startled from her day dreaming the mother did a double take and asked “pulled chicken? What’s pulled chicken?” The boy informed his mother “it’s like pulled pork only its chicken and tastes like Mexican.” Now you can imagine cogs turning over in the mother’s mind. Switched back into action the mother’s mind started whirring like a creaky old engine who’d been oiled and fired into working order. An idea took shape and she acquired the ingredients she thought would come together to meet the brief set by her son. And that my friends is how our Tex Mex pulled Chicken was born.

*Spoiler alert: the mother was me, I was tired, and had no clue what to make for yet another dinner and the 18 year old bean pole was my lovely ‘little boy who’s not so little anymore.”

Our pulled chicken recipe can be enjoyed just like pulled pork in a delicious brioche bun or regular hamburger bun with all the trimmings. It also makes a great meal served atop a steaming baked potato or bowl of rice and is a tasty addition to nachos.

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken thigh fillets

1 Tbsp olive oil

1red/Spanish onion sliced

1 red capsicum deseeded and diced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp diced chipotle in adobo sauce

1 400gm can of diced tomatoes

400 ml of beef stock ( I use the tomato can to measure this)

1 Tbs of sticky quince syrup or maple syrup

1 tsp dried oregano leaves.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c

Heat oil in ovenproof pan over high heat. Season chicken with salt flakes and black pepper and brown in batches in the pan until golden but not cooked through, around 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken leaving juices in the pan, keep warm.

Reduce heat to low, add onion, capsicum and garlic and cook gently until softened. Increase heat to medium and add paprika frying off briefly until fragrant. Add chipotle in adobo stirring to distribute thoroughly. Pour in tomatoes, stock, syrup and oregano, increase heat to high. Return chicken to the pan fitting snuggly so they’re submerged. Bring to the boil, cover and place in the oven. Immediately reduce heat to 160c and cook for 1 ½ hours or until falling apart. Remove from oven allow to cool slightly then gently pull apart with two forks and serve to your liking.

Notes:

During the oven cooking time you too should day dream about tropical resorts and cocktails.

Sticky quince syrup is the brainchild of Sue from Singing Magpie Produce. I’m a huge fan of her products and especially love this unique offering. It’s super versatile and indeed works in both savoury and sweet dishes. If you’re unable to get your hands on some, maple syrup will be fine though check the sweetness as you work as the two products are slightly different in their intensity.

You may want to add more sweetness if that’s to your taste. Taste at the end of cooking and slowly add more if you need. In savoury dishes sweetness can be like salt and be a very individual taste.

Moroccan Lamb Soup

Discussing first memories recently, my son asked what mine was. Not surprisingly it involved food. I’m one of those people who have extremely early memories. The most early one I remember was very little me, perhaps three years old, sitting in a high chair. I remember the cool timber look Laminex tray table, the cool white vinyl upholstery and chrome frame kicking my legs anxiously awaiting dinner. Sitting in our small timber kitchen mum placed my bunnykins bowl full of lamb and barley soup in front of me with matching spoon. I distinctly remember announcing I didn’t like the ‘rubber’ (fat layer) on the chops I’d been served earlier and leftover soup being offered to me instead. Little morsels of shredded lamb shank meat and pearly white barley floated in clear salty broth dotted with tiny oily droplets across the surface. I loved barley and still do and promptly proceeded to clean that bowl of steaming soup up in only a few scoops.

I still love soup and still love lamb though my palette is a little more sophisticated and I sit in a big girl’s chair now. With the arctic blast that interrupted our gorgeous spring weather at the end of last week a big bowl of warming soup was on my mind. Using left over roast lamb from earlier in the week and loads of veg still left in the fridge I set about cooking one of my favourtites. It’s a good one for the end of the week as it uses up lots of bits leftover from the week with a few cans from pantry is hearty and satisfying and on the table quickly with little effort….And yes no matter the season there’s always a place for soup, even in spring.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 medium to large carrot peeled and diced

1 stick of celery finely diced

1 onion diced

2 garlic cloves crushed or grated

½ a red capsicum diced

2 tsp rose harissa (regular is fine if that’s all you have)

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp chermoula spice mix

100-150 gm of cooked leftover lamb chopped

1 400 gm can chopped tomatoes

1 400 gm can chickpeas drained and washed

5 cups of stock (chicken or beef, whichever you have is fine)

1 cup frozen peas

1 handful of baby spinach leaves, stalks removed and finely chopped

Method:

In a medium to large saucepan over high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and capsicum turn heat down to medium low and gently saute vegies for five minutes or until softened but not browned. Increase heat to medium and add lamb and quickly heat stirring for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and harissa paste and fry off for a few minutes until fragrant. Sprinkle in spice mix and fry off for a minute to release flavour and aroma. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and stir quickly to warm and combine. Pour in stock and stir thoroughly bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for thirty minutes. Add peas and spinach and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Season to taste serve

Serve with warmed flat bread a sprinkle of mint or parsley and perhaps a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

Notes:

If Lamb is not to your taste or available you can omit and increase veggies for a vegetarian/ vegan option. Alternatively add equivalent cooked chicken.

Any canned pulse can substitute the chickpeas.

Frozen spinach is a great substitute, 1-2 cubes will do the trick.

If using whole canned tomatoes give them a chop up in the can with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors.

Feta sprinkled on top is delicious alternative to yoghurt.

Banana Pecan Caramel Cake

“Banana Cake Sally?”

“Does the world really need another Banana Cake recipe Sally?”

I know, I know I can hear you all from here but trust me there’s always room for one more and you quite possibly will be glad I did it. This is Hubby’s favourite banana cake which coming from a man who’s not a big cake man I take that as high praise. It’s, as a banana cake should be, very moist. It has a satisfying texture with the inclusion of sweet, fresh Australian pecans and finishes with subtle smooth hints of caramel flavours from the rich Panela Sugar and Date syrup. It’s a quick mix style needing just a bowl and spoon and is ready from go to woe in under an hour. What’s not to love?

Ingredients:

2 eggs

100 gm panela sugar *

1/3 C olive oil

¼ C milk

2 Tbs date syrup

100gm wholemeal spelt flour

100gm self raising flour (White)

½ tsp baking powder

¼ allspice

2 very ripe bananas mashed

½ C chopped pecans

Pinch of salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:

250 gm block of cream cheese

100 gm soft butter

1 cup icing sugar/mixture

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 pinches of ground cardamon (you could do this to taste if you wish. I like a hint of cardamon as an enhancer rather than it being the prominent flavour in this)

Bought Caramel like Bonne Maman or similar to serve.

Method:

Grease and line a loaf tin or 20 cm round spring form tin and preheat oven to 180c.

Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk together eggs and sugar until lightly thickened. Add milk and date syrup and whisk to combine well. Tip in flours, spice and baking powder and stir through gently. Don’t worry if it’s not completely combined, the addition of the banana and pecan with finish that off. Add banana, pecan and salt. Fold through until just combined. Tip in to preferred tin, bang on the bench a couple times to disperse any air bubbles and bake for 40 minutes or until that reliable old skewer comes out clean.

**Check the cake after 30 minutes to ensure the top is not browning too quickly. If it is, loosely cover with foil for last ten minutes.

Notes:

Panela sugar is also known as rapadura sugar. I use Grounded Pleasures sugar, it’s a family owned aussie company who source the best organic ingredients so it’s quality is always reliable. If you’re unable to source Panela Sugar for this recipe substitute ½ & ½ white caster sugar and brown sugar.

My favourite pecans are Hickson Pecans from norther NSW. They have a lovely sweet flavour and are always super fresh.

Wholemeal spelt flour can be substituted with regular wholemeal flour.

Date syrup can be subsidised with golden syrup but you may like reduce the amount as it’s a bit sweeter than date.

If you prefer to make your own caramel I use the Stephanie Alexander recipe from her Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe. It makes a huge amount and is perfectly balanced.

Speedy Smoky & Spicy Baked Beans

When I was a child one of my favourite things to do was enjoy a sleep over at my Nana’s and Papa’s house. They lived on what would today be considered an urban farm. Ahead of their time in some ways, on their half acre suburban block they grew a large array of vegetable, nurtured several productive fruit trees and were surrounded by a lush flower garden. We all anxiously awaited the bloom of the blood plum tree, the pie from the granny smith apples, the cucumber relish from the vegie patch and to pick flowers for a little posie to take home. Her roasts were legendry, her Cornish pasties devoured and her golden syrup dumplings like liquid gold. So with all that in my treasured memories you’d think one of those delicious old fashioned favourites would be this week’s offering wouldn’t you. Well not quite. One of the best things about those sleep overs was supper. My grandfather was English and they were former farmers so meals were taken early, the main meal of the day was enjoyed at lunch and the evening meal a little lighter, so a fortifying supper snack was a nightly treat in their house and a delight to a little girl who was allowed to stay up later than usual listening to classical music and choose whatever I wanted. Some of my favourites were vegemite toast on thick cut white bread with fresh salty butter that dripped between my fingers which I’ve never been able to reproduce, canned tomato soup and believe it or not canned baked beans. I know! None of those were what you were expecting but when I think of her I’m transported to a feeling love created and shared around food. A compliment she made me back in her later years when she’d come to my home for lunch, complimenting my cooking and batting away any credit for the passion she’s sparked in me for food and cooking with her own observations…”I can cook country food but Sal is much more adventurous than me…. I enjoy trying all the different things she makes.”

So perhaps it’s the feeling I crave when I create dishes inspired by those memories like this hug in a bowl. I’ve eaten a plethora of Baked Beans recipes over the years from a variety of sources. This is my take on the genre, it’s tasty, easy, you may even have all the ingredients in the kitchen already and is pretty fast. As much as I love a slow cook session once I have a craving for something I need it satisfied. These beans are good for breakfast, brunch, lunch dinner, brinner or supper. I hope you enjoy them and they transports you to happy memories.

Ingredients:

1 Chorizo Sausage chopped. The cured variety similar to salami.

1 tbs olive oil

½ a brown onion or 1 eschallot finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed chopped or grated, it really doesn’t matter which

1 tsp of finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

¼ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 400gm can of crushed tomatoes

1 400gm can of white beans

1 tbs of Date syrup ( you can sub this with maple or 2 tsp of treacle or golden syrup. It’s the rich warm sweetness we’re after)

½ tsp smoked salt

Method:

Place chopped chorizo into cold, medium sized fry pan withot oil. As the pan warms the oil and fat will render out. As the edges start to caramelise add the oil warm it for a minute then add onion, turn down to low flame and cook slowly for five minutes, don’t let the onions caramelise. Increase heat to medium and add garlic for a further minute or until just fragrant. Add spcies, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add thyme stir then add tomatoes. Let them bubble up stirring all the while to combine all the flavours. Add drained beans and syrup, stir well sprinkle in smoked salt and stir again. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Enjoy with toast or an egg on top and goats cheese.

Note:

Gamze smoked goods produce my favourite chorizo. It’s spicy and has an excellent texture when cooked. It’s not readily available near me so I often use whatever is available at the deli and add some dried chilli flakes to taste to spice it up.

For Vegetarians this will still be delicious without sausage. The bulk of the flavour comes for the rest of the ingredients.

Smoked salt is readily available in Australian supermarkets under the Olsson’s brand or online here. A little google search showed me that it’s also available in American supermarkets and under the Maldon brand in the UK.

Date Syrup is a new product from Australian sugar brand CSR and is widely available in major supermarkets. I’ve only just discovered it and am experimenting with it widely. It’s available in American and British supermarkets. It has a lovely subtle caramel flavour without being overly sweet so seems to sit well as a seasoning in savoury dishes.

Leftovers Tart

Food traditions are amongst my very favourite. The moment when you bite into your first mouthful of a much-loved dish that you always look forward to, that always evokes a blissful moan of delight. The ever reliable flavour that fills your mouth and takes your heart back to a bank of memories that reliably bloom every time you eat that cherished dish. I have many special memories that always take me back to my own moments but for my kids (who’re far from kids at 19 & 21) and the family I’ve created its plain old sausage rolls. I only ever use this recipe from Donna Hay with a few family tweaks, any attempts to try a different one always roundly rejected. Every year our national football grand final is always accompanied by a large batch of these, indeed I wouldn’t even bother trying to sit down to watch the game with the family without them. BUT without fail every time I make them I get the amount of pastry wrong….every single time!! Now normally it’s a small amount and I ahem may or may not roll up the pastry with some jam and throw it in the oven with the rest for a little cook’s treat. This year however I really got it wrong, I had a whole sheet left over and that’s a little too much to justify as a treat. So with head in the fridge looking for inspo and an armload of bits and pieces this little tart was born. I shared it on Instagram with a pic of sausage rolls and at best thought we might chat about the footy but instead I’ve received many requests for a recipe for what I first called Leftovers Tart but have now dubbed Frittata Tart because ‘leftovers tart’ lacked an enticing quality all recipe titles should have. With a shell of flaky puff pastry, some quickly assembled bits and bobs and an eggy filling similar to a frittata texture and flavour, it’s delicious warm or cold is super flexible and fast to throw together and looks fancy. Oh and it uses up some of those fridge filing leftovers.

From the time I decide to make this I can get it in the oven in 20 minutes of minimal effort. A great one to use for impromptu get togethers or busy nights.

Ingredients:

1 Sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed. You may need to patchwork this like the one on Instagram but that’s totally fine, it all tastes the same.

1 large handful of baby spinach leaves. I like to remove the stalks and tear the leaves up a bit but you do you.

2-3 Tbs of bought caramelised onion jam.

8 eggs

¼ C of Milk, cream or sour cream. Whatever you have in the fridge will work.

1/2 tsp of finely chopped herbs of your choice. I’ve used thyme here but your favourite will be delicious too.

Cheese, I’ve used half a wheel of leftover Brie. A handful of grated cheddar, dobs of goats cheese, or crumbled feta will also work beautifully. Or again you can mix it up and use up leftovers

Method:

Preheat oven to 190c. Grease a 35cm rectangular tart tin or 26cm round tart tin.

Line prepared tin with thawed frozen pastry happily patchworking where needed. It’s ‘rustic’ remember.

Layer fresh spinach leaves on the bottom of the case. Drop spoonfuls of onion jam over the spinach.

Beat eggs and milk/cream/sour cream together with herbs. Pour over the spinach and jam. Lay slices of cheese on top and pop in the oven for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes turn oven down to 180.

Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

*This recipe is great to use up the left over bits from yesterday’s cheese platter so long as they’ve not been sitting in the sun for too long.

*If you don’t have onion jam you can slowly caramelise a small, sliced onion over very low heat until translucent and soft a little oil and biter. For the last few minutes add 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar and half a tsp of sugar stir and dissolve sugar for a few minutes and cool slightly before using. 

*You can also use platter condiments like quince paste or the like in place of the onion jam.

*The pictured tart has prosciutto added. If you have some similar sliced meat you’d like to add do so before pouring over the egg mixture.