Lamb Cutlets with Plum, Red Wine and Mushroom Sauce

Delicious and simple - cook some meat, fry some shroom, deglaze and melt some plum paste.

3 lamb cutlets per person
Stripped rosemary
Salt and pepper

1 tbs garlic oil
3 large mushrooms sliced
2 tbs dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup red wine
2 tbs plum paste
Olive oil
Patatas bravas
Grilled prosciutto

Cover the porcini with boiling water and allow to rehydrate. Season the lamb with rosemary, salt and cracked pepper and garlic oil. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan to medium high. Cook the lamb on each side to your liking (I like mine rare to medium rare) and remove to a clean plate and cover. Add the mushrooms to the pan with porcini and saute until they have nice colour. Deglaze with the wine, pour in the porcini water, add the plum paste and reduce until slightly thickened.
Spoon some sauce to a plate, top with cutlets. Serve with patatas bravas, grilled prosciutto and some rocket.

Patatas Bravas

Quick, cheap, well tasty. Allow 1 potato per person and about 1 cup passata for 2 people.

2 potatoes

1 cup passata

1/2 an onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

1 chilli sliced (or 2 tsp flakes)

Olive oil

Boil the potatoes until just cooked, remove and allow to cool slightly, discard the water. Slice the potatoes thickly. Add some oil to the saucepan fry the potato slices each side then remove and keep warm. Saute the onion and garlic until soft in the same pan, over a medium heat. Pour in the passata and chilli, return to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened. Serve the potatoes with some tomato gear. Nice.

Pulled Slow Roasted Lamb for Pizza

A fair chunk of this didn't make it to the pizza - we ate it well before then. This gear would work equally well to finish a risotto, to fill ravioli, go through pasta, sit on crusty bread or fill pasties/empanadas. The pizzas had either garlic oil and passata bases, included roasted sweet potato and basil leaves and were finished with yoghurt once cooked. One I filled as a calzone. Stuffing around is worth it sometimes.

1 kg lamb pieces

3 or 4 shallots

4 cloves garlic

Fresh thyme

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs olive oil

Salt and cracked pepper

1 cup red wine

Mix the olive oil, balsamic, thyme and enough salt and cracked pepper for all of the lamb in a large bowl. Add the lamb to the bowl and rub all over then transfer to something suitable for roasting in. Place the lamb in a preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 140C and roast uncovered for 2 hours. Take from the oven and remove the meat, garlic and shallots to a clean bowl and allow to cool. Return your pan to the stove top over a medium heat. Deglaze with the red wine and quickly scrape up any bits. Pour the liquid into a bowl until ready. When the meat has cooled enough to handle, cut from the bone and either chop with a knife or pull apart with two forks. Remove the garlic and shallots from their skins, chop.  Remove it all to a large clean bowl and stir through the wine gear. Use as you see fit.

Chicken Braise with Chorizo, Leek and Olives with Cous Cous

Cheap and radical. Very little work and got better as the days went on. I think that the better the quality olives you use will provide you with a better quality result.

4 chicken thigh fillets
1 sprig rosemary stripped
Salt and pepper

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 slice bacon diced

1 large leek in thin batons

6 or 7 oil marinated olives, chopped

1 tbs of the marinated olive oil

2 tbs chorizo in small dice

5 or 6 mushrooms quartered

1 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups passata

2 garlic cloves sliced

1 tbs natural yoghurt

2 cups couscous

1/2 a lemon

1/2 a lime

Chopped parsley

1 chilli sliced to serve

Season the chicken with salt, cracked pepper and rosemary and set aside. Add the extra virgin to a large pan that has a lid and heat to medium high. Cook the bacon until it has nice colour then remove. Sear the chicken pieces on each side until they have nice colour but aren't cooked and remove to a clean bowl and cover with foil. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute until they take on some colour then add in the garlic and cook until fragrant then add in the leek. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring until the leek is fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the white wine scrapping up any bits. Slice the chicken. Pour in the passata and add the chicken and its juice, olives, chorizzo, oil from the olives, stir and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, add a lid and allow to braise for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off and remove from the heat while you prepare the couscous and stuff about.

Pour the couscous into a bowl and squeeze in the juice from the lemon and lime, add the lemon and lime halves to the bowl. Cover with boiling water and cover for 5 minutes. Remove the citrus pieces and fluff the couscous with a fork.

Check the braise for seasoning, adjust, stir through the yoghurt and some parsley. Spoon the couscous into bowls, top with the chicken braise, parsley and sliced chilli and tuck in.

Garlic Parsley Prawns on Turkish with Iberica Ham and Triple Cream

A little decadent but so damn good. Iberica ham IS expensive ($100 a kg) but it is sliced thin and you don't need much of it - 8 slices cost $6 and I used only 4 slices. It tastes amazing. Instead, used Prosciuto or Parma Ham. Either way, the flavours of all of them are brilliant. As a guess I would say this worked out at $12 a head but they were big serves for 2 (main size) and I reckon you would pay at least twice as much for half the size in a restaurant as an entree. 45 mins beginning to end, including shelling. Split the portions to make it go further or increase the quantities for more portions.

400 gms green prawns, shelled

3 tbs minced parsley

2 tbs garlic oil

Salt and cracked pepper

Squeeze of lemon

Splash white wine

Extra virgin olive oil

1 piece of Turkish bread split

Triple cream brie

4 slices Iberica ham (or Prosciutto)
1/4 Spanish onion thinly sliced
Chilli flakes

Combine 1 tbs garlic oil, salt and cracked pepper and 2 tbs parsley with the prawns with a squeeze of lemon in a bowl. Spread some garlic oil over the cut side of the turkish bread. Tear the ham into smaller pieces.

Toast the Turksih bread under a grill and remove when ready. Heat a little extra virgin in a pan to medium high. When hot pour in the prawns and toss about until just cooked - 2 or 3 minutes. Pour in a splash of wine, stir about and remove from the heat. Place 4 thin slices of cheese on each piece of bread and spread with a knife. Divide the ham amongst the bread, top with prawns, onion slices and spoon over any remaining prawn cooking liquid. Sprinkle over some parsley and chilli flakes and serve.

Prawn, Prosciutto and Chilli Risotto

Shelled some prawns, made risotto. Easy as. Used the left overs to make Seafood Risotto Cakes. Annoyingly, I deleted the photos for this recipe and will have to take new ones at a later stage. Fortunately, I plan on making this again very soon...

500 gms green prawns
1 stick celery

1 litre chicken stock

1 clove garlic bashed
1/2 bunch parsley (reserve stems)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 cups aborio rice
1 shallot finely diced
1 cup wine (I used bubbly)
3 tbs finely grated Parmesan
Salt and cracked pepper
Rind and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 chilli sliced finely
3 slices grilled prosciutto

Shell and devein the prawns and reserve the shells. Keep 1 prawn per person whole then slice the rest of the prawns into thumb nail sized pieces. Finely dice one half of the celery and cut the other half into chunks. Remove the tops from the parsley and finely mince and reserve the stalks. Add the prawn shells, bashed garlic and celery chunks to the stock and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the stock (discard the prawn shell) and return to the saucepan along with the parsley stalks.
Heat the butter in a large heavy based frying pan to medium high until foaming then add in the olive oil, saute the onions and 3/4 of the minced garlic. Toast the rice for a minute or two, stirring. Deglaze the pan with the wine. From this point add 1or 2 ladles of stock at a time when each previous one is almost absorbed, stirring occasionally. When the stock is almost all gone, try a few rice grains, if they are still quite uncooked add more stock to your saucepan and continue until cooked. This should take about 18 - 20 minutes. When adding the final ladle add the Parmesan, half of the parsley, prawn pieces, lemon rind and juice, salt and cracked pepper, check for seasoning, adjust accordingly then add the lid.
Heat extra virgin over medium high and when hot add the garlic, half of the chilli, some parsley and the reserved prawns, toss and cook - 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Spoon the risotto into bowls, top with chopped prosciutto, more finely grated Parmesan, parsley, chilli slices and 1 prawn per bowl. If necessary add a squeeze of lemon.

Sage and Pimenton Butterflied Chicken

I love sage and when teamed with the smokey-ness of paprika and the barbecue, it just works. 2 minutes prep for the marinade and 5 for butterflying the chicken. I prefer to use smaller chickens for butterflying as I find it is easier to keep moist and ensure it is cooked through.

 

1 butterflied chicken

1 bunch sage finely chopped

1 heaped tsp pimenton (smoked paprika)

Lots of salt and cracked pepper

3 tbs garlic infused oil

Combine the sage, pimenton, salt and pepper and oil. Make some deep cuts into the chicken across the thigh, leg and breast area. Smear the marinade over the chicken rubbing it into every nook and cranny, cover and refrigerate until required. Heat a hooded barbecue (alternatively cover with a large roasting tray) to high. Add the chicken skin side down, reduce the heat to low and pull down the lid. Turn every 5 minutes closing the lid each time, until cooked - about 25 minutes. Poke the thighs and breast with a skewer to check if it is cooked, remove to a clean plate when ready and cover. Rest for 5-10 minutes. Eat.



the one on the right

Coriander, Sesame Oil, Ginger and 5 Spice Marinade

I love it when vague ideas come together. I used this with pork spare ribs one night then made it again for butterflied chicken the next. My daughter loved it in its raw state and kept wanting more 'pesto' so, I imagine this would work with biscuits too. In any case, 5 minutes and use it on anything, keeping some to baste with.

1/2 bunch coriander

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb ginger

Rind and juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tbs sesame oil

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs mirrin or so

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

Lots of salt and cracked pepper

Blend it all together and check for seasoning, rub all over meat and allow it to marinade. Barbecue over a medium heat, baste, rest eat lots of.

the one on the left

Chicken Carbonara with Feta, Mushroom and Silverbeet

Having not made a carbonara before (have eaten plenty) I was quite please with this effort. The use of lemon rind kept it nice and light-ish and feta gave this more depth. The silverbeet may not be a traditional ingredient but it does taste good.

4 chicken thigh fillets

1 handful fresh thyme

2 rashers bacon chopped

2 cloves garlic sliced

5 mushrooms roughly chopped

1 tbs porcini chopped (optional)

1 splash of white wine

5 silverbeet deveined and thinly sliced

100 ml cream

2 tbs marinated feta

2 eggs

1 decent handful of grated Parmesan

Rind of half a lemon

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper

1 packet of pasta

Olive oil

Parsley and chilli to serve

Oil, salt and pepper and rub the thyme into the chicken thighs. Saute the bacon with a little olive oil over a medium high heat until it has nice colour. Add in the garlic and stir, simmering until it is fragrant. Add a little more oil, stir to flavour with the garlic and bacon then toss in the mushrooms (both kinds) and saute until just cooked. Remove to a clean bowl, deglaze the pan with the wine, quickly scrapping up any bits and pour back over the mushroom mixture. Add a little oil to the pan and cook the chicken until almost cooked, remove to a clean bowl and cover (it will continue to cook in the covered bowl).

Combine the cream, feta, eggs, Parmesan, lemon rind and some pepper with a whisk and set aside.

Cook the pasta in salted water, reserve 1 cup of the water. Drain the pasta and return to the pan, stir through the silverbeet. Chop the chicken into chunks and add to the pasta pan with the mushrooms and the chicken juice. Stir through the feta and egg mixture along with the reserved pasta water and the lemon juice. Allow to sit for a minute or so. Check for seasoning then into bowls, top with chopped parsley and sliced chilli or perhaps some lemon extra juice.

Smashed Potatoes

So good, so easy. Use different herbs or try using flavoured salts/oils or lemon rind.

Small peeled potatoes

Sliced garlic

Rosemary or thyme sprigs

Salt and cracked pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat an oven to 200C. Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and allow to steam out. Place each potato on a baking tray and squash (I used the bottom of a saucepan). Season each with salt and pepper, sprinkle over some fresh thyme/rosemary and generously coat with extra virgin. Roast for about 25 mins or until golden and excellent.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Chimichurri Marinade

Argentinian goodness. You can use this stuff as a marinade or as a sauce. It is simple and doesn't take long to prepare. As for the lamb leg, run a knife along the bone near the surface then just gently slice the meat away - 5 to 10 minutes. Failing that, get the butcher to do it for you. If you find you enjoy boning lamb legs (it isn't difficult) try the Boned Shoulder of Lamb with Herb Stuffing recipe. This was enough meat for 6 adults easily. The marinade will be better if it is made a couple of days before hand.

1 butterflied leg of lamb

1/2 a bunch of flat leaf parsley

3 tbs fresh oregano

1 tbs of fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 tbs white or red wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
Chilli flakes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Chopped basil


Combine the parsley, oregano, thyme, garlic, pimenton, vinegar, half of the lemon juice, plenty of salt and some cracked pepper, chilli flakes and 3 tbs olive oil in a blender. Blitz until it is all combined then check for seasoning adding more lemon juice, olive oil or chilli flakes if necessary. Smear all over the butterflied leg of lamb, cover and refrigerate for a few hours. Preheat a barbecue that has a lid (alternatively use a large roasting tray or some foil) to high. Place on the lamb reduce the heat to medium low and cover with the lid. Turn after 5 minutes, check for flare ups. Turn every 5 to 10 minutes re-closing the lid and keep checking for doneness until it is cooked - about 20 minutes for medium.
Remove to a tray and cover with foil and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the meat on an angle, arrange on a serving tray, splash over some balsamic and some chopped basil. I served this with smashed potatoes and a green salad.

Butterflied Turkey Leg with Cranberry, Mustard and Yoghurt Marinade

Yoghurt marinades are the absolute business, they tenderise, are creamy and compliment many flavours - European or Asian. To add to that, any marinade you didn't use can be used to either baste or is a ready made sauce for afters. Use some oil in the marinade and cook over a moderately low heat, otherwise your marinade will burn.

As for butterflying turkey legs, its fiddly but worth it, turkey has great flavour and it carried the marinade extremely well. Releasing the bone was very simple - I ran a knife down the length of the bone, gently sliced the meat from around the bone and made a round cut at the base - about 3 minutes. The fiddly part is removing the tendons from the meat - they are slippery and strong. Do what this guy does between minute 2 and 3, I used a knife and it sucked. 

2 turkey legs butterflied

5 heaped tbs yoghurt

2 cloves garlic

3 handfuls dried cranberries

1/2 bunch basil

A good handful of thyme

1 heaped tbs seeded mustard

2 tbs olive oil

2 tsp sesame oil

Salt and cracked pepper

Combine all of the ingredients except the turkey in a blender and blitz until smooth. Cover the butterflied turkey with half of the marinade and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Cook on a preheated medium low barbecue, turning occasionally. If possible use a lid or cover with a baking dish/foil. Should take between 20 and 30 mins but just keep checking. Serve with some of the unused marinade and possibly a squeeze of lemon.

Fresh Corn, Basil, Blue Cheese and Chicken Risotto

This was the simplest risotto I have made by far and it was light and delicious. The flavours I combined for this took 4 minutes to mix, the risotto itself takes about 18 minutes to cook. Watch this dude, he knows his business or read through some of my previous recipes  (Mushroom and Silverbeet Risotto, Asparagus Pea and Mint Risotto, Cacciatore Basil'd Chicken and Blue Cheese Risotto etc) for further ideas.

1 cob corn stripped, cob reserved
2 tbs blue cheese (more if required)

2 handfuls basil leaves

Zest of half a lemon and its juice

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Chopped store bought barbecued chicken
2 cups risotto rice
4 cups chicken stock (more may be necessary)
2 shallots finely diced
1 clove garlic whole
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup sparkling white wine (or white wine)
Salt and pepper
Sliced chilli

Blend the corn, blue cheese, whole garlic clove, basil and extra virgin in a hand held blender.
Heat the stock in a medium sized saucepan with the reserved corn cob. Using a large, heavy based frying pan with high sides, saute the onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic over a medium heat. When translucent add the risotto rice and toss to coat, toasting for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bubbly and allow to almost completely absorb. From this point add 1or 2 ladles of stock at a time when each previous one is almost absorbed, stirring occasionally. When the stock is almost all gone, try a few rice grains, if they are still quite uncooked add more stock to your saucepan and continue until cooked. This should take about 18 - 20 minutes. When adding the final ladle add the corn mixture, salt and cracked pepper, lemon zest and juice, the chopped chicken, stir to combine, add the lid and turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 4 for 5 minutes, check for seasoning, spoon into bowls, top with sliced chilli and serve.

Homemade Bagels

Not my recipe but I have made it lots of times and would like to share it. This gear is tasty as, not difficult but a little fiddly. Heaps worth it though. The actual bread making part is simple, as is forming the bagels but there are a few steps. In total it was about 30 mins to mix and form, in the fridge overnight, simmer for 1 minute and bake for 15 minutes. Awesomeness in bread form.

500+ gms plain flour

375 ml warm water

1 packet dried yeast (7 gms)

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tbs honey

Polenta for dusting

Mix the yeast, sugar and water and stand until it is foamy, about 5 minutes. When foamy mix in the honey. Stir the water into the flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic and firm, about ten minutes, more flour may be needed. When ready divide into 8, roll into balls and cover with a clean tea towel for 10 minutes. Roll each out into a 25 - 30cm rope of even thickness. Moisten one end of a rope and attach it to the other end, squashing and kind of rolling it, trying to keep the thickness even. Place onto a tray well floured with polenta, repeat with remaining 'ropes'. Refrigerate overnight, covered in cling wrap.
Take the bagels out of the fridge 20 mins before cooking. Boil a large sauce of water and preheat an oven to 240C.
Simmer each bagel in the water 1 or 2 at a time for 1 minute including a turn then remove to a wire rack until all are done. Sprinkle each bagel with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or pepper if you want. Place on baking paper lined trays and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove and cool, fill with tasty gear - I used cream cheese, avocado, salmon, basil leaves, oven roasted cherry tomatoes.

Lamb Neck Braised with Mushroom finished with Fresh Tomato and Ricotta

Tasty, easy and cheap.

400 gms lambs neck slices
2 cups flour
2 tbs rosemary chopped
Salt and pepper
1 glass red wine
1 cup beer (I used White Stag)
1 lemon quartered
5 button mushrooms sliced
5 or 6 pieces dried porcini
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 clove garlic whole 
4 tbs ricotta
1 handful basil leaves
1 carrot diced
1 potato diced
1 small sweet potato diced
Olive oil


Season the flour with the rosemary and salt and pepper. Cover the dried porcini in boiling water for five minutes, remove then chop, reserving the water. Dust the lamb neck slices in the flour then sear with some olive oil over medium high in a casserole dish. When they have nice colour, remove to a clean plate. Add a little more oil to the casserole dish and quickly saute the mushrooms and sliced garlic until fragrant. Stir in 2 tbs of the seasoned flour and cook for a further minute or so. Add in the lamb necks and their juice, the root vegetables and quartered lemon. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, beer and the mushroom water, removing all bits from the bottom of the dish. Return to the boil, reduce the heat to very low, add a lid and simmer gently for 3 hours.
Blitz the basil leaves, whole garlic clove and ricotta.
After three hours remove the lemon quarters, stir through the ricotta mixture, check for seasoning and spoon into bowls. Serve with nice crusty bread.

Seafood Risotto Cakes

Tasty as and it were left overs. I'm not going to go through the process for making risotto here, the process is the same as making any risotto but feel free to check out some of my previous risotto recipes (Mushroom and Silverbeet Risotto, Asparagus Pea and Mint Risotto, Cacciatore Basil'd Chicken and Blue Cheese Risotto etc). The only difference I made to the basic was that I flavoured the stock with bashed garlic, parsley stems, prawn heads and shells then removed them with a slotted spoon. When the risotto was almost done (about 5 minutes from the very end I added in diced fish, thinly sliced squid, scallops and green prawns and some lemon juice. Very nice. My favourite part about the risotto cakes were the whole prawns trapped inside the cake - unreal. We ate this by itself with a squeeze of lemon but it would be very nice with aioli and a simple salad.

Left over seafood risotto

2 eggs

3 cups Panko bread crumbs (or other)

2 cups seasoned flour

Oil for frying

Salt flakes
Lemon wedges

Beat one egg with a fork and fold through the risotto. Form the risotto into cakes with your hands or by using a chefs mould. Heat the oil 1 or 2 cm deep in a heavy based frying pan to medium high. Beat the remaining egg in a bowl. Carefully flour the cakes, coat in egg and cover with crumbs. Fry on each side until golden taking care not to break. Alternatively deep fry them until golden. Remove to absorbent paper, season with salt, squeeze over some lemon and serve straight away.

Braised Beef with Red Wine and Basil

The difference between a good meal and a very tasty one really is only in how you finish it. Always check for seasoning and think about what could be added to lift the dish.



With mash...

500 gms diced stewing beef

Fresh cracked pepper and salt

2 tbs minced rosemary

2 shallots sliced

1 cup red wine

1 cup chicken stock

3 handful mushrooms quartered

1 good slug of brandy

2 handfuls basil leaves

2 cloves sliced garlic

2 cloves minced garlic

Olive oil

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp corn flour

Combine the beef, salt, pepper, rosemary and some olive oil with your hands. Heat 1 tbs or so of olive oil in a heavy based saucepan that has a lid. When browned remove to a clean plate. Brown the mushrooms with the sliced shallots and garlic. Add the beef and its juice and deglaze with the brandy. When the brandy has evaporated, add the wine and bring to the boil, add the chicken stock, stir, reduce the heat to low and add the lid. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Mix about 3 tbs of the cooking liquid into a teacup and mix through the corn flour, squashing any lumps. Mix the corn flour through the braised meat and simmer for 5 minutes. Slice the basil, add to the pot with the minced garlic and extra virgin and mix through the braised awesomeness. Check for seasoning - add some cream or similar if you want and serve with crusty bread.

Wedding Canapes

I helped with some canapes at my sister in laws wedding on the weekend. It was fun but not a habit forming experience. The process was pretty straight forward it just required some prep. Obviously I did this on a much larger scales than what I am adding here but these should be the approximate measurements of the things I made for home use. To add to that, I also made a large batch of Beetroot and Feta Dip but used cottage cheese instead of feta.

Pastrami Bites:

Toasted French stick slices

Sliced pastrami

Horseradish sour cream
Oven roasted capsicum in slices
Basil leaves

Its pretty much just that. Bread, pastrami, 1 tsp horseradish sour cream, slice roasted capsicum, 1 basil leaf. Repeat until you have enough for your needs.

Crab and Corn Bites:
1 container of Phillips Bay Crab Meat

125 gms ricotta

3 tbs sour cream

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 clove garlic minced

1 handful of basil leaves, shredded

Kernels from 1 cob barbecued corn

Salt and pepper

Grilled prosciutto crumbled

Thin slices of spring onion

Melba toasts

This is essentially the filling from my Crab, Blue Cheese and Ricotta Ravioli recipe but on toasts with some tasty garnishes. Easy though. Combine the crab, ricotta, sour cream, 1/2 of the lemon, garlic, basil, corn, some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Check for seasoning and add more of what you think it needs (eg lemon) if necessary. Spoon 1 tsp or so of crab mixture, top with some crumbled prosciutto and a slice of spring onion.

Artichoke Dip:

I saw Guy Grossi do something similar on Italian Food Safari as an entree and I thought it would be brilliant in dip form. The first time I made this I used fresh artichokes - I wouldn't bother again, they are so fibrous. Bottled artichoke gives the same result as far as flavour is concerned and requires heaps less bother. If you do plan on starting from scratch, bake for at least 2 hours as 45mins wasn't even close and I had to push the lot through a sieve.



 

1 bottle Always Fresh Marinated Artichoke Hearts

250 gms cottage cheese

125 gms sour cream

Few slices Parmesan cheese

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Some liquid from the artichoke jars

Salt and pepper

Blend the drained artichokes with the Parmesan. Combine the artichoke mix in a bowl with the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Check for seasoning and add more as necessary (salt, pepper, Parmesan, lemon juice). If the mixture is too thick, thin out with some of the liquid from the artichoke jars. Serve with crusty toasted bread.

Sopressa, Bacon, Mushroom, Blue Cheese and Baby Spinach Salad

This was good and dead simple. I boiled some eggs till runny and sauteed some sopressa, bacon and mushrooms, tossed through some blue cheese, white wine and cream. That was it. Sopressa is an Italian smallgood but any decent salami would work. If you don't like blue cheese, use a little brie instead. After I plated this up I added some cracked pepper and chilli flakes which were great. I think also a small squeeze of lemon would cut through the richness. It is rich.

1 packet sopressa (200gms) torn
2 slices bacon diced
2 cloves garlic minced
5 mushrooms in medium dice
3 tbs olive oil
3 or 4 slices of blue cheese
2 tbs cream
Splash white wine
1 packet baby spinach
4 boiled eggs (more if you want)
Cracked pepper
Chilli flakes

Only boil the eggs till runny (place in when boiling, return to the boil for 4 minutes, slightly longer for XL) then place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Saute the bacon in the olive oil until it has colour, add in 2/3 of the sopressa and all of the garlic and cook for a further 2 or so minutes until quite fragrant. Add in the mushroom and cook until soft and with colour. Add in the blue cheese slices tossing to melt, pour in the white wine and toss, toss through the cream. Remove from the heat. Carefully peel the eggs which allows time for the mushroom mixture to cool slightly. Mix the mushroom mixture through the baby spinach (I used my hands) and divide amongst plates. Top the spinach with some of the uncooked sopressa, an egg or two, some cracked pepper and chilli flakes.

Boned Shoulder of Lamb with Herb Stuffing

I went to a mates place yesterday to speak nonsense and ended up watching him bone out a lamb shoulder and shove cool stuff inside it and roll it for roasting. I swung around today to see if he had scraps left to try, thankfully he did. It was perfect, it was a great combination of flavours. Neither of us had boned out a shoulder before but it was very simple, he just ran a knife carefully around the bone and gently halved a lump at one end to make it flat. It was all over in under 5 minutes. If this scares you, buy one boned or use a different cut or a chicken boob. For the cool stuff, we just went and grabbed some herbs from outside and blended it with some stuff from the fridge. The message here is, experiment and have fun with flavours. When I get around to making this, I will add a photo. I also think that this would work very, very well  unrolled in a barbecue with a lid.

 

1 boned lamb shoulder

1/2 bunch parsley

1/2 bunch sage

2 sprigs rosemary stripped

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp capers

1 handful grated Parmesan

Extra virgin olive oil

Rind of 1 lime

1 tbs seeded mustard

2 slices prosciutto

Salt and pepper

Blend the herbs, garlic, rind, capers, mustard, Parmesan and enough extra virgin to make it wet. Paint the herb mixture on one entire side of the shoulder. Lay the prosciutto across the stuffing. Roll the meat up and tie with kitchen string in a number of places along the roast. Season the exterior with salt and pepper and rub with oil. Roast in a preheated 220C oven for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 180C. Roast for 2 hours or to you liking. Good job bro.

Sage, parsley, lime, garlic, pistachio, anchovie

Scrambies

I love scrambled eggs. They can be as simple or as complicated as you please. Mine change every time I make them. The main tips I have for scrambled eggs are to 1) cook over a gentle heat; 2) serve with avocado on toast or tomato bread and; 3) don't use milk as it splits. In any case the following are some suggestions for making scrambled eggs.

• Cream

  

  Feta oil toast, diced bacon, roasted potato,
  salmon, wattle seed mustard, sweet chilli,
  hot sauce

• Sauteed garlic
• Sauteed mushroom
• Oven roasted capsicum
• Diced cooked potato
• Smoked salmon
• Diced bacon
• Grilled and crumbled prosciutto
• Tabasco/hot sauce
• Feta
• Yoghurt
• Minced parsley
• Thyme
• Basil
• Oregano
• Oven roasted cherry tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
• Sweet chilli sauce
• Chilli Jam
• Mustard

Fennel and Potato Curry with Beef and Coconut Prawns

A wonderful parent of some triplets I taught this year gave me some great food gear for Christmas. One of the things she gave me was some Afrika Kalahari Curry Powder. To add to that, my wife is away (boo) but that means I therefore am allowed to cook with fennel (hooray). I dig on curry but am far from an expert on cooking it but this did exceeded my expectations. Very little prep and a whole wad of flavour - I had thirds by the end of the night. I forgot to boil rice as I was cooking while on the phone but after I had eaten, I boiled some pearl barley and mixed it through the left overs and it was very gooooood. If you can't get this particular curry powder, make you own or buy something that looks fancy - Keens Curry Powder won't cut it.

4 heaped tsp Afrika Kalahari Curry Powder

300gms prawns shelled

1/2 cup corn flour

1 egg beaten

1 cup shredded coconut

1 small piece rump steak

Salt

Lemon wedges

2 medium potatoes peeled and diced

2 bulbs fennel in 16th wedges (stems and fronds reserved)

1 onion sliced
1 clove garlic sliced
1 or 2 cups chicken stock

Yoghurt

1 handful coriander chopped

Tomato or some kind of chutney

Boiled rice or pearl barley

Poppadoms

Mix 1 heaped tsp of the curry powder through the flour. Dust the prawns in the flour, shake off the excess, pass through the beaten egg and then coat with the shredded coconut, pressing it in. Cover with foil and place in the fridge until you are ready for it. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan that has a lid and toast 2 1/2 tsp of curry powder until fragrant. Toss the onion, potato and fennel through the flavoured oil. Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock, add the lid and fennel stems and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. Remove the fennel stems.

Heat  some olive oil to medium high. Sprinkle 1/2 a tsp of curry powder over the steak then fry in the oil on each side until medium rare. Remove to a clean plate, cover and keep warm to rest. Fry the coconut coated prawns in the same oil until there is nice colour on both sides (or deep fry for a more even result). Sprinkle the cooked prawn with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Thinly slice the steak and pour any resting juice into the curry. Stir through the chopped coriander and half of the fennel fronds.

Add enough rice to each bowl, top with some curry and sauce, add some steak to each bowl and some coconut prawns, garnish with some dill fronds, chutney, some fennel fronds, splotches of yoghurt and poppadoms.

Chicken, Roasted Cherry Tomato, Basil and Blue Cheese Ravioli

Sounds hard but it took me minutes to make the filling. I had some left over Balsamic Thyme Chicken from pizza the night before that I used here but I think that even store bought chicken or diced bacon would work well in its place. As far as the ravioli part is concerned, if you don't have a pasta machine or ravioli maker I have seen lots of recipes that use gow gee wrappers -  you can buy them frozen from Asian goods stores. Alternatively buy fresh pasta sheets and form them yourself or, be even more simplistic (as it will taste exactly the same) just warm it and mix it through cooked pasta. If you are making the pasta, I work on 100gms flour and 1 egg per person. This made enough for three.

150gms Balsamic Thyme Chicken (approx)

1 tbs blue cheese (or more)

3 tbs cottage cheese (or ricotta or sour cream)

1 clove garlic minced

1 handful basil leaves minced
2 tbs oven roasted cherry tomatoes
3 or button mushrooms minced
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Porcini salt (alternate optional)

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

1/2 handful parsley minced

3 sheets fresh pasta

Squeeze of lemon to serve

Saute the mushroom with the minced garlic in enough extra virgin olive oil. Season the mushroom with pepper and porcini salt and mix through half of the minced basil while still warm. Chop/mince the chicken until relatively fine. Combine the chicken, remaining basil, blue cheese, cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes and mushroom mixture. Cover and allow to cool. Boil some salted water.

Lay half of one sheet over the ravioli tray and push down gently with the dimpled device. Spoon 1 tsp of filling into each pocket, cover with the other half of the pasta sheet and thoroughly roll with a rolling pin. Carefully remove the excess pasta and push out each pillow of ravioli onto a flour dusted tray. Repeat until you run out of pasta of mixture. When the water is boiling drop in the ravioli and cook for 4 or 5 minutes. While the ravioli is cooking heat 2 tbs extra virgin in a small saucepan over a medium heat and saute the sliced garlic until it has a little colour or the ravioli is ready. Remove from the heat and add in the minced parsley. Drain the ravioli, divide amongst bowls and pour over some garlic/parsley oil. Finish with a small squeeze of lemon.