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.