Sage, Pumpkin and Anchovy Sauce

Well easy and really good. I plan on doing this instead of gravy next time I roast pork or do pork belly. Don't worry about the anchovy, it melts away and goes to the background and makes everything else stand out - it does not taste like hairy fish. Add some cream if you want.

1 big wedge of pumpkin diced and cooked
1 big handful sage leaves roughly chopped
50 gms butter
2 cloves garlic roughly minced
Good splash of white wine
Resting juice from cooked pork
Salt and pepper

Blitz/blend the pumpkin until very smooth. Heat the butter in a pan to medium and when beginning to froth add in the garlic and sage and saute until fragrant and with a little colour. Add in the anchovy fillets and cook for a minute or so, squashing it a little as you go. Splash in the wine and reduce by half, add in the pureed pumpkin and stir, reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Add in the resting juice from your pork, mix and check for seasoning adding salt and pepper if necessary. Turn of the heat and cover, reheat when ready.

Pistachio Satay

I have a big bag of pistachios that I don't seem to able to make a dint in, no matter how hard I try and I keep thinking of ways to use them. Pistachio pesto springs to mind right now... I am also digging on coriander at the moment - add the two and get this. I researched a heap of recipes for regular satay and every one was different. The only similarity I found was peanuts so I thought I might try and throw together a bunch of things that taste nice with some pistachios and see what happens. It tasted very good - like pistachios - maybe I could have used less coriander but even then, I liked that. Two things, I think the paste was better the second day and, use medium heat so that you don't burn the nuts. I could also see this working with coconut milk/cream. Enjoy.

2 handfuls pistachio nuts

1 tbs sesame oil

1 handful coriander

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb ginger roughly chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs fish Sauce

1/2 tbs Kecap Manis

Pound the lot in a big mortar and pestle for 5 minutes or so until it forms a smooth paste.

I used this on prawn skewers and chicken thighs. Happy days.

Oregano, Corriander and Beer Marinated Chicken

I was aiming for a Portugeezer style chicken combo and actually meant to put in some paprika but forgot. Almost no effort for heaps of tasty flavour. I will add photos very soon as I plan on making this again.

1/3 bunch coriander finely minced
4 tbs fresh oregano finely minced
2 tbs garlic oil
Juice of half a lime
Juice of half a lemon
Salt (a fair whack)
Pepper
1/2 cup nice beer
Chicken thighs

Combine well all of the ingredients except the chicken in a large bowl. If you feel it needs more oil to stop from burning, add some olive oil. Add the chicken and allow to marinade at room temperature for 15 minutes. (Marinading for too much longer will make the lemon/lime juice cook the chicken and the salt will extract too much). Preheat a barbecue to medium high and cook until well coloured and just cooked through. Baste during the cooking and finish with an extra squeeze of lemon and lime juice.
I used this on pizza...

Lamb Cutlets with Minted Pesto Crust

Holy moly, this was good. The only difficult part was getting the pesto right - which is as simple as tasting it and adjusting it with more of whatever you need. Here I used a 1:1 ratio of basil and mint but I think that it would be better at 1:2 ratio basil to mint. Experimenting with other herbs or sauces like romesco or chimichurri would be brilliant too, just make sure there is enough oil to moisten the crumb and then crisp it. This would only have been about 5 minutes work and 10 minutes cooking. When you make the pesto substitue 2/3 of the basil for mint and make a smaller batch. Alternatively try my Mint and Parmessan Crusted Lamb Cutlets or Lamb Cutlets with Plum, Red Wine and Mushroom Sauce recipes.

3 tbs pesto, minted

8 lamb cutlets (or more)

4 tbs Panko (bread crumbs)
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 lemon
2 tsp store bought balsamic reduction


Season the lamb with some olive oil, pepper and the juice of the lemon and allow to come to room temperature. Heat a barbecue to very hot. Season the lamb with salt and sear both sides well on the barbecue, remove to a clean plate and allow to rest for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, combine the minted pesto and the bread crumbs and spoon to the top of each cutlet. Heat a grill to very hot and place the cutlets under to crisp up. When they have nice colour remove to serving plates and add some balsamic glaze to the plate for dipping/dragging through.
I served this with some barbecued sweet potato, butter wilted spinach and some rosemary garlic potatoes. Unreal.