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.

Money Bags with Prawn

Money bags are little deep fried bags of super tasty goodness. You should eat these. Ignore the chicken skin in the ingredient picture though, that was a failed wonton wraper alternative...

1 chicken thigh

350 gms shelled prawns

2 cloves garlic

1/2 a thumb of ginger

1 handful almonds (or other nuts)

1/2 a handful corriander

1 handful basil leaves

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs teriyaki sauce

1 tbs rice wine vinegar

Wanton wrappers
Oil for deep frying (eg canola)
Sweet chilli sauce

Process the almonds in a food processor and remove. Roughly chop the chicken. Add all of the ingredients except the frying oil, sweet chilli sauce and wonton wrappers into a food processor. Blend them. Spoon 1 tsp onto each wonton wrapper, seal it up. Deep fry them in batches. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Chicken Pie with Tarragon, Chorizo and Asparagus

This sounds difficult and expensive but it was neither. Again I am using tarragon as I have some presently but I think most anything herb wise would work. If you would like an aniseed hit and don't have it, use thinly sliced fennel and some fronds. If not try sage - different taste but would suit. As I only used half a chorizo it was far from overpowering but enough to add just the right amount of depth and porki-ness. The left over puff pastry from the lid I egg washed and sprinkled with more sesame seeds and it was great, sort of like the pie equivalent of extra crackling.

4 chicken thigh fillets in small pieces

1/2 a chorizo in smallish pieces

5 mushrooms quartered and sliced

1/3 head broccoli in small florets

1/3 head cauliflower in small florets

2 cloves garlic roughly minced

1/2 handful fresh tarragon

1/2 sprig rosemary roughly chopped

2 celery stalks finely diced

Good splash of white wine

1 cup stock (I had left over turkey)

1/3 red onion finely sliced

1 bunch asparagus sliced

Salt and pepper

1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs plain flower
2 tbs sour cream
2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg beaten
Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Preheat an oven to 220C. Add half the oil to a frying pan with the chorizo to a large frying pan and turn up to medium. Fry the chorizo until it has rendered a little and has a little colour then remove to a clean bowl. Increase the temperature to medium high. Add the chicken in 2 batches with some salt and pepper and fry until they have some colour (not completely cooked) then remove to the chorizo bowl. Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the celery and garlic and saute until soft and with no colour. Add in the mushroom, some more salt and pepper and the rosemary (more oil if necessary) and continue to cook until soft and with a little colour. Return the chicken and chorizo and their juice to the pan along with the flour and toss to combine. Continue cooking for 2 or 3 minutes, tossing then deglaze with the white wine. Allow the alcohol to cook out for a couple of minutes then add in the stock, broccoli and cauliflower. The liquid should come up about half way - if not, add more. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the asparagus, onion, tarragon and sour cream. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Check for seasoning.
Pour the contents into a large enough casserole dish to fit. Butter the rim, place on and crimp the puff pastry, cutting away any excess. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds. If using the cut off pastry, repeat with it and place on some baking paper on a tray and stab all over with a fork. Place in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it, when the pie or the extra bits are golden, remove and allow to cool.

Warm Potato Salad with Tarragon, Asparagus and Chicken with Soft Egg

Clearly I have some tarragon at the moment. I've not grown it before but plan to now. A mates mum gave me some recently and I have been loving it. This recipe took about 15 minutes, about as long as it took for the potato to come to the boil, cook and then I just combined everything. I was working fairly quickly so maybe give yourself 1/2 an hour. If you don't have tarragon use some sliced basil or maybe some fennel fronds for the aniseed kick. Don't have those either? use something else that you like.

3 medium potatoes in bite size pieces
5 small mushrooms diced

1/3 of a BBQ chicken diced

1 slice bacon diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 bunch asparagus in small slices

1 tbs sour cream

1 tbs natural yoghurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
2 tsp dijonnaise
2 or 3 tbs roughly chopped tarragon
4 large eggs
1 avocado diced
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 chilli sliced

Place the potato pieces in a medium sized saucepan and cover by about 5cm water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Increase the temperature to high, boil then add in the eggs and cook for a further 4 1/2 minutes. Remove the eggs to cool, drain the potato and allow to steam out (check they are cooked first).
In the mean time heat the olive oil in a large frying pan to medium high and cook the mushroom, garlic, bacon and chicken over a medium high heat. When soft and fragrant, add in the asparagus and tarragon and toss. When you can smell the asparagus cooking, squeeze in the the juice from half the lemon, toss, check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary then turn off the heat.
In the mean time, combine the yoghurt, sour cream, mayo, dijonnaise (or some seeded mustard), the juice from half a lemon and some salt and pepper.
Shell the eggs carefully.
In a large bowl combine 3/4 of the chicken mixture, 3/4 of the dressing and all of the avocado. Add in the potato and combine. Check for seasoning and add more of whatever is missing (salt, pepper or lemon). Spoon into a serving dish and top with the remaining chicken mixture. Quarter the eggs and arrange on top, top with the remaining dressing and finish with some chilli slices if desired. Would be nice with some great bread. Kicks bum when cold also.

Tarragon Chilli Prawn Linguine

Good gear and simple. The most annoying part is shelling the prawns but that's the price you need to pay I guess for a decent prawn pasta. I used 750 grams of prawn here for 4 adults and left overs for kids. It was overkill but damn it was good. Nom nom nom nom....

750 gms green prawns, shelled

3 cloves garlic sliced

2 cheeks capsicum in small dice

1/4 Spanish onion thinly sliced

1 chilli finely sliced

4 tbs roughly chopped tarragon

1 handful minced parsley

Juice 1 lemon
1 good slug of white wine
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and cracked pepper
3 or 4 slices grilled prosciutto, chopped
1 packet linguine or similar

Combine the prawns and garlic with 1 tbs extra virgin with some salt and cracked pepper. Cook the pasta. When the pasta is about 5 minutes from being cooked complete the remaining steps. Heat the remaining oil to medium high, add in the prawns and toss about for a minute or 2. Add in the tarragon, capsicum, and chilli and toss about for 2 minutes. Add in the wine and 3/4 of the lemon juice and toss about. Toss in the onion and parsley. Try a prawn to check for seasoning. Drain the pasta and add to the prawn gear, add in half the chopped prosciutto and toss about. Spoon into bowls, top with more chopped prosciutto, a few prawns and a little lemon juice. I served this with some really nice toasted bread. Nom nom nom nom...

Scallops on Sage Potato Slices

A very nice little interlude. Probably about 10 to 15 minutes beginning to end. I imagine small pieces of fish or prawn would also be quite tasty. I also think that maybe rosemary or thyme on the spuds would be great too, maybe bung a little garlic in toward the end or some crumbled prosciutto. Experiment. No photos just yet but I will cook this again soon and add some.

200 gms scallops
1 potato sliced very thinly
1 handful sage leaves
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a lime
Salt and cracked pepper

Combine a fair whack of salt and pepper through 1 tbs of the olive oil in a bowl and coat the potato slices. Remove the potato to a clean plate then run the sage leaves through the oil as well. Press 1 sage leaf onto each piece of potato. Mix the scallops through the oil and leave there until required. Heat the remaining 1 tbs of olive oil in a large frying pan to medium high. When hot (almost smoking) add in the potato slices, sage leaf side down first. Fry until they have nice colour, turn and repeat, remove to a clean plate lined with absorbent paper, patting down the top as well. In the same frying pan place in each scallop (without over crowding) and cook on both side until they have nice colour. Cook in batches if necessary to avoid stewing. Remove a scallop or two to each slice of potato and squeeze over some lime juice. Serve straight away.

This version also had blue cheese and deglazed white wine

Salmon and Persian Feta Pasta with Mushroom

My favourite kind of pasta, cheap and easy. I have enjoyed flavouring stocks with prawn heads or bones or herbs for years and realised I could do the same here with the salmon skin for the pasta water. As it turns out it was effective and a very simple means of injecting flavour with zero effort. I will definitely use this idea again in future.

1/2 portion of hot smoked salmon (reserve skin)

4 or 5 mushrooms sliced

3 cloves garlic sliced and roughly chopped

 3 tbs marinated Persian feta
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Parsley roughly chopped
1/2 a Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 packet of pasta
Salt and pepper


Place the skin from salmon into a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Heat the oil to medium high in a large frying pan and add the mushrooms, toss until they have nice colour. Add in the garlic and fry with the mushrooms until fragrant. Add in 3 tbs of the pasta water, the feta and lemon juice, bring to the boil and simmer for a minute or two to melt the incorporate the cheese, stir lots. Reduce the heat to very low while the pasta cooks. Shred the salmon with 2 forks. Drain the pasta and add to the mushroom feta mixture along with 3/4 of the salmon and 3/4 of the parsley. Mix through the pasta, check for seasoning and then spoon into bowls. Add some shredded salmon to the top along with some parsley. Top with sliced chilli if desired or some Parmesan. Nice.

Star Anise, Sesame and Corriander Barbecued Lamb

Simple, very few steps, great flavour. I have used about 1/2 of a leg of lamb that I have boned out (the rest went into a stew and I kept the bone to make stock) but a couple of lamb rumps would work equally well. Come to think of it - chicken, pork or dead cow would all work.

1/2 lamb leg boned

2 shallots halved

1 tbs mirin

1 piece lemon grass halved, bashed

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs teriyaki sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

3 star anise

1 thumb ginger

3 cloves garlic
1 tbs kecap manis

1/4 bunch coriander

Combine the sauces, mirin, oils, star anise, ginger, lemon grass, garlic and spring onion in a large zip lock bag. Add in the lamb, gently rub about a bit (careful not to pierce the bag with the star anise), remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Allow to marinade in the fridge for 1 or 2 days, turning a couple of times a day. When ready to use, remove the lamb and reserve the marinade. Heat a BBQ with a lid to very hot, place on the lamb fat side down and reduce the heat to low. Close the lid. Continue cooking turning every five minutes and basting until it feels firmish (about 25 minutes). Allow to rest, slice diagonally and pour over the resting juices.

I served this with a salad made from barbecued potato and broccoli dressed with Persian feta, sliced Spanish onion, a little lemon juice and chopped coriander.

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.