Prep time:  40  Minutes

Marinating time:  4 Hours  (minimum)

Cooking time:  20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 8-10 (multiply the recipe to feed more)

1.2kg chicken thigh fillets

2 lemongrass stalks, finely sliced

2 long red chillies, finely minced (seeds removed for less heat)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs of light soy sauce

4 tbs of fish sauce

Juice of 2 limes

3 tbs of brown sugar

2 tbs of vegetable oil

For the Bowls & Garnish:

6 portions of rice stick noodles, softened according to packet instructions

1 cup of unsalted peanuts, toasted in a dry pan

Lime or Lemon wedges to serve

For the Salad Platter:

2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved & seeds removed, sliced diagonally

2 carrots, peeled & finely julienned

1 punnet each of red & yellow grape tomatoes, halved

1 packet of bean sprouts

Iceberg lettuce leaves, finely shredded

1 cup each of mint leaves, Thai basil leaves, coriander leaves, tossed and refreshed in iced water

1 red onion, peeled & halved, finely sliced top to bottom

For the Nuoc Cham: (Vietnamese Dressing)

1/2 cup of fish sauce

5 tbs of rice wine vinegar

2-3 heaped tbs of caster sugar (add to taste, should be hot, salty, sweet & sour)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 long red chillies, seeds removed and finely minced

Juice of 2 limes

Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the chicken thighs in a shallow ceramic dish or glass baking tray.  Cover with a lid or cling film and marinate for at least four hours.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare all of your salad items.  I like to place the cucumber, carrots & bean sprouts & herbs in seperate bowls of iced water in the fridge for maximum crunch.  This is not essential but really makes a difference to the freshness of the veggies.  I drain them well and then place them in piles on a large platter along with the tomatoes, Iceberg lettuce and red onion slices just before serving.

Place the minced chillies and garlic in a bowl and whisk well with the remaining ingredients for the dressing, until the sugar is well dissolved.  Have a taste and adjust the amount of sugar or lime, according to taste.  Trust me, you will know when it is perfect!  Pour the dressing into a bowl or jug.

Prepare the noodles according to packet instructions.  I like to soak them in cold water for 10-15 minutes, drain and then pour over boiling water.  Drain again and run under cold water in the strainer.  Place them in a bowl to serve.

Heat a BBQ to nice and hot and cook the Lemongrass Chicken for about 8-10 minutes either side.  Because of the sugar content in the marinade, the outside can burn so keep it moving around.  A bit of char is always good for flavour so don’t be too precious and pour over the remaining marinade during the cooking process.  Once the chicken is cooked through (after about 20 minutes), place in a baking tray to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips to serve.

I find the best way to serve is to line everything up on the kitchen bench or table and allow people to help themselves.  If they need a lesson on how to build their own Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Bowls, be sure to put your hand up and go first!

Do you just love Vietnamese food?  You may like to cook this……

Lemongrass Beef & Noodle Stir Fry

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that are at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

The post Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Bowls appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Chinese BBQ Duck:

4 duck breasts, skin on & lightly score the skin only with a sharp knife

1/2 a cup of store bought Chinese BBQ sauce (available at Asian grocers or online)

For the Broth:

5cm piece of ginger, cut into 1/2cm slices

2 whole garlic cloves, bruised with a knife

4 spring onions, halved, green ends reserved for garnish

4 whole Star Anise

1 litre of low sodium chicken stock

500ml of water

1/2 a cup of light soy sauce

1/2 a cup of Shaoxing Wine (available in supermarkets)

1 tbs of sesame oil

For the Veggies:

1 bunch of broccolini, ends trimmed and sliced diagonally

1 bunch of choy sum, rinsed and sliced into 5cm batons

1 punnet of fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 punnet of Shimeji Mushrooms (oyster or enoki would substitute)

4 portions of egg noodles, cooked according to packet instructions

Pea shoots & Spring onion tops sliced diagonally for garnish (you could also use coriander or other Asian herbs)

Chilli oil for drizzling (optional)

Sriracha for drizzling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 125°C. Place the stock, water, soy, shaoxing, spring onions, ginger, garlic, star anise & sesame oil in a large saucepan and bring to the boil with a lid on. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and allow the broth to gently bubble away and infuse with all of those glorious aromatics. Your kitchen will smell heavenly…..

To make the Chinese BBQ Duck, heat a good, heavy based frypan (I find stainless steel works best with duck skin) until nice and hot. Place the lightly scored duck breasts, skin side down in the pan and allow to fry for 5 minutes. Do not use any oil, the fat in the duck will render out and give you the oil needed to get a nice crispy skin. Turn the breasts over after 5 minutes and fry the under side for 1 minute. Remove the duck breast from the pan and place on a lined baking tray. Don’t throw away the duck fat, pour it through a strainer and pop it in a jar in the fridge for the most amazing Duck fat Potatoes, this stuff is liquid gold. Baste the skin of the duck breast with a generous layer of Chinese BBQ Sauce and place in the oven. Baste the skin every 15 minutes with more sauce and remove the duck form the oven after 45 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing on the diagonal, following the score lines in the skin.

Just before serving the soup, blanch the vegetables in a bowl of boiling water for 2 minutes to slightly tenderise and then drain. I don’t bother cooking the mushrooms as they will cook in the soup broth.

Place the pea shoots and spring onion in a bowl of iced water for maximum freshness and crunch and drain before serving.

To serve the Chinese BBQ Duck Soup, divide cooked noodles between 4 deep bowls. Arrange the greens and mushrooms in little piles and then place slices of duck breast in a fan like fashion. Ladle over the broth and drizzle over sriracha & chilli oil if that is your preference, you could also give it another drizzle of sesame oil. Top with the crunchy pea shoot & spring onion garnish and serve.

If you liked the slow roasted duck method, you may like to cook this…..

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that are at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

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Something really quite exciting happened to me the other day. I was approached by my Friends Australian Pork to collaborate with not just them, but Australia’s Number 1 Organic Coffee Company, Republica Organic to produce a recipe incorporating these two outstanding ingredients. Quite the challenge! Luckily for me, I love a good challenge and particularly when I get to live and breathe two of my favourite things, coffee and pork. This also gave me the opportunity to think of a potential Christmas dish and with the Festive Season upon us, there is no shortage of gatherings where I could woo my guests with a cracking pork dish with a difference.

So, it started. The 4am mind racing, my Husband asking what the hell I was doing sitting up in bed at that time researching on my phone, the constant chit chat about how I was going to do this and what did he think of that? With my Em’s Food Brain set to explode I came up with something quite inspiring, I think. My mind kept leaning towards the Caribbean. Think Summer, swaying palms, Mojito’s, coconuts, Bob Marley in the background and the heady scent of coffee and roasting pork. I was completely transported and new that I had found the perfect food marriage.

Coffee Spiced Pork Belly with Grilled Pineapple Salsa. Accompanying this, a creamy side of Coconut Rice & Black Beans and a fresh topping of Spring Onion & Toasted Coconut Flakes. This dish was an amazing journey of textures and flavours however for me, the absolute highlight was the coffee rubbed pork crackling, that was sweet, tangy, bitter, salty and so, so crispy. Perfection!

To achieve the ultimate crispy pork crackling, which is exactly what you want at this festive time of year, this recipe requires quite a few steps. The good news is that these steps take very little time, even though it seems like a lengthy process you can just go about your day in between. Just remember, you simply cannot rush perfection!

Prep time: 1 Hour

Cooking time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4-5

For the Coffee Spice Rubbed Pork:

1kg of Australian Pork Belly (hit the link for loads of handy tips and recipes on all things pork)

Coconut oil for drizzling (vegetable or olive is fine too)

1 tbs of Sea Salt

2 spring onions, finely julienned and placed in ice cold water, for garnish

Lime halves to serve

For the Coffee Rub:

NOTE: This will make about 1.5 cups of rub that can be stored in a jar in the pantry for use with all other things pork. Perfect on Ribs, Shoulder or Loin

1/2 cup of toasted coconut flakes, for garnish

1/4 cup of Republica Organic Timor Ground Coffee Blend

1/4 cup of brown sugar

2 Tbs of paprika

2 Tsp each of Cumin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Sea Salt and Ground Ginger

1 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp of allspice

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients in a jar and give a really good shake, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar.

For the Pineapple Salsa:

1 Small pineapple, skin removed and sliced into 1cm thick rounds

1/2 a red onion, finely sliced top to bottom

1 long green chilli, seeds removed and very finely diced

1/2 a cup of mint leaves, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

For the Coconut Rice & Beans:

1 cup of basmati rice

1 small brown onion, finely diced

1 cup of water

3/4 cup of coconut milk

400gm tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

Sea salt & cracked pepper

To prepare the Coffee Spiced Pork Belly, pat the pork dry with paper towel. Using a sharp knife or stanley knife, grab a baking tray or metal ruler and use the edge to score the pork at 1cm intervals for a nice neat finish. Place the pork on a rack in the sink and pour over 1-2 cups of boiling water. This will allow the skin to seperate so that when you put the coffee rub on it will get between the skin as well. Pat the pork dry with paper towel again and place it in a lined baking tray. Sprinkle over the sea salt and place the pork in the fridge, uncovered for four hours. The salt will help to draw any moisture out of the skin for the ultimate crispy crackling.

Pre heat the oven to 240°C. Remove the pork from the fridge and again, pat it dry with paper towel. Place it on a rack in a baking tray and drizzle over a little coconut oil. Rub the oil into the skin and then sprinkle over two heaped tablespoons of the coffee rub. Use your hands to massage the rub into the pork, in between the score lines and underneath as well until the pork is coated all over. Pour in two cups of water, taking care to not wet the pork and place the pork in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes reduce the heat to 180°C for a further 1.5 hours, making sure there is always water in the base of the pan to keep the pork flesh nice and moist.

To make my crackling super crispy, I like to place the pan on the lowest shelf of the oven and put the oven on Fan Grill for approximately 5 minutes. You really need to keep a good eye on it at this point as the sugar in the rub can burn. The pork skin will look blackened anyway, from the coffee and sugar in the rub but don’t be alarmed at the colour. What you don’t want is charred, it will make the rub taste bitter. Once the skin is blistered and hard when tapped with a knife (it should only take a few minutes), remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a good 15 minutes, loosely covered in foil.

While the pork is cooking, prepare your salsa. Cook the pineapple rounds on a hot BBQ or griddle pan until lightly charred. Wait until it has cooled (you could even pop it in the fridge for half an hour), cut the pine apple into small cubes. Mix it with the red onion, chilli and chopped mint. Season and dress with fresh lime just before serving.

To prepare the coconut rice, place a little oil in the base of a medium sized saucepan. Fry the onion until translucent and then add the rice, stirring to coat the grains before pouring in the water and coconut milk. Stir to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, pop a lid on and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes with the lid on. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and allow the rice to steam with the lid on for five minutes before adding the drained black beans. Stir the beans through the rice with a fork and place on a low heat to warm through. Season with sea salt and pepper just before serving.

To plate the dish, use a sharp knife to cut the pork into cubes. I find using the heel of my hand on the back of the knife and pushing down will give you nice neat cuts and not jagged edges. Spoon the coconut rice into a ramekin and invert onto your serving plates. Place the pork belly on the plate (2-3 cubes per person) and spoon the pineapple salsa around the rice. Garnish with spring onion and toasted coconut flakes and serve.

Click here for more delicious Pork Recipes

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that are at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

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This is such a versatile recipe because as I mentioned earlier, pulled pork can be used for the basis of loads of Mexican dishes. This will look like a super long recipe, however you can pair the pulled pork with ingredients of your choice and keep it as simple as you like. The beauty is, the rest of the meal can be made at your own leisure while the pork is cooking. You could even cook your pork days in advance and it will keep in the fridge or freezer. Pork shoulders are often quite large too so it will definitely make enough to feed 8-10 or else you can halve the pulled pork once cooked and use it for another meal.

I also removed the skin for this recipe but did not let it go to waste. I cooked it separately in a hot oven and used the crackling for texture, it was seriously good 🙂 However, feel free to discard the skin if that is your preference.

Because there are quite a few elements in this recipe, I have decided to publish it a little differently than normal. As the star of the show the pulled pork recipe will come first and all of the other elements will come after. That way, if you just want to do the pulled pork, you won’t have to keep scrolling down the page for the salsa’s and red rice etc.

Prep time: will vary depending on wether you cook all or part of this recipe. If cooking the lot, I would allow 1 hour, basically the amount of time it takes to cook the meat in the pressure cooker

Cooking time: Pressure Cooker 1 hour 10 Minutes

Slow Cooker 8 hours 10 minutes

Oven 4 – 5 hours @ 160°C – ovens vary but pork is ready when it falls apart

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 8

1.8kg Pork Shoulder, skin removed and set aside

1 brown onion, diced

6 garlic cloves

1 tbs of oregano

1 tbs of ground cumin

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 2 limes

3 bay leaves

2 tbs of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce (you can find this in the Mexican section at the supermarket)

375ml of Coca Cola (I know, sounds weird but works a treat and I normally loathe coke)

Sea salt and pepper

For the Crackling:

1 tbs of Em’s Mexican Spice Blend

A drizzle of oil

1 tsp of sea salt

Pulled Pork Method:

To prepare the pork, use a sharp knife to remove the skin from the pork (in one piece) and remove as much excess fat as you can. Pork shoulder can be a little fatty but it is easy enough to trim.

To prepare the skin, slice the pork at 0.5cm intervals. I find a Stanley Knife to be really handy for cutting pork skin as it can be quite tough. Place the pork skin on a rack in the sink and pour over a cup of boiling water. Pat the skin dry with paper towel and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes (or as long as you like) to dry out, this will give you lovely crisp crackling.

Place your pressure cooker on browning mode or heat a large frypan and brown the pork until golden and caramelised. There should be enough residual fat in the pan to gently fry the onions until soft and then add the garlic and bay leaves. Fry for one minute or so and then add the chipotle chillies, cumin and oregano, stirring continuously before pouring in the orange juice, lime juice and coca cola. Stir to combine, season with sea salt and pepper and pop the pork, juices and all in the pressure cooker, slow cooker or an oven proof casserole and cook according to directions above.

To cook the skin, heat the oven to 220°C. Remove the pork skin from the fridge and drizzle over a little oil before sprinkling over the Em’s Mexican Spice Blend and sea salt. Give the skin a good rub to really coat it well and then bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the skin is seriously crispy and crunchy.

To finish the pulled pork, remove it from the pressure cooker, slow cooker or oven and pour the sauce into a saucepan. The pork should literally fall apart as you are lifting it out. Place it in a shallow, oven proof casserole and use two forks to shred the pulled pork. Bring the sauce to the boil and allow to reduce by half (approximately 10 minutes) then pour the sauce over the pork. Cover the dish with foil and keep warm in the oven, or refrigerate once cooled and reheat when you are ready to use it.

To make the Mexican Red Rice:

1 tbs of olive oil for frying

1 cup of Basmati rice, very well rinsed until the water runs clear and drained

1 small brown onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 long green chilli, finely diced (seeds removed if you like less heat)

1 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken stock

400gm tin of diced tomatoes

A couple of coriander stems and roots, well rinsed to remove any grit

To make the rice, heat a heavy based saucepan and add a little oil. Fry the onion until soft then add the garlic, chilli and rice. Stir for a minute or so until the rice is toasted and well coated in the oil. Pour in the stock and tomatoes and add the coriander stems, mix well and allow the mixture to come up to the boil. Once boiling, pop a lid on and reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 5-10 minutes without removing the lid.

To make the Pico Di Gallo Salsa:

2 punnets of assorted cherry or grape tomatoes, cut into quarters, halves or diced (however you like…..no rules here)

1/2 a red onion, finely diced

1 green chilli, seeds removed and finely diced

1 cup of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lime

A good sprinkle of sea salt

Place all of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix to combine.

For the Cucumber & Radish Pickle:

1 lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced on a mandolin

4 radishes, thinly sliced on a mandolin

2 tbs of white wine vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

Other Additions & Garnishes for the Pulled Pork Bowls:

2 large fresh corn cobs, halved and chargrilled

A couple of avocados, sliced

1 green chilli, sliced

Coriander leaves, for garnish

Lime wedges, to serve

This is another meal that is fabulous in the centre of the table where everyone can help themselves. Refer to the image above for plating but make sure the pulled pork sits centre stage. You could also serve this with tortillas or corn chips of your choice.

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Prep time: 30 Minutes (a lot of it is done during the cooking time)

Cooking time: 35 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

To make the Cauliflower Taco’s:

1 small cauliflower, leaves removed and broken up into bite sized pieces, stalks and all

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tbs of Em’s Mexican Spice Blend

1 bag of kale slaw (good short cut), dressed with a little salt and lime just before serving

10-12 Corn Tortillas

Toasted sliced almonds & pepita’s to serve

Lime wedges to serve (optional)

For the Chipotle Tahini ‘Mayo’:

2 tbs of Chipotle Chillies in Adobo Sauce (1 if you like less spice)

2 tbs of Tahini

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of hot water

Juice of 1 lime

1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped

6 sprigs of coriander, roughly chopped

2 tbs of maple syrup (or 1 tbs of honey if you are not Vegan)

For the Corn & Tomato Salsa:

1 corn cob, grilled in a griddle pan until lightly blackened (not burnt)

2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced

1/2 a red onion, finely diced

5 sprigs of coriander, finely chopped

1 Green chilli, seeds removed and very finely diced

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Sea salt and pepper

To prepare the Cauliflower Taco’s, line a large baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the broken up Cauliflower pieces on the baking tray. In a bowl, combine the spice blend, olive oil and lime juice and whisk until lump free. Pour the mixture over the top of the cauliflower and for the easiest method, use your hands to toss the cauliflower through the spice blend to coat really well. Pop in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until tender and golden.

To make the Chipotle Mayo, place all of the ingredients in a small blender and whizz until silky and smooth. Have a taste and get ready to be blown away…..

To make the salsa, use a sharp knife to slice the corn kernels off the cob and place them in a bowl with the tomato, onion, coriander and chilli. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Dress with lime juice just before serving.

Cook your tortillas according to packet instructions.

To assemble the Cauliflower Taco’s, I like to place all of the elements on the bench for everyone to serve themselves. How I assemble my Cauliflower taco’s goes a little like this….

A little kale slaw on the bottom, cauliflower on top, salsa sprinkled over, chipotle mayo drizzled and a smattering of toasted nuts for crunch. A little sprig of coriander and a squeeze of lime and you have a serious family favourite contender on your hands.

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that are at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

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The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do something that I hadn’t seen done before (in all my Cob Dip research) and cooking fresh corn cobs on the Barbie until charred and smokey, was just the ticket. A good amount of cheddar, a whack of smoked paprika and the sharp tang and heat of pickled Jalapeno peppers gave the oozy filling just what it needed. For a final flavour burst and to freshen the whole Cob Dip up a notch I put a crunchy garnish of spring onion, coriander and green chilli on top with glorious, smokey kernels of corn.

I had every right to be scared, this was so moreish and with a seriously good sourdough, I reckon this is a serious winning Cob Dip contender.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 40 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves a Crowd

For the Cob Dip filling:

One large cob loaf (I used a good sourdough)

250 gm of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

150 gm of sour cream

1 cup of good grated cheddar

400gm tin of creamed corn

1/2 a red onion, finely diced

1 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tsp of smoked paprika

2 tbs of pickled jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

2 fresh corn cobs, husks removed

Grated rind and juice of 1 lime

2 tbs of chopped coriander

Sea salt and pepper

For the Topping:

1 Spring onion, cut into 5cm batons and finely julienned

1 cup of fresh coriander leaves

1 long green chilli, sliced diagonally

1/2 cup of charred corn kernels

To prepare the Cob Dip loaf, use a serrated bread knife to remove the top of the cob loaf. This is easily done by placing the cob on a board and holding it down with the palm of your hand. Run the bread knife through the loaf sideways, taking your time to get an even cut through the bread.

Prepare a baking tray with baking paper and remove the centre of the cob in chunks, large enough to hold a good wad of cob dip and place the bread chunks on the baking tray, ready to bake later.

Heat a BBQ or griddle pan and cook the corn cobs over a nice high heat until lightly blackened. Allow the corn to cool slightly before standing the cobs up on a bread board (one at a time) hold the top and run your knife down the side of the cob to remove the kernels, as close to the centre of the corn as possible. Set aside half a cup of the kernels for the garnish.

To make the Cob Dip filling, heat a fry pan and add a touch of oil. Lightly fry the onion and spring onion until just starting to soften, set aside and allow to cool.

For the topping, place the julienned spring onion, coriander leaves and chilli slices in a bowl of iced water to freshen up and become lovely and crispy. Drain before adding to the Cob Dip.

Place the onion mixture, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, smoked paprika, jalapeno peppers, creamed corn, charred corn kernels, lime zest and juice and chopped coriander in a large bowl. Season with Salt and pepper and use a spatula to really mix well until all of the ingredients are combined.

Heat the oven to 170°C. Place the base of the cob shell in the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up. Remove it and spoon the filling in (you may have some left over, bloody delicious on a piece of toast and grilled the next morning), pressing it down, really piling it in. If it is slightly higher than the top of the loaf it will hold while cooking and not ooze down the sides. Place the cob in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until heated through and golden brown on top. At about the 20 minute mark, place the bread chunks and top of the cob in the oven too and cook until golden.

To serve the Cob Dip, place the loaf on a large platter and pile the garnish and reserved corn kernels on top. Place the lid on, off to the side so you don’t squash the garnish and arrange the toasted bread pieces around the base of the loaf. Serve immediately……

Left over Spring Onions? You may like to cook this?

Need quality Bake Ware for your Cob Dip?

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There is no end to the combinations that you can do with mince to make Meatballs and this particular dish was an absolute triumph. Good quality beef mince, subtly spiced with cumin and cinnamon, full of fresh oregano, loads of garlic and topped with molten Halloumi, these mega Meatballs sat beautifully in a rich red wine and tomato sauce. I had some pumpkin floating around and I thought sweet roasted wedges would be just the ticket with the earthy, salty meatballs and their accompanying sharp and tangy sauce. I was right.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 40 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4 (with leftovers……maybe)

For the Meatballs:

800gms of good Beef Mince (for the juiciest meatballs you need some fat content)

3 slices of day old bread, crusts removed and cut into rough cubes

1 cup of red wine

1 brown onion, peeled and cut into chunks

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 a bunch of fresh oregano (about 6 sprigs) leaves removed and woody stems discarded

1 heaped tsp of ground cumin

1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp of dried oregano

1 egg, lightly whisked

Sea salt and cracked pepper

200gm of halloumi, cut into 1/2cm thick slices

For the Sauce:

Olive oil for frying

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

4 sprigs of oregano, leaves removed, stalks discarded and finely chopped

2 tsp of Rigani (Greek oregano but normal dried is fine)

1/2 a cup of red wine, leftover from the bread (this will make sense when you read on)

700ml bottle of passata

A pinch of cinnamon

2 bay leaves

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt and pepper

For the Rest:

600gm of Pumpkin, cut into 8 wedges, skin on & seeds removed

Olive oil for drizzling

Sea salt and pepper

2 tbs of chopped fresh dill

A few oregano leaves for garnish

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

Steamed greens and crusty bread to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C

To make the meatballs, place the cubed bread in a small bowl and pour over the wine. Allow to soak for 5 minutes and then use your hand to wring as much of the wine out of the bread as you can, reserving the leftover wine for the sauce. It will feel weird and soggy but don’t worry, it will give you the most divine meatballs. Place the bread in a larger bowl with the mince.

Use a small food processor to blitz up the onion, garlic and oregano leaves until they are finely grated. Place the mixture in the bowl with the mince and bread and then add the dried oregano, cumin, cinnamon, whisked egg and season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine (they are your greatest kitchen tool) until everything is well mixed. Dampen your hands a little and then shape the meatballs into nice large meatballs, about the size of the inside of your palm. You should make about 8 in total. Place them on a lined tray and pop them in the fridge while you make the sauce.

Place the pumpkin wedges on a lined baking tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper before baking in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. You can place the pumpkin on a lower rack while grilling the Halloumi.

Heat a large oven proof fry pan or casserole on the stove top and add a little oil. Fry the garlic, oregano leaves and dried oregano for about 60 seconds until fragrant and then pour in the reserved wine from the bread soaking. Allow the wine to reduce by about half then pour in the passata, add the bay leaves and season with cinnamon, a little salt, pepper and sugar. Stir to combine and bring the sauce up to a simmer before placing the meatballs gently in the sauce. Pop a lid on and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and place in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes switch the oven to fan/grill at 200°C and top each meatball with a thick slice of Halloumi. Grill for 5 minutes or until the Halloumi is golden.

To serve the dish, place two wedges of pumpkin, skin side down in a shallow bowl or a plate with a lip. Remove the meatballs from the oven and carefully lift them out with an egg slide or large spoon and divide them between the bowls. Spoon the sauce over and around the meatballs and pumpkin before sprinkling over the dill, oregano leaves and pine nuts and drizzle with a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Serve with steamed greens or salad and a side of crusty bread to mop up the sauce, if desired.

Interested in other Meatball recipes? You might like these…..

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This delicious Quinoa Kiev was one of those meals as instead of crumbing in bread crumbs, I used a blend of crumbs and quinoa flakes to lighten it up. I also swapped mashed potato for a creamy pea puree laced with mint as you really need something soft to mop up the garlic butter (drool). There was absolutely no chance of switching out the butter for an alternative as that would be criminal and completely Un-Kiev like and we don’t want to go overboard, do we?

Like most of my meals, this is totally open for interpretation. Be a devil, have it with mash or normal bread crumbs……there is absolutely no judgement here. This does look like a lengthy recipe with a lot of ingredients but it really is a simple step by step process, I am just giving you all of the instructions to make it as easy as possible. You could also just serve with a side of steamed greens or salad of your choice…..

Prep time: 40 Minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Quinoa Kiev:

Oil for frying (vegetable or canola)

4 x 150-200gm Breast fillets

160gm of good quality unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tbs of chopped parsley

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbs of plain flour

1 cup of quinoa flakes

1/2 cup of panko crumbs

Sea Salt & cracked pepper

For the Pea Puree:

2 cups of frozen peas

1/4 cup of chicken stock

1 sprig of mint leaves

1 heaped tsp of sour cream

Sea salt & cracked pepper

For the Spring Salad:

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced diagonally

4 baby cukes or 1 lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced

4 radishes, thinly sliced

A couple of handfuls of snow peas or sugar snap peas (or both), strings removed and sliced

Assorted herbs for garnish (I use micro herbs as I have them in the garden so use what ever you like…..mint, parsley, dill)

Extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Sea salt and pepper

1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts for garnish

To prepare the Quinoa Kiev make sure you remove your butter from the fridge for an hour or two before prepping, it makes it much easier to mix the garlic and parsley through.

Place the butter, garlic, parsley and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper in a small bowl and use a spatula to combine. Scoop the butter out and place it on a piece of baking paper. Fold the paper over and manipulate the butter with your hands to form a log shape, roll it up and then twist the ends so that it resembles a lolly wrapper. You want the butter to be about the size of a cigar (like a big fat cuban). Pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes so that it is nice and firm when you stuff the chicken breasts.

Place your chicken breast fillets on a cutting board and using a long thin knife (a fish knife is ideal), hold the breast with one hand and insert the knife at the end of the breast, where it is the thickest (right at the top). Slide the knife in to about two thirds of the way down the breast, being careful not to penetrate the chicken right through. Remove the knife and insert your finger, give it a bit of a wiggle around to widen the pocket. Cut the butter into four pieces and halve lengthways if need be, before inserting into the pocket. Secure the opening with a couple of toothpicks (I always find an ‘X’ works fine).

To crumb the chicken, set up an assembly line of the flour on a plate lined with baking paper, the whisked eggs in a shallow bowl or baking dish and the quinoa flakes and panko crumbs on another tray lined with paper (saves on washing up). Season the flour with salt and pepper and then lightly coat each breast fillet in the flour, dip and coat with the egg mixture and then roll in the quinoa crumbs until all is well coated. Place the Quinoa Kiev’s on a plate and pop in the fridge for 15 minutes.

To make the pea puree, place the peas, stock and mint leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, with a lid on, before adding the sour cream and blitzing to a puree with a hand blender. Season with a little salt and pepper and set aside. You can reheat just before serving.

To make the spring salad, place the asparagus and snow and/or sugar snap peas in a small bowl and cover with boiling water for a couple of minutes until just cooked and bright green in colour. Drain the water and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and then add the cucumber and radish to the bowl. Season and dress the salad with olive oil and lemon juice just before serving.

To cook the Quinoa Kiev, preheat your oven to 180°C. Heat a large frypan and cover the base with oil. Pop a couple of crumbs in the pan and if they sizzle straight away, the oil is hot enough. Fry the Quinoa Kiev’s on all sides for a few minutes until golden. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper and a rack. Pop a spoon or small pie mould under the foot of the rack so that it has an upwards slope. When the Kiev’s are golden, place them on the tilted rack with the opening at the top, to prevent the butter from leaking out. Finish the Quinoa Kiev in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

To plate, place a dollop of pea puree on each plate and spread out with the back of a spoon. Place a Quinoa Kiev on each plate and remove the tooth picks with a pair of tongs. Pile the salad along side, top with fresh herbs and drizzle over any butter or pan juices that might be left in the tray.

If you follow me on Instagram, you can watch the process of preparing the Quinoa Kiev in my favourites.

Leftover Spring Greens? You may like to cook this…..

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I bought two 300gm New York Cut Sirloins for this recipe and it was the perfect amount. You may use any cut you like (scotch fillet, eye fillet or rump) as they would all be good but about 150gm per person is plenty for this meal.

When I prepare a meal like this, I like to have all of the salad elements, the dressing and garnish ready so that once the steak is cooked and rested, it is ready to assemble. It looks like a lot of preparation, however it is simply a matter of slicing etc, a little like cooking a stir fry. The reward is this sensational Vietnamese Beef Bowl!

Prep time: 30-40 Minutes

Marinating time: 4 hours

Cooking time: 8 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Beef:

600gm of steak

2 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of light soy sauce

2 tsp of sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

For the Salad:

4 portions of rice vermicelli noodles, prepared according to packet instructions

1 carrot, shredded or finely julienned

1/2 a brown onion, very thinly sliced top to bottom

1 punnet of assorted grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded and sliced diagonally

A handful of snow peas, tops removed and sliced diagonally, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

A couple of handfuls of bean shoots

1 long red chilli, halved, deseeded and finely sliced

1/2 a cup of mint leaves

1/2 a cup of Vietnamese mint leaves

1 cup of coriander leaves

1/2 a cup of toasted granulated peanuts

For the Dressing:

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 lemon grass stalk, (white part only), finely sliced

1/2 a cup of hot water

2 tbs of fish sauce

2 tbs of caster sugar

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbs of finely chopped red chilli

To prepare the marinade for the Vietnamese Beef place the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic in the bottom of a shallow baking dish and stir to combine. Place the steaks in the marinade, toss the meat to coat and then pop the steaks in the fridge to marinate for 4 hours (for maximum flavour, less would be ok too if you are pushed for time).

To make the dressing for the Vietnamese Beef Noodle Bowls, combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool and infuse.

In another small bowl, place the mint, Vietnamese mint and coriander leaves along with the sliced red chilli and cover with ice cold water for maximum freshness and crunch.

About half an hour before serving, mix the carrot and brown onion together and spoon over a little of the dressing to marinate. This will take the raw flavour out of the onion and slightly pickle the onion and carrot.

Heat a griddle pan or BBQ grill to nice and hot and cook the steaks for approximately 4 – 5 minutes either side for medium rare, depending on the thickness of your steak. Baste with the remaining marinade during cooking and then remove from the pan and allow to rest for a few minutes before slicing about 1/2 a cm thick, across the grain.

To assemble the Vietnamese Beef Noodle Bowls, divide prepared rice noodles between four shallow bowls. Pile the salad items around the bowl (refer to image for direction) and then fan slices of steak over the noodles. Place a pile of the herbs and chilli in the centre and drizzle over the dressing. Scatter over the peanuts and serve immediately.

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Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

$ Low Budget

Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side

1 whole cauliflower (approximately 700gm)

1 cup of Greek yoghurt

2 tbs of Harissa Paste

1/2 a cup of water

1/2 a pomegranate (freeze the leftover half)

Sea Salt and Pepper

2 tbs of toasted pine nuts

1 tbs each of chopped Dill, Parsley & Mint

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

To prepare the Whole Baked Cauliflower, trim the cauliflower of any damaged leaves. I like to keep a few on for aesthetics as they look really cool once charred and also provide a little pocket to catch juices. Give the cauliflower a good rinse, just in case there is dirt hidden in the leaves.

Grab a really sharp knife and slice the cauliflower into 4 or 6 parts to about 2 thirds of the way down, depending on how many people you are feeding. Being careful not to slice all the way to the bottom. Place the cauliflower in an oven proof casserole and preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the yoghurt and harissa in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Give it a good stir to combine and if you are using a pot set yoghurt like Jalna, you may need to add a tablespoon of water to thin the yoghurt down slightly. Pour the yoghurt mixture over the top of the cauliflower and if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, rub it all over and gently pry the cuts open to get some of the yoghurt inside. Drizzle the cauliflower with a little extra virgin olive oil and pour 100ml of water around the base before baking in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking periodically that the water in the bottom hasn’t completely dried up. If it has, just add a little water at a time to keep the base of the pan nice and juicy so you can baste the cauliflower during the cooking process

When the Whole Baked Cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and drizzle over the juice of the pomegranate, reserving the seeds for garnish. Place the cauliflower back in the oven for a further 10 minutes, remove, baste and rest for a few minutes before garnishing with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and sprinkling over the fresh herbs. Drizzle over Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper before serving in the centre of the table.

Leftover Greek Yoghurt? How about this for Breakfast?

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Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 40 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Oil for frying

1 large brown onion, roughly chopped

1 long red chilli, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tbs of medium curry powder (I like to use Clive of India brand)

1 tbs of sweet paprika

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp of sea salt

1/2 a cup of water

600gm of chicken thigh fillets, cut into large chunks

2 cups of chicken stock

1 punnet of grape tomatoes, halved (two large whole tomatoes diced, would be fine)

400gm tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 sprigs of curry leaves (+ extra for garnish), stalks discarded

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp of sugar

Cracked black pepper

1/2 a bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Greek yoghurt to serve

1/2 a cup of toasted sliced almonds

Coriander leaves to garnish (a few micro herbs are a pretty garnish option too)

Steamed Basmati Rice & Roti, Poppadoms or Naan to serve

To prepare the Easy Chicken & Chickpea Curry place the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, salt and spices in a small food processor or blender with the water and blend until you have a fine paste. Heat a large shallow pan and add a little oil before adding the paste and frying for around 10 minutes on a low heat. You may need to periodically add a little water to prevent it sticking if your are not using a non stick pan. Take care not to burn the spices.

After around 10 minutes add the chopped tomatoes and curry leaves. Stir the curry to combine and cook until the tomatoes start to break down (a few minutes) and then pour in the stock & lemon juice and season with pepper and sugar. Again, stir to combine and bring up to a simmer before adding the chicken pieces. Pop a lid on and simmer on a low to medium heat for around 15 minutes. Remove the lid, stir through the chickpeas and simmer uncovered for another 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir the chopped coriander through the curry a few minutes before serving.

To prepare the curry leaves for garnish heat a little oil in a small frypan. Once the oil is hot, add the curry leaves, taking care as it will spit so if you have a splatter guard, I would recommend using it. This is totally optional but the crispy curry leaves add a beautiful layer of flavour that pops when you manage to nab one in a mouthful. Once they’re crispy, after about 40 seconds, drain them on a plate lined with paper towel.

To serve this very easy chicken curry, divide rice between four bowls. Ladle the curry over the top of the rice, pop on a good dollop of greek yoghurt and scatter over toasted almonds and crispy curry leaves. For a final garnish, lay a few sprigs of fresh coriander on top and serve with Roti, Poppadoms or Naan and a side of greens if you wish.

Curry leaves left over? They can be frozen for later use or you could use them in this…..

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I managed to get my hands on some amazingly good Beef & Guinness Sausages form Craig Cook butcher for this recipe. I understand this is not possible for everyone so any good quality, butcher made, Beef Sausages will absolutely suffice.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Beef Sausages & Gravy:

Oil for frying

8 large Beef Sausages

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 small brown onion, halved and sliced top to bottom

4 short rindless bacon rashers, diced into small pieces

3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and stalks discarded

1 1/2 tbs of plain flour

375ml of good quality beer (a dark ale works really well with this)

1 cup of beef stock

1 tbs of good quality balsamic vinegar (total game changer, you’ll understand why)

Sea salt and pepper

Rosemary leaves for garnish

Steamed greens to serve

For the Creamy Mash:

4 large dutch cream potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (these are the absolute best for mashing but not essential)

50gm of butter

150ml of pure cream

Sea salt and lashings of ground white pepper

To make the Beef Sausages and Gravy, heat a large fry pan and add a little oil. Fry the sausages until golden on all sides but there is no need to cook all the way through as they will cook in the gravy later.

Remove the beef sausages from the pan and add a little more oil. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until separated and just starting to soften before popping in the bacon, rosemary leaves and garlic. Stir to combine and allow the onion to soften more and the bacon to become lovely and golden before sprinkling over the flour. Use a wooden spoon and allow the flour to cook for a minute or two. It will look lumpy but if you cook it out properly, once you pour in the beer and whisk, the lumps will dissolve.

So, pour in the beer and whisk. It should thicken almost immediately and will look frothy but continue whisking for 30 seconds to make sure that all of the lumps of flour have dissolved and the frothiness has settled down. Pour in the beef stock, season with a little salt and a good amount of pepper, add the balsamic vinegar, stir and bring back to a simmer. Return the Beef Sausages back to the pan, nestle them in and allow the sausages to bubble away while you make the mash. Add a little water if the gravy looks to be getting a bit thick and it will develop a bit of a skin, but don’t be alarmed, it will stir and dissolve back into the gravy.

Bring the potatoes to the boil in a large pot of water and cook until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain well and mash with a potato masher until lump free. Place the pot on a low heat and add the butter, cream and salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to whip the potatoes until gloriously creamy and smooth. Have a wee taste and add any seasoning if necessary.

To serve, divide the mash between four serving plates. Top with a couple of Beef sausages each and spoon over lashings of the gravy. Sprinkle over a few rosemary leaves for garnish and serve with steamed greens of your choice.

Bacon left? You may like this one…..

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This recipe is for two portions as that is all the room I had in the steamer. If you would like to prepare for four simply double the recipe. Or leave the kids out of this one…..

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 12 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 2

2 x 200gm salmon fillets, skin off and pin boned

3cm piece of ginger, sliced thinly and then cut into matchsticks

2 spring onions, sliced in to batons and then finely julienned, green tops reserved for garnish

1 red chilli, halved, seeds removed and finely julienned

1 punnet of shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup of light soy

1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar

1 tbs of Mirin

2 tsp of fine caster sugar

2 tbs of peanut oil

1 tsp of sesame oil

Coriander leaves for garnish (along with the green spring onion tops)

Steamed Jasmine rice to serve

Asian greens to serve

For this Steamed Salmon recipe I used a two tiered bamboo steamer with a small plate in each basket. I don’t have a steam oven so can’t confidently adapt the recipe but I am assuming that if you have one, you will be able to adapt it yourselves.

In a small bowl combine the soy, vinegar, mirin and caster sugar. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.

Place your coriander leaves and spring onion tops in a small bowl with ice cold water to crisp up. Drain before serving.

Pour about 1 1/2 – 2 inches of water in the bottom of a wok. Place a small plate with a bit of a lip in each steamer basket and scatter over the shiitake mushrooms. Lay the fish fillets over the mushrooms and then top with the ginger, chilli and white spring onion. Use your finger tips to toss them lightly before hand so that there is a nice even pile on each salmon fillet.

Bring the water in the wok to a low simmer and place the baskets on top. Place a lid on and steam for about 6 minutes. Remove the lid and the top tier of the steamer and divide the sauce over the two steamed salmon fillets and then pop the tier and lid back on and steam for a further 6 minutes.

Just before serving, heat the peanut oil and sesame oil until just smoking.

To serve divide the rice between two plates and gently lay the steamed salmon fillets alongside. Scatter over the shiitake mushrooms, pour over any sauce left behind and then drizzle the sizzling hot oil over the top of each fillet. This will really release the flavours of the ginger, spring onion & chilli. Top the steamed salmon with the coriander and spring onion garnish and serve with steamed Asian greens. Delicious!

Do you have loads of leftover Spring Onions? You may like to make this…..

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Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4 – with leftover pork for lunch the next day

1.5 kg boned Pork Loin Roast

1 tbs of sea salt

2 tbs of olive oil

Cracked pepper

1 tbs of fennel seeds, ground in a mortar and pestle

2 cups of red wine

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tbs of plain flour

For the Pears:

4 Corella pears, quartered and seeds removed (I find this variety the best for baking)

1 red onion, peeled but root left intact, cut into wedges

4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and stalks discarded

2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tbs of real maple syrup

1 tbs of apple cider vinegar

A sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper

For the Root Veg Mash:

2 parsnips, peeled and cut into small chunks

2 large turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

2 cream delight potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

40gm of butter

1/4 cup of milk

Sea salt and pepper

To make the absolute best pork crackling, I remove the pork from the packaging and remove the string (it is usually elastic and tied up so will slide off easily, don’t discard as you can slide it back on). If the pork doesn’t have many score lines in the skin, either get the butcher to pop a few more in or use a sharp knife and add more score lines, being careful not to cut the flesh of the pork loin. This requires a very sharp knife and I find a Stanley knife works a treat. Sit the pork loin in the sink and pour boiling water over the top. Once I have poured over the boiling water, I pat the pork dry with paper towel, slide the string back on and place it in the fridge for an hour or so, uncovered, to really dry the skin out.

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Remove the pork from the fridge and place it on a rack in a baking tray. Pour over the oil and rub it in with your hands, wash your hands and then sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Season with pepper and scatter the ground fennel seeds over the top. Pour the red wine into the bottom of the pan and bake in the really hot oven for 25-30 minutes or until the crackling looks like it is crisping up nicely.

Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C and roast the pork for a further 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the red wine and if it is starting to dry out add a cup of water.

Place the pears, red onion, rosemary, maple syrup, olive oil and vinegar in a baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Give the pan a good toss to make sure everything is evenly coated and place the pears in the oven with the pork for a further 30 minutes.

Bring the root veg to the boil in a large saucepan of salted water. Boil for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain and mash until smooth and then whip in the butter and milk with a wooden spoon, season to taste and set aside with a lid on. Just before serving I pop the saucepan back on the heat and give it a good stir with the wooden spoon to stop it sticking.

Remove the pork from the oven and place on a carving tray, covering loosely with foil to rest. Pour the juices from the pan into a fry pan if your roasting pan can’t go on direct heat. Bring the juices to a simmer and whisk in the flour to prevent lumps and pour in the chicken stock. For a fool proof method with gravy if you are not confident, mix your flour into a thin paste with cold water before adding to the pan. Allow the gravy to simmer on a low heat, adding a little water if it looks a bit too thick.

Once your pork has rested for 10 minutes and your gravy is simmering away, remove the pears from the oven. Remove the crackling from the pork by running your knife under the skin and lifting the crackling off. Slice the pork loin into nice thick slices and pour any juices into your gravy. Use a pair of kitchen scissors or a sharp knife to cut up the crackling into batons.

To plate, divide the mash between four serving plates. Top the mash with slices of pork loin and then divide the pears and onions on top and around the plate. Drizzle over any juices from the pears and spoon over a generous amount of the rich, thick gravy before topping with the crispy crackling. Serve with a side of steamed green beans or broccolini.

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Prep time: I will say 20 minutes if you have to make the paste, if not, 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4-5

To make the Peanut Paste:

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 1/2 cups of roasted, unsalted peanuts

3 tbs of red curry paste

2 tbs kecap manis (indonesian sweet soy)

150ml of coconut cream, shake well before opening

1 1/2  bunches of coriander leaves and stems

For the Pork & Peanut Curry:

Peanut oil for frying

1 large brown onion, peeled and sliced top to bottom

800gm of lean pork fillet, sliced into 1/2cm slices

400gm tin of light coconut milk

1 bunch of broccolini, bottoms trimmed and sliced diagonally

150gm of snow peas, sliced

1/2 a bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

1 tbs of fish sauce

3 limes, halved

A couple of handfuls of bean sprouts

1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced

1/4 cup of granulated peanuts, toasted in a dry pan

Coriander leaves for garnish

Steamed Jasmine rice to serve

To make the peanut paste, place the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a pesto like paste.

To make the Thai Pork & Peanut Curry, heat a large pan and add a little peanut oil. Lightly fry the onions for a few minutes until softened, turn the heat up nice and high and add the sliced pork. Fry the pork until just browned and then stir through half of the peanut paste, mixing well to combine until aromatic. Pour in the coconut milk, fish sauce and squeeze in the juice of 1 lime. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Place the bean shoots and chilli slices in a bowl of iced water for maximum crispiness. Drain just before serving.

For an added bonus, heat a small frypan to nice and hot and cook the remaining lime halves, flesh side down for a couple of minutes until lightly charred. This will ensure that you get ALL the juice out of them and give a slight smokey flavour.

Once the curry has simmered for 10 minutes add the vegetables and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until just tender. Stir the coriander through just before serving.

To serve, divide steamed jasmine rice between four bowls. Spoon over the Thai Pork & Peanut Curry and garnish with the bean shoots, chilli, peanuts and coriander leaves. Serve with grilled lime wedges.

If you loved this, use the leftover paste to make this:

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Truth be told, I prefer this Chicken Stew version. It really does pay to cook meat on the bone, the depth of flavour is so much more concentrated and the meat is so meltingly tender you could eat it with a spoon. In this version I also used leeks instead of onion which was an absolute masterstroke. The thin, softened strands helped to thicken and bind the sauce so that every mouthful was a tangled web of rich, winey, herby flavour. I added pancetta for smokiness, anchovies for seasoning (don’t fret, you won’t taste them) and red wine instead of white for depth. I used the same zesty garnish but omitted the garlic as experience tells me it doesn’t need it.

That is what this dish has revealed to me (apart from the pure joy of eating it). The knowledge I have gained in the 6 long years since I posted the first version and the 500+ recipes I have posted in between.

What a ride. What a privilege.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Marinating time: Minimum 1 hour, the longer the better

Cooking time: 2 Hours (6 hours in low slow cooker, use same browning method to begin)

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Chicken Stew:

Extra virgin olive oil for frying and drizzling

4 free range chicken thigh cutlets, skin on & bone in

4 free range chicken drum sticks

2 tbs of plain flour

2 leeks, ends removed, halved, washed and sliced

4 garlic cloves, 2 minced and two sliced

3 anchovy fillets, finely sliced

3 sprigs of rosemary, 8 sprigs of thyme and 3 fresh bay leaves, tied in a bundle

8 slices of thin pancetta, roughly diced

2 cups of good, dry red wine

1 tin of diced tomatoes

1 cup of water

1 cup of kalamata olives (pitted if you prefer about 6 per person)

1 tbs of tomato paste

1 heaped tsp of sugar

Sea salt and cracked pepper

1 cup of Italian Parsley, finely chopped

Rind of 1 small lemon, peeled, finely sliced and then finely diced (once in thin strips, chop together with the parsley)

Serve with steamed greens of your choice

For the Parmesan Mash:

4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (Cream delight are great for mashing)

30gm of butter

1/2 cup of milk

2 heaped tbs of grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt and white pepper (black pepper is fine too, white has a much sweeter flavour)

To marinate the chicken, pour the wine into a shallow dish and add the crushed garlic and the bundle of herbs. Nestle the chicken pieces down in the wine mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, turning the pieces after half an hour. If you have time, marinate for longer as the flavour of the wine in the chicken will definitely intensify.

Once marinated, remove the chicken pieces from dish (save the marinade) and pat dry with paper towel. Place the plain flour on a plate and season generously with salt and pepper before dusting the chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off any excess.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Heat a large, heavy based, oven proof casserole and add a good drizzle of oil. Fry the chicken on all sides until golden and crispy, you may need to do this in batches.

Remove the chicken and set aside and in the same pan, fry the pancetta until starting to brown and then add the leeks and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes, until the leeks are starting to soften, then add the anchovies and chilli flakes before pouring in the marinade, herb bundle and all. Allow the wine to reduce for a minute or so and then add the tomatoes, water, olives, tomato paste and sugar. Mix well to combine and the return the chicken pieces to the pan, using a spoon to immerse them in and spoon over the sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover with a sheet of baking paper, nestled right down so steam cannot escape and cover with a tight fitting lid or foil. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and rest for a few minutes before serving.

About half an hour away of the chicken stew being ready, place the potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to the boil.  Boil for approximately 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife.  Drain the water and mash well until lump free and place back on the stove on a low heat.  Add the butter, milk and parmesan and season with salt and pepper.  Whip until smooth over the heat.  

To serve the chicken stew, divide the mashed potato between four serving plates. Make a little well in the centre of the potato with the back of your spoon and rest a thigh cutlet and leg in the well before spooning over the sauce, dishing out an even amount of olives. Drizzle over a good lug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle over the parsley and lemon rind garnish. Serve immediately with steamed greens.

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I am an absolute fan of chargrilling vegetables as it really brings them to life and accentuates their natural sweetness. I say ‘Mediterranean vegetables’ as they literally transport me to this time last year when we were cruising around the Greek Islands and indulging in just this kind of dish. Grilled vegetables with really good olive oil, loads of lemon and fresh gutsy herbs.

Some may think I over complicate what is already outstanding but I just love to even out a dish with texture and flavour. Hence the addition of toasted pine nuts for crunch and creamy Goat’s Fetta for flavour. This could be a meal all on its own or paired simply with grilled chicken, lamb, beef, pork or seafood.

What an absolute winner and I was so thrilled there were leftovers that I quickly put first dibs on them. I threatened all family members with a fate worse than death if they so much as looked at the leftovers and I am so pleased to say that they were just as delicious the next day.

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 6 as a side

3 small zucchinis, sliced about 1/2 cm thick lengthways

1 medium fennel bulb, halved and then sliced 1/2cm thick lengthways

1 red and 1 yellow capsicum, cut into varying, random chunks and seeds discarded

1 red onion, cut into 1/2 cm rounds

1 cup of Italian parsley leaves

1/2 a cup of dill sprigs (woody stalks removed and little branches plucked)

100gm of Goat’s Fetta, crumbled

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

1 tsp of chilli flakes

Sea salt and pepper

1/4 cup of good quality, cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of 1 lemon

To prepare the Mediterranean vegetables, heat a griddle pan or BBQ to smoking hot. Don’t oil them first, the best way to get those delicious chargrilled lines are to allow the natural sugars in the vegetables to caramelise and even burn slightly. I did mine in a griddle pan, so it required cooking in batches, which took a little more time but just cook them randomly, in no particular order and once each batch is cooked, arrange them on a platter, pulling the charred onions apart. (look at the photo for arrangement inspiration)

Once all of the vegetables are done, allow them to cool for about 10 minutes and then sprinkle over the herbs, Goat’s fetta, pine nuts and chilli flakes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice just before serving.

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So my Son was coming for dinner and luckily for me, all my boys love food and especially rich, homemade, low and slow sauces like this Duck Ragu. I have only recently begun dabbling in making my own pasta and the more I do it, the more therapeutic I find the whole process. You really need a pasta machine to roll the Pappardelle out so that it is thin and even so if you don’t have one, the store bought variety is totally fine.

I didn’t follow a recipe at all for this version, I simply paired the duck with flavours that I know are a perfect match and the result was heavenly.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 3 Hours

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 6

4 x duck legs

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 brown onions, finely diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, halved lengthways and diced

3 bay leaves

2 stalks of rosemary, leaves removed and stalks discarded and finely chopped

8 Juniper berries

1 cinnamon stick

3 pieces of orange peel

1 cup of red wine

1 cup of chicken stock

400gm tin of cherry tomatoes

400gm bottle of passata

2 tbs of tomato paste

Sea salt and pepper

2 tsp of sugar

1/2 a bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped

Freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

For the Pasta:

600gm of ‘OO’ flour

6 eggs

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

To make the Duck Ragu, heat a heavy based, oven proof casserole dish. Season the duck legs on both sides and fry until golden brown. You won’t need any oil as duck is quite fatty. Remove the duck from the pan and set aside. Remove any excess fat if needed but leave a small amount for frying.

In the same pan, fry the onion until it is just starting to soften then add the garlic, carrot, celery, bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berries, orange peel and cinnamon stick. Fry over a medium heat until the veggies start to soften and then add the tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste for about a minute and then pour in the red wine, stock, cherry tomatoes and passata. Season with salt, pepper and sugar and stir to combine. It should be lovely, thick and rich.

Place the duck legs back in the pan and push them down so they are immersed in the sauce. Tear off a sheet of baking paper and tuck it in, nice and firm, to stop any moisture escaping and place a lid on. Bake in the oven for 21/2 – 3 hours, checking every 45 minutes or so until the duck meat is falling off the bone.

While the Duck Ragu is cooking prepare the pasta. I use my food processor to make the dough. Place the flour and eggs in the processor and blitz until you have what resembles breadcrumbs. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and then bring the dough together by kneading with the palms of your hands. This requires a bit of effort and you will have to knead for around 5 minutes to get the gluten in the flour working. Once the dough has come together, roll it onto a disk and wrap in cling film. Place the dough in the fridge for at least half an hour to rest.

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into four even portions. Lightly flour the bench and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into an oval shape about 1cm thick. Place your pasta machine on its largest setting (number 1) and roll the dough through. I like to do this first setting about 4 times, I just fold the dough back up and feed it through the machine. Once you have done the first setting repeatedly, move onto the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th settings until you have a beautiful long ribbon of pasta. You will need to lightly flour the dough between each setting to prevent it from sticking. I then cut the long ribbon in half and then fold each half into thirds. Use a sharp knife to cut the ribbons about 1 inch in width. Hang the ribbons over a rack or broom handle to dry until you are ready to use and repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the duck is falling off the bone, remove the Duck Ragu from the oven and remove the duck legs from the sauce. Strip all of the meat from the bones (be careful of the smaller bones), return it to the sauce and discard the bones. Add two thirds of the chopped parsley just before serving and stir it through the sauce. If the sauce looks a little too thick, add a little pasta water to thin it out.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta, it will literally need about 4-5 minutes until al dente`. Use tongs to drag the pasta over to the sauce and use two large spoons to toss and coat the pasta with the Duck Ragu.

To serve, divide the Duck Ragu between 6 serving bowls (or less and eat the rest the next day…..even better). Grate over fresh parmesan cheese, sprinkle over the remaining parsley and drizzle with a good lug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Serve with a crisp green salad and crusty bread.

You may find this pasta drying rack handy, I have one and it is perfect….

https://www.everten.com.au/avanti-pasta-drying-rack-large.html

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Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Extra virgin olive oil for frying and drizzling

4 x 150gm Barramundi fillets, skin on and boned

4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

4 small zucchini’s, halved lengthways

1 bunch of broccolini, ends trimmed and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drained

1 punnet of assorted grape tomatoes, sliced randomly

1/2 a cup of pitted kalamata olives, halved

1 tbs of capers, roughly chopped

2 anchovy fillets, finely sliced

1/2 a red onion, very finely diced

2 tbs of freshly chopped parsley

1 tbs of finely chopped dill

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 lemons, halved for garnish

Sea salt and pepper

Chilli oil for drizzling (optional but available in all supermarkets)

Baby herbs for garnish or freshly chopped parsley

To ensure really crispy Barramundi skin, pat the fish dry with paper towel and place on a plate in the fridge for about 30 minutes, uncovered to allow the skin to dry out.

Place the potato chunks in a pot of water and bring to the boil for about 5 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a knife.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and when the potatoes are tender, drain all liquid and place on a lined tray. Give them a good drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Place the tomatoes, anchovies, capers, olives, red onion and herbs in a bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and dress with the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Toss to combine and set aside.

Heat a griddle pan to nice and hot and place the zucchini halves, flesh side down in the pan. Cook on either side for 5 minutes or until they have lovely chargrilled lines and are cooked through. Pop them on a tray and keep warm in the oven while you cook the broccolini, in the griddle pan for about 3 minutes either side. In the same pan, cook the lemon halves, flesh side down for a couple of minutes. Keep all the veggies warm in the oven while you cook the Barramundi.

Heat a frypan to nice and hot. Drizzle the fish with a little oil and season the skin with salt and pepper. Place the Barramundi in the hot pan, skin side down and when you put it in the pan, hold the fish down to stop the skin from curling up. This will ensure a nice even cook and crispy skin. You can use a plate to do this and just put some pressure on the middle of the plate for a minute or so. Cook the fish for 3-4 minutes either side, or until the sides of the fish are opaque. You can actually see the fish cooking by watching the sides. If the sides are pink, the fish is not cooked all the way through, if they are all white, it is cooked.

Remove the potatoes and veggies from the oven. Dress the greens with a little olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Arrange the potatoes and greens randomly on each plate and divide the salsa among each plate. Top with the crispy skinned Barramundi, skin side up and scatter over baby herbs or chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and drizzle with a little chilli oil for an extra kick.

Leftover Olives? You may like to cook this….

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Jamie’s recipe uses scotch fillet steak but I had a couple of humungous New York cut sirloins in the freezer that were the perfect size for 4 people. This recipe is a really good way of stretching the steak as you slice it to serve.

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 25 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

2 large Sirloin or Rib Eye steaks (about 300gm each)

Olive oil for frying

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp of chilli flakes

4 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and stalks discarded

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a cup of chicken stock

600gm of portobello mushrooms, halved and sliced thickly

2 x 400gm tins of butter beans, 1 drained

12 baby Truss tomatoes

Sea salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

To prepare the tomatoes, cut them into groups of three, still attached to the vine. Place them in a lined baking tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake them in a preheated 180°C oven for about 15-20 minutes or until blistered.

Heat a large heavy based frypan. Drizzle the steak with a little oil and season both sides generously with sea salt and pepper. When the pan is nice and smoking hot, cook the steaks for approximately 5 minutes either side for medium rare (longer if you like it cooked more). Once the steaks are cooked, remove from the pan and rest on a warmed plate, covered loosely with tin foil.

In the same pan, reduce the heat and add a little more oil. Fry the garlic, 3/4 of the rosemary and chilli flakes for about a minute and then add the mushrooms. Fry for 2-3 minutes and then pour in the stock and lemon juice. Ramp up the heat so the stock reduces slightly and then add the beans with the juice of 1 tin of beans. Stir to combine and bring to a fairly rapid boil. Continue boiling the beans for about 5 minutes, to reduce the liquid while you prepare the steak.

Slice the steak, across the grain into 1 cm thick slices. Divide the beans between four serving bowls and top with slices of steak and the blistered tomatoes. Spoon over any juices and sprinkle over the remaining rosemary leaves and drizzle each bowl with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sprinkle with cracked pepper and serve with crusty bread and greens of your choice.

Leftover Rosemary? You may like to cook this……

Interested in Jamie’s book? You can buy it here…….

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/5-ingredients:-quick–easy-food-by-jamie-oliver—book/1804365

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I used one of my all time favourite pasta shapes for this dish, Casarecce, but feel free to use whatever pasta you like. I just love how the little tubes fill up with all of the delicious pesto bits floating around in a sauce that is deliciously creamy without the use of cream. Yep, no cream. Just a good lug of starchy pasta water which results in a gloriously silky sauce. This stuff is like liquid gold, absolute genius…..

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Olive oil for frying

500gm of Casarecce pasta (or pasta of your choice)

1 cup of pasta water

6 Italian Pork & Fennel Sausages

4 large portobello mushrooms, diced

1 bag of baby rocket leaves

1/2 a bunch of basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 a cup of sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips

1/4 cup of pine nuts

2 heaped tbs of grated parmesan

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea salt & Cracked Pepper

Basil leaves, toasted pine nuts & a squeeze of lemon to serve

Freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of Extra Virgin to serve

To make the pesto, place two large handfuls of baby rocket, the basil leaves, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan, lemon juice & a good sprinkling of sea salt and pepper in a food processor. Pour in half of the olive oil and blitz, adding more oil as needed until you have a nice fine paste.

Heat a large heavy based fry pan and add a little oil. Squeeze the sausages out of their casing and use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up, over a good amount of heat. This requires a little bit of elbow grease and as the sausage cooks it will become easier to break up but persevere and try to get it to a mince like consistency. Once the sausage is broken up, add the mushrooms and continue cooking over a high heat until golden.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta according to packet instructions. When the pasta is almost done, add three large tablespoons of the sun-dried tomato pesto and stir it through the sausage and mushrooms. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the liquid and pour it into the pan along with the remainder of the baby rocket. Stir until the rocket is just starting to wilt and then add the pasta, tossing to combine. I like to use two wooden spoons and really lift the pasta so that it becomes liberally coated in the pesto.

To serve, divide the pasta between four serving bowls and top with fresh parmesan, a good squeeze of lemon, torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts. I always finish my pasta with a good drizzling of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for added flavour and a beautiful shine.

Leftover pesto will keep in the fridge for about a week and will freeze for up to 2 months.

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I served and baked this in individual casserole dishes, however there is no need. You could just pile it all into the one baking dish and dollop the Tahini yoghurt around or serve it in the centre of the table and everyone can help themselves. I also used a spice blend called Ras el Hanout, that I make myself in quite a large portion and keep in the cupboard. It is super handy for spicing up any Middle Eastern inspired feast and you will find the recipe link for it at the bottom of the page. It is available for purchase in specialty food shops or online but it really is just a matter of popping spices in a jar and giving a good shake.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Beef Koftas:

600-800gm of beef mince (depending on the portions you are feeding people)

1 heaped tbs of Ras el Hanout

3 cloves of garlic

1 small brown onion, diced

A good handful of continental parlsey leaves

1/2 a handful of mint leaves

1/2 a cup of pistachios

1 egg

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Toasted pistachios, roughly chopped to serve

For the Sauce:

Olive oil for frying

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 small brown onion, finely diced

1 heaped tbs of Ras el Hanout

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 a cauliflower, cut into small florets

400gm tin of chickpeas, liquid and all

1 tin of cherry tomatoes

2 tbs of tomato paste

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt & cracked pepper

For the Tahini Yoghurt:

1 large tbs of tahini

A couple of tbs of hot water

1 cup of greek yoghurt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 tbs of honey

2 tbs of finely chopped parsley

1 tbs of finely chopped mint

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To make the Beef Kofta, place the onion, garlic, pistachios, mint and parsley in a small food processor and blitz until you have a fine paste. Place the beef mince in a large mixing bowl with the onion mix, along with the Ras el Hanout, the egg and season generously with salt and pepper. I find it easiest to use my hands to mix until well combined. Once combined, wet your hands and roll into good sized balls, bigger than a golf ball so that you end up with about 3-4 per person. Place them on a tray and pop them in the fridge while you make the sauce.

Heat a large frypan and add a little oil. Lightly fry the onion until starting to soften and then add the garlic and cauliflower florets. Fry for a few minutes, then sprinkle over the Ras el Hanout, continuing to stir until aromatic. Once aromatic, pour in the chickpeas and tomatoes, add the tomato paste, season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and sugar and stir well to combine. Have a taste and adjust any seasoning to your liking but it should be pretty right.

Remove the Beef Kofta from the fridge and place them, randomly in individual ramekins or a large oven proof casserole (if you have Le Creuset or equivalent you could use that for the entire process). Spoon the sauce around the meatballs, trying to leave the top exposed as they will go lovely and golden once baked. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

To make the Tahini yoghurt, place the tahini in a mixing bowl and use a couple of tbs of boiling water to thin it out slightly. Once thinned and smooth, add the yoghurt, lemon juice, honey and half of the chopped herbs. Use a whisk to stir until lovely and smooth.

Remove the Beef Kofta from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before topping with dollops of the tahini yoghurt, chopped pistachios and the remaining half of the chopped herbs. Enjoy!

Want to make your own Ras el hanout?

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This really is a bit of a blank canvas and you could use whatever Asian vegetables you have available. Baby choy sum, chinese broccoli, broccolini, snow peas etc would all be delicious. You could also substitute the chicken for seafood or tofu if that is your preference.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

3 chicken breast fillets, sliced about 1/2cm thick, across the grain (you can actually buy pre-sliced to save time)

1 brown onion, peeled, halved and sliced top to bottom

1 lemongrass stalk, finely sliced

3cm piece of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks

2 garlic cloves, peeled

4 kaffir lime leaves, centre vein removed and rolled up and sliced thinly

2 tbs of red curry paste

1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock

400ml tin of coconut milk

270ml tin of coconut cream (be sure to give the tine a really good shake)

4 portions of egg noodles, cooked according to packet instructions (you can use rice noodles if that is your preference)

3 tbs of fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup of brown sugar

4 handfuls of bean sprouts, freshened up in iced water

1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped & 1/2 a cup of the leaves reserved for the topper

1 red chilli, finely sliced

1/2 a cup of toasted coconut flakes

Lime wedges to serve

Place the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and lime leaves in a mini processor or chopper and blitz until it is a nice fine consistency.

Heat a large saucepan and add a little oil. Lightly fry the onion until just starting to soften and then add the lemongrass etc. Fry for a minute or two and then stir in the curry paste. Again, fry for a minute or two before pouring in the stock, coconut milk and coconut cream. Stir well to combine and allow to come up to a simmer. Once simmering add the fish sauce lime juice and sugar, stir and have a taste. Adjust any seasoning, you should have the perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour. Continue to simmer on a low heat.

Drain the bean shoots and toss through the coriander leaves. Prepare the noodles according to packet instructions. When the noodles are just about sone, add the chicken and beans to the laksa sauce and stir. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the chicken is just cooked and the beans are tender. Stir through the coriander just before serving.

To serve the Quick Chicken laksa, drain the noodles and divide between four large serving bowls. Ladle over the laksa, dividing the chicken and beans evenly and then place a generous handful of the bean sprouts and coriander in a pile on top. Scatter over the toasted coconut flakes and chilli slices and serve with wedges of lime.

Leftover bean sprouts? You may like to cook this

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Prep time: 25 Minutes

Cooking time: About an Hour (longer if you like the flavours to really simmer away)

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4 (just double the recipe for a bit of a crowd)

Olive oil for frying

800gm of lamb mince

2 cloves of garlic

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 bay leaves

3 tbs of tomato paste (low sodium if possible)

1 cup of beef stock

1 cup of red wine

2 tbs of Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt & pepper

1 tsp of sugar

For the Mash:

800gm of good mashing potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

80gm of butter

1/2 a cup of milk

Sea salt and cracked pepper

1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

A sprinkling of dried oregano

To prepare the Shepherds Pie, heat a large frypan and add a little oil. Fry the onion, garlic, basil and bay leaves for about 7 minutes until the veggies are starting to soften.

Increase the heat on the pan and add the lamb mince. Use a wooden spoon to break the mince up and continue frying until brown and any liquid has reduced. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine before pouring in the stock, wine and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, pepper and sugar and stir until the mixture comes to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes (or longer if you like) until the liquid has reduced and you have a nice rich gravy.

Place the potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and boil for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes and use a masher to get a nice, smooth, lump free consistency. Use a wooden spoon to beat the potatoes with the butter, milk and salt and pepper until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the mince mixture to a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Top with dollops of the mash and use the back of a fork to spread it out in an even coating. Sprinkle over the cheddar cheese and dried oregano and bake the Shepherds Pie in a 180°C preheated oven for around 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbling. This can definitely be made ahead of time and baked just before serving. Serve with a side of greens…..

Love comfort food? You might like to try this recipe……

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These delicious Beef Barbacoa Tacos are so simple. You can literally whizz the marinade up in a blender and pop the meat in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven, make a quick, fresh Guacamole, a zingy Onion Pickle and serve it on a bed of lime infused Kale Slaw. Perfect for a crowd and you could even freeze the leftover meat for another meal……

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking times: 1 hour Pressure Cooker, 8 hours Slow Cooker, 4 hours Oven

(cooking times are a guide only, meat is ready when it pulls apart with two forks)

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 6 (with leftovers)

1.5kg Beef Brisket, fat trimmed (leave a little for flavour)

Sea salt & pepper

1 dried Ancho Chilli, soaked in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes*

Oil for frying

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (found in the Mexican section of the supermarket)

5 cloves of garlic

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 tbs of ground cumin

1 tbs of dried oregano

1/2 tsp of ground cloves

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

Juice of 2 limes

2 tsp of sugar

3 bay leaves

1 bag of kale slaw

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 cup of coriander leaves

Sour Cream to serve

1 long green chilli, finely sliced for garnish

2 packets of Corn Tortillas (wheat tortillas are fine also)

For the Guacamole:

2 large avocados, stone removed and peeled

1/2 a small red onion, very finely diced

4 sprigs of coriander, very finely chopped

1 tomato, finely diced

Tobasco sauce

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt & pepper

For the Onion Pickle:

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt

To prepare the Beef Barbacoa Taco meat, trim the brisket of any excess fat but leave a little for flavour. Cut the meat into large chunks (about the size of your palm) and season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef in a hot pan with a little oil until golden on all sides. Place it in your slow cooker, pressure cooker, casserole or oven tray.

Place the chopped tomatoes, chipotle chillies, ancho chilli (remove the stalk) and half of the water, cumin, cloves, oregano, garlic, apple cider vinegar, sugar & lime juice in a small processor or Ninja and blitz until smooth. Pour the sauce over the meat and add the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper, making sure the meat is submerged in the sauce.

For the Pressure Cooker: Cover with the lid and set the pressure to 50 minutes. Once cooked remove the lid and use two forks to pry the meat apart. If it does not fall apart easily, continue cooking for a further 20 minutes.

For the Slow cooker: Cover the meat with a sheet of baking paper (this helps keep the moisture in) and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Check if the meat pulls apart at the 6 hour mark and if not cook for a further 1-2 hours.

For the Oven: Cover the meat with baking paper and tightly wrap in foil (or use an oven proof casserole) and bake in a preheated 160°C oven for 3-4 hours or until the meat falls apart.

When the meat is ready, remove it from the sauce and place it in a tray. Shred it using two forks (I find this the easiest way) and once all shredded add it back to the sauce. Keep warm until serving or reheat if making ahead.

Place the red onion, lime juice and salt in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the salt. Set the onions aside until ready to serve, they will turn lovely and bright pink in colour and the pickling will take away some of the raw onion flavour.

To make the Guacamole, mash the avocado until relatively smooth then add the tomato, onion, coriander and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and add as much or as little tobasco as you like. I like it quite spicy so would generally add about 2 teaspoons, however you should do it to your taste.

Toss the coriander leaves through the slaw and dress. If you prefer to make your own dressing, a couple of tablespoons of whole egg mayonnaise and juice of 1/2 a lime will do the trick. Season the dressing with salt and pepper if making your own. It is perfectly fine to use the dressing provided, just add the lime for a bit of freshness.

Cook the tortillas according to packet instructions.

To assemble the Beef Barbacoa Tacos, take a heated tortilla and place a little kale slaw on the bottom. Top with the Beef Barbacoa mixture, guacamole and the onion pickle. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and chilli slices.

*You can source Dried Ancho Chillies from Herbies Spices online (link below) or I have been able to get large bags of them at Harris Farm Markets.

Leftover Ancho’s? You may like to cook this……

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I walked past our local butcher, Craig Cook, The Natural Butcher, and they had the most incredible lamb shanks in the display cabinet. I want to stress that this is not a paid post (none of mine are……yet) but I would like to say that they have the most beautiful meat. Grass fed, from Craig Cooks own farms and it is superb quality meat. The butchering is top notch as most of the fat is trimmed and the meat looks plump, pink and fresh. They have a paddock to plate philosophy which is something that I try to adhere to where possible and I really believe that your meal will be elevated using quality ingredients. Our budgets don’t always allow this but with shanks of this size I could have easily fed 4 people on two shanks (with a fight to the death for the bone) and although I am fairly good on the fang, this shank totally defeated me. I ate about half and had the leftovers the next day with a warning to my kids and Husband that if anyone ate my shank, there would be hell to pay.

Getting back to the recipe, once I had the shanks in place I just knew the meat had to be the star of the show. An Irish Lamb Shank stew version was perfect as it has limited ingredients, is cooked low and slow and really allows the flavour of the lamb to penetrate the rich, Guinness infused gravy that is laden with earthy vegetables, garlic and herbs. I served this on a bed of creamy mash, kale and spring onion and we all lived extremely happily ever after. The End.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 3 Hours

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

4 lamb shanks

100gm of speck, cut into lardons (batons)

1 large brown onion, halved and sliced top to bottom

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

16 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stalks discarded or tied in a bundle with string and removed later

2 tbs of plain flour

1 cup of beef stock

1 can of Guinness

1 tbs of balsamic vinegar (not traditional but a game changer)

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks

1 turnip, peeled and cut into chunks

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Thyme leaves for garnish

For the Kalecannon:

4 medium to large, good mashing potatoes (Dutch Cream or Sebago), peeled and cut into chunks

1 bag of chopped kale or about half a bunch

1 spring onion, finely sliced

40gm of butter

1/2 a cup of milk

Sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

To prepare the Irish Lamb Shanks, lay the shanks on a board and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a large oven proof casserole and add a little oil. Brown the shanks, in batches if needed on all sides until really golden and caramelised. The browner they are, the more flavour you will have.

Set the shanks aside and in the same pan, add more oil if needed and fry the speck portions until golden. Add the onion, garlic and thyme and fry until the onion is starting to soften and then sprinkle over the flour. Allow the flour to absorb the fat and oil from the pan and cook for a minute or so before pouring in the stock and Guinness. Season with a little more salt and pepper and add the balsamic vinegar and stir until well combined, scraping the base of the pan, until the gravy is starting to thicken. Once it has thickened, place the shanks back in the casserole and spoon the sauce over the shanks so they are relatively submerged in the gravy. Tear off a sheet of baking paper and tuck in the sides, nice and snug. Pop a lid on or wrap tightly in foil and bake in the oven for two hours, checking at the 1 hour mark and basting and turning the shanks to ensure an even cook.

At the 2 hour mark, add the carrot and turnip to the casserole and give it a stir to make sure the veggies are submerged in the gravy. Pop the baking paper and lid back on and bake the Irish Lamb Shanks for a further hour or until the meat is falling off the bone

Bring the potatoes to the boil in a large pot for about 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Place the kale in a large bowl and cover with boiling water for a few minutes or until the kale is tender and bright green. Drain and squeeze out any excess water. If it is quite chunky, chop it up a bit with a knife. Drain the water out of the potatoes and place the pot over a low heat. Mash the potatoes until smooth and then add the butter, milk, spring onion and kale to the saucepan, season generously with salt and pepper and whip with a wooden spoon over the heat until creamy.

To plate the Irish Lamb Shanks, place a generous dollop of Kalecannon in the centre of each large, shallow bowl or plate. Top with a lamb shank and spoon over the sauce and vegetables. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and serve.

If you have leftover gravy from the stew it is suitable to freeze. I often do this with excess sauce and then blitz it up and add to other stews later. It creates an amazing flavour base and minimises waste.

Leftover Speck? You may like to cook this….

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Whenever I cook a stir fry, I really like to have everything ready to go so that the cooking process takes just minutes and the ingredients are perfectly cooked. I tend to place things in bowls so I can just throw them in the wok. It does make more washing up but that is what the kids are for.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 15 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Peanut oil for frying (or vegetable if allergic)

600gm pork fillet, thinly sliced

4 portions of egg noodles

1 red onion, peeled, halved and sliced top to bottom

1 bunch of broccolini, sliced diagonally into 3cm pieces

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed, sliced diagonally into 3cm pieces

1 large carrot, peeled and finely julienned or grated

2 large handfuls of fresh bean shoots

4 spring onions, sliced into batons and green ends reserved for garnish

1 cup of coriander leaves

1/2 a cup of mint leaves

1 Lebanese cucumber, halved and seeds scraped, then sliced

1 long red chilli, sliced diagonally

1/2 cup of toasted unsalted peanuts

4 eggs

For the Mee Goreng Sauce:

3 tbs of Em’s Asian Chilli Jam (store bought is fine but link to homemade is below and is way better)

3 tbs of kecap manis

2 tbs of light soy sauce

2 tbs of tomato sauce (ketchup)

1 tsp of shrimp paste (its smelly but so worth it)

1 tbs of sesame oil

To make the Mee Goreng sauce, place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. You may need to crumble the shrimp paste with your fingers to dissolve it properly. It is a bit smelly but a bit of soap and water will get rid of the smell.

Take the green ends of the spring onions and slice them finely on the diagonal. Pop them in a bowl of iced water with the coriander and mint leaves and set aside. Drain just before serving for maximum freshness and crunch.

Cook the egg noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and refresh with a rinse of water to loosen before adding to the wok if need be. It is best to do them slightly underdone as they will cook further in the wok. If the instructions say 10 minutes, cook them for 9 minutes.

Heat your wok or frypan to really hot and add a little oil. Fry the pork fillet in batches until just cooked. It is really important to have the wok super hot as it will seal the meat and prevent the juices running out and stewing the meat. It will also ensure the juices stay in the meat making it super tender. It is equally important not to overcrowd the wok at this point as the pork will cook more evenly and you can flip it easily to make sure it is cooked on both sides. Set the pork aside once it is all done.

Add a little more oil to the wok and fry the onions. Keep the heat nice and high and when they have softened slightly add the spring onion, asparagus and broccolini. Stir fry until they are just have just started to change colour then add the pork, noodles, carrot and bean shoots. Pour over the sauce and keeping the wok super hot, toss everything until it is coated in the sauce and sizzling and continue cooking and tossing for around 2-3 minutes. I like to use two large spoons to toss as I can get a good grip on the ingredients and move the stir fry around the wok easily.

Heat a small fry pan to a sizzling heat and add a little oil. Fry the eggs with a lid on as this will ensure they cook quickly and evenly. Be careful not to overcook them as you want the runny yolk to go right through the noodles once you have plated.

To serve the Mee Goreng, divide the noodles between 4 serving bowls, making sure the other ingredients are evenly dispersed. Top each bowl with a fried egg and a good handful of the herbs. Divide the cucumber slices and scatter over the peanuts and chilli slices and spoon over any remaining wok juices. Serve with lime wedges if you wish.

Chilli Jam recipe is below…….

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Prep time:  20 minutes                

Cooking time:  20 minutes            

$  Low Budget

Serves 4

For the Lamb Pide:

Olive oil for frying

4 small or 1 large Turkish loaf

500gm of lamb mince

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp of ground cumin

1/2 tsp of ground coriander

A pinch of cinnamon

1/2  tsp of dried chilli flakes

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Lemon wedges to serve

For the Topping:

A couple of handfuls of baby rocket leaves

1 punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1 lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced with a mandolin or knife

2-3 radishes, sliced

1 small red onion sliced

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tsp of sumac

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

For the Herb & Garlic Yoghurt:

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 garlic clove, finely minced

2 tbs of water

1 cup of natural yoghurt

A handful of parsley leaves

A handful of mint leaves

A couple of dill sprigs

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Pre

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To make the Lamb Pide, prepare the bread by slicing the Turkish rolls in half lengthways running your knife evenly through the middle.  Lay the halves out crust side down and with your hands scoop out the middle of the bread so you are left with 8 hollow boat shapes  (I use the left over bread for bread crumbs that is suitable to freeze).  Drizzle the halves with a little olive oil and rub all over.  Place in the preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes or until crispy.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sumac, lemon juice and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the onions through the dressing and set aside.

Heat a medium frypan until nice and hot, add a little olive oil and fry the mince until nice and golden brown (you may need to drain off a little of the fat before adding the spices).  Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli flakes and cinnamon and fry for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir over a high heat so you have a nice dry mixture.  Spoon the mixture into your bread halves and bake in the oven for a further 5 minutes.

To make the yoghurt, place the herbs in your palm and create a tight wad. Finely chop the herbs altogether and combine about two thirds with the yoghurt, lemon juice, water, garlic, sea salt and pepper.  Keep one third of the herbs aside for garnish.

To make the Lamb Pide platter, grab a large board or tray and scatter over the rocket leaves. Place the mince filled Turkish boats on the platter and scatter over the tomatoes, cucumber and radishes. Drizzle half of the yoghurt over the mince and place the rest in a small bowl for people to help themselves. Top the mince with the onions and spoon any remaining juices over the mince and the salad. Sprinkle over the remaining herbs and serve in the centre of the table with extra lemon wedges.

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Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 40 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Poached Chicken:

4 x 150gm chicken breast fillets

5cm piece of ginger, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled & bruised

2 spring onions, green parts thinly sliced and reserved for garnish

12 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 litre of chicken stock

1 litre of water

1 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of sea salt

Coriander leaves for garnish

1 1/2 cups of jasmine rice

2 cups of poaching liquid

For the Nahm Jim:

3 long green chillies, seeds removed and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 a bunch of coriander

Juice of 1 lime

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 tbs of fish sauce

2 tbs of peanut oil

1 tbs of brown sugar

To make the Poached Chicken liquid, place the stock, water, ginger, garlic, spring onions, soy, salt and shiitake mushrooms in a large, deep pot. Bring to the boil with a lid on and once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Allow the stock to infuse at a really low simmer for a good half an hour or more, just gently bubbling away.

While the stock is infusing, place all of the Nahm Jim ingredients into a small processor and blitz until you have a fine paste like dressing. Set aside.

Use a slotted spoon to remove all of the aromatic ingredients from the poaching stock and discard everything but the mushrooms. Put the rice in a saucepan and ladle in two cups of stock, bring to the boil, stirring with a fork occasionally and once boiling, pop a lid on and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered for 12 minutes and then remove from the heat and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

As soon as you have the rice on bring the stock back to the boil and add the mushrooms and breast fillets. Cover with a lid and bring back to the boil and once boiling, turn the heat off and allow the chicken to cook in the residual heat for 20 minutes. Don’t be alarmed, it will cook through, delicately, for the perfectly poached chicken breast.

Fluff your rice with a fork just before serving and spoon the rice into a ramekin and then invert onto serving plates. Remove the poached chicken from the liquid and slice diagonally into 2 inch slices. Fan the chicken around the rice and pour half a ladle of the poaching liquid, gently over the rice & chicken before spooning the Nahm Jim on top of the breast pieces. Top with coriander leaves and slices of spring onion. Serve with steamed Asian greens of your choice.

The poaching liquid is deliciously fragrant and makes a great base for any kind of Asian style soup. As I said earlier, I had mine the next day however it is totally suitable to freeze for later use. The Nahm Jim is also suitable to freeze and is amazing served with fresh oysters or on any kind of grilled meat or seafood.

Leftover dried Shiitake Mushrooms? You may want to cook this…

Poached Chicken……

Lunch the next day….

The post Poached Chicken, Mushrooms & Rice with Nahm Jim appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 3-3 1/2 Hours

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4 (likely to be leftovers but awesome the next day)

For the Osso Bucco:

Olive oil for frying

1.2kg of Beef Shin

2 tbs of plain flour

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 large brown onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1/2 a bunch of thyme, tied with kitchen string into a bundle

3 bay leaves

1 cup of dry white wine

1 cup of beef stock

700ml bottle of tomato passata

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt & cracked pepper

For the Gremolata:

1/2 a bunch of Italian parsley

1 garlic clove

3 strips of lemon rind, finely sliced

For the Risotto Milanese:

2 tbs of olive oil

1 small brown onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic

1 pinch of saffron threads

1 cup of arborio rice

1 cup of dry white wine

3 cups of chicken stock (low sodium)

40gms of butter, chopped into smaller pieces

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt and pepper

To prepare the Osso Bucco, place the flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Give it a little toss to combine and then lightly flour the beef shin on all sides.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Heat a large oven proof casserole dish and add a little oil. Brown the beef shin on all sides until nice and golden, you may need to do this in batches. Once really lovely and browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil and fry the onions until nice and soft. Don’t be alarmed if there are brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, this is all flavour and will be lifted once you pour in the wine.

Once the onion is soft add the carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Continue frying until the veggies and herbs start to soften and then pour in the wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to lift all of the brown bits and allow the wine to reduce by about half before pouring in the stock and passata. Season with sugar, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and the return the beef shin back to the pan, juices and all. Make sure the Osso Bucco pieces are fully immersed in the sauce, bring back to a simmer and then cover with a sheet of baking paper, tucking the sides in nice and snug. This will prevent steam from escaping which will result in supremely tender meat. I do this in the slow cooker as well. Pop on a tight fitting lid or cover with a couple of layers of foil and place in the oven for around 2 1/2-3 hours. If slow cooking I would do about 7-8 hours on low. You can have a look at about the half way mark and turn over the beef shin to ensure an even cook. Remove the lid and paper for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

To make the Gremolata, finely chop the lemon rind, parsley and garlic all together so that it is lovely and fine.

Place the stock for the risotto in a saucepan and add the saffron. Bring to a simmer and then turn off the heat and cover with a lid to allow the saffron to infuse the stock.

When the Osso Bucco is about half an hour away, make the risotto. To make the risotto, heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan.  Gently fry the onion until it is soft and translucent and then add the garlic.  Pour in the rice and fry for approximately 2 minutes before adding the wine and allowing the rice to absorb all the liquid.  Ladle in the warmed stock, one ladle at a time and allow the rice to slowly absorb it.  I never stand and stir the whole time, I just have the heat at a very gentle temperature and allow the rice to gently drink in all the liquid, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick.  After about 20 minutes the rice should be tender but still have a little bite to it.  At this point, stir through the butter and  parmesan, pop the lid on and set aside until ready to serve.

To serve, divide the risotto among four shallow serving bowls or plates and top with the beef shin. Don’t worry if it falls apart, just make sure everybody gets a piece of the shin bone (especially if they love bone marrow, like me). Sprinkle over the Gremolata, clean the plates of any spills and serve with a side of steamed greens.

The post Osso Bucco Milanese appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

I bought an already rolled pork loin from the butcher that I cut the strings and then re-rolled once I had layered the ingredients inside. I recommend using a good quality free range pork loin for this recipe. It really does make a difference. To achieve the perfect crispy skin, it is a good idea to remove the pork from its wrapping and pat the skin dry with paper towel. Pop it in the fridge uncovered for a good few hours to really dry the skin out before rubbing with oil and salt.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: Approximately 2 hours (depending on pork size)

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 6

1.5kg rolled and boned pork loin

1 tsp of fennel seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle

8 slices of pancetta

12 sage leaves

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1 tsp of chilli flakes

2 tbs of olive oil

Sea salt and cracked pepper

2 cups of dry white wine

Pre heat the oven to 220°C

To stuff the Porchetta, cut the strings from the pork and lay it out flat, skin side down. Lay the pancetta slices all over the pork flesh in an overlapping fashion and then top with the sage leaves and sprinkle over the fennel seeds, lemon rind and chilli flakes.

Cut 5 good lengths of kitchen string and roll the pork back up nice and tight. You may need an extra pair of hands to hold the pork while you tie the string, about an inch and a half apart along the loin. It is easiest to tie the middle strings first and work your way out.

Place the Porchetta on a rack in a baking tray, or use large sprigs of rosemary as a rack in the bottom of the roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt and black pepper. Pour in the wine and place the pork in the really hot, preheated oven for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200°C and bake for a further hour. Check the liquid in the bottom of the pan periodically and top up with water if it is drying out too much.

A good guide for cooking pork roasts is approximately 30 minutes per 500gm. Once the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for a good 15 minutes before carving.

I like to remove my crackling before carving as it is a lot easier to get even slices and I then cut my crackling with kitchen shears or scissors. Drizzle the pan juices over the pork or make a gravy by adding a tablespoon of plain flour mixed with a couple of tablespoons of cold water. Whisk until lump free and then pour the flour mixture into the roasting pan over a low heat (remove the rack or herbs first). Once it starts to thicken, flavour with stock or just use water and stir until you have a nice thick, rich gravy. You can be a little creative with your gravy and add a tablespoon of balsamic or red wine vinegar or even dissolve quince paste in the liquid to sweeten it up a bit.

Serve your Porchetta with roast vegetables or salad of your choice.

Leftover Sage? You may like to cook this…..

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This Sesame Salmon recipe has been on my website since day dot and I am kicking myself for not cooking it more often. For some reason we have this notion that to put a crust on something or stuff something is a difficult process, when in fact it couldn’t be more simple. The result is a restaurant quality meal that requires very little effort and by using store bought ingredients in quite a crafty way you can really elevate flavour and presentation. Honestly, I started to prep this meal at about 4pm and by 4:20pm I was twiddling my thumbs. The bulk of the work was done and all that was required was the searing of the fish, cooking the rice (which cooks itself) and steaming a couple of greens. This Sesame Salmon dish is perfect for busy people with little time on their hands or for those that are not too confident in the kitchen. You would have to try really hard to stuff this one up!

This is a revised version of the original as A. I wasn’t a fan of the presentation and B. I just think it pairs better with steamed sushi rice. The old Sesame Salmon recipe had soba noodles with greens, which you may still use if that is your preference but trust me, the fragrant, sticky sushi rice was the absolute bomb.

Prep time:  20  Minutes

Cooking time:   20  Minutes                

$$  Medium Budget

Serves 4

2 tbs of peanut oil

4 x 150gm salmon fillets, skinned and boned

3 tbs of sesame seeds

4 tbs of Kewpie Japanese whole egg mayonnaise

2 tsp of wasabi*

1 tbs of japanese pickled ginger, finely chopped

1 tbs of pickled ginger juice

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Lime wedges to serve

Sesame oil for drizzling

Steamed Asian greens to serve (I used Choy sum, broccolini & asparagus sliced diagonally and served on the side)

For the Rice:

1 tsp of grated ginger

11/2 cups of sushi rice

2 cups of water

1 tbs of pickled ginger juice

1 tbs of mirin

1 spring onion, finely sliced

2 tbs of Furikake Seasoning*

To make the Sesame Salmon place the sesame seeds on a large plate lined with baking paper. Give the plate a little shake to spread the seeds out and place a salmon fillet face down in the centre of the seeds. Press gently on the top and then place the salmon fillet on another plate with the sesame seeds face up. You should have a nice even coating on the top side of the fillet. Repeat with the remaining fillets.

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, wasabi, pickled ginger and pickled ginger juice.  Mix well to combine and set aside.

Place the rice, water and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to break up the rice. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to steam for 5 minutes with the lid firmly in place. After 5 minutes, remove the lid, add the spring onion, ginger juice, mirin and a good pinch of salt and fluff and mix with a fork. Pop the lid back on until you are ready to serve.

When the rice is resting, heat a heavy based pan and add the peanut oil.  Gently fry the salmon fillets, sesame side down for about 4 minutes before turning over and repeating on the other side.  I like my salmon medium rare but if you like it cooked through, cook for a minute or two longer on each side.  Remove from the pan and set aside to rest.

To serve the Sesame Salmon, spoon a good amount of rice into a ramekin and up end onto serving plates. Spoon the mayonnaise onto the plates and spread it out with the back of the spoon. Place a salmon fillet on the mayonnaise, sprinkle the Furikake seasoning on the rice and garnish the dish with the sliced spring onion and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serve with lime wedges and steamed greens.

*Kewpie mayo, wasabi and pickled ginger can be found in the asian section of most supermarkets.  If you can’t get the japanese mayonnaise a good quality whole egg mayo will be just fine (S&W brand is a good one). I have spotted Furikake Seasoning (or otherwise known as rice seasoning) at some of the big supermarkets although you may need to get it at an Asian Grocer or online, below is a link to Herbie’s spices. It really takes the rice to a whole new level and is totally worth the effort of purchasing.

Leftover sesame seeds? You may like to cook this…..

The post Sesame Salmon with Wasabi & Pickled Ginger Mayonnaise appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  15  Minutes

Cooking time:   15  Minutes      

$  Low Budget

Serves 4

500gm packet of spaghetti, cooked to packet instructions

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp of dried chilli flakes

1 large red onion, finely diced

8 short rindless bacon rashers, finely sliced

2 x 400gm tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbs tomato paste

1 cup of pitted kalamata olives

2 tbs of olive juice

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup continental parsley, finely chopped

sea salt and cracked pepper (taste before you add salt as olives and bacon are salty)

Fresh grated parmesan and extra virgin olive oil to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large fry pan and lightly fry the onion, garlic and chilli flakes until soft.  Add the bacon rashers and fry until it is nice and golden and that beautiful bacon smell is permeating the whole house.  Pour in the tomatoes and add the tomato paste, olives and olive juice and give it all a really good stir to combine.  Reduce heat to a simmer and pop in the sugar and season with salt and pepper.  Have a taste and allow to simmer while the pasta is cooking.  If the sauce starts reducing too much, add a tablespoon of pasta water and pop a lid on.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it well.  Stir the parsley through the sauce and then add the pasta, tossing really well to combine.  Divide among four serving bowls and top with freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil……..Bellisimo!

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I made the pasta from scratch for this recipe. To do this I added 4 eggs to 400gms of flour, combined it in a bowl and kneaded for a few minutes. I shaped it into a ball and wrapped it in cling wrap and placed it in the fridge for half an hour before rolling it out, using my pasta machine and then cutting it by hand. Normal dried pasta is completely fine and on any normal day, I would use it too. I just happened to have pasta dough leftover from a meal I made a few days earlier.

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 15 Minutes (at most)

$ Low Budget

Serves 4

400gm of spaghetti, linguine or fettucine (or 500gm if you have big eaters)

3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

200gm of diced pancetta

1 clove of garlic, sliced

A handful of grated pecorino or parmesan

Cracked black pepper, lots of it

A few sprigs of Italian parsley, stalks removed and finely chopped

Extra parmesan to serve

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

To make the Carbonara, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta according to packet instructions. You want your pasta to have a little bite to it as it will cook further in the sauce. You also want the pancetta to be ready about the same time as the pasta. This dish is all about the timing.

Place your eggs in a mixing bowl with the grated pecorino and a generous amount of cracked black pepper and whisk until well combined.

Heat a frypan and add a little oil. Fry the pancetta until golden, then add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, until aromatic.

Use a pair of tongs to add the spaghetti to the pan along with about a quarter of a cup of the starchy pasta water and toss well to combine. Remove from the heat and when the pan stops sizzling (this is important as you don’t want the pan too hot), add a tablespoon of the pasta water to the eggs, give it a quick whisk and pour the eggs into the spaghetti. Use the tongs to toss the pasta through the eggs, off the heat, so that the eggs don’t scramble. The eggs will cook in the residual pan heat and will create a silky sauce that will coat the pasta. Add more pasta water if needed as the sauce should be nice and loose.

Divide the Carbonara between four serving bowls and top with extra grated parmesan or pecorino, chopped parsley and sprinkle over more cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

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The Crudo can be eaten as a trio or you could pick your favourite flavour and just serve one of them. It does require Sashimi grade fish, which is expensive but a little goes a long way and you may want to get your fishmonger to slice the fish for you if you are not too confident that you can slice it thin enough. I fed 4 adults (which included 3 strapping males) this for entree with crusty bread and it was more than enough. I would suggest about 150gm of fish per person, which would cost you around $35 in total. I also like to think about what it would cost you to eat the same at a restaurant and I do believe you would be way more out of pocket.

Prep time: 20 minutes

$$ Getting up there, dollar wise

Serves 4

For the Salmon Crudo:

200gm of Sashimi Grade Salmon, finely sliced

1 apple cheek, skin on, julienned and cut into tiny cubes

1/2 a long red chilli, seeds removed, julienned and cut into tiny cubes

Grated rind of 1/2 a lemon

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Good quality extra virgin olive oil

Baby micro herbs of finely shredded mint for garnish

A little sea salt

For the Kingfish Crudo:

200gm of Sashimi Grade Kingfish, finely sliced

Approximately a quarter of a baby fennel bulb, shaved with a mandolin

1/2 tsp of fennel seeds, ground slightly in a mortar and pestle

1/2 tsp of chilli flakes,

Grated rind of 1/2 an orange

Juice of 1/2 an orange

Dill sprigs for garnish

Extra virgin olive oil (good quality, of course)

A little sea salt

For the Tuna Crudo:

200gm of Sashimi Grade Tuna, finely sliced

1 small ripe tomato, grated directly onto the fish, skins discarded

Baby basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

Cracked pepper and a little sea salt

Crudo really needs to be prepared just before eating, otherwise the citrus and acid will cook the fish, ruining the flavour and buttery like consistency.

To prepare the Crudo, lay the thinly sliced fish in a single layer on 3 plates and top with the various toppings. Drizzle all of them with a good lug of oil and sprinkle the toppings evenly so that every mouthful is a burst of flavour. Serve with crusty Italian bread…..

Leftover fennel? You may like to cook this…..

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/linguine-with-sausage-fennel-roast-tomatoes/

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I have been meaning to do something with the fabulous cut of Beef Brisket for quite a while.  Why?  Cheap, full of flavour and just like the Pulled Pork Lasagne on the website, it is largely a set and forget type meal.  Bung it in the slow cooker in the morning, come home to a house where the smell makes you drool as you enter the door and all you have to do is make a béchamel, pull the beef apart and assemble the lasagne.  Brilliant!  Your kids will also love you for this one and if they don’t like mushrooms, don’t tell them they are in it and believe me, they will never know…….

You can also do the Beef Brisket in the oven, same process but in a casserole dish with a tight fitting lid.  Pop the oven on about 150°C and cook for 4 1/2 to 5 hours, stirring and turning the beef periodically.  The brisket is ready when it literally falls apart. The pressure cooker is another fabulous method of cooking the Beef Brisket portion of this dish. It will need about an hour and half on high pressure. Make sure you brown your brisket for maximum flavour before hand.

Prep time:  40  Minutes

Cooking time:  8 Hours on low            

$$  Medium Budget

Serves 8 large portions and is suitable to freeze

Olive oil for frying

1.2kg of beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat but leave some for flavour

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 brown onions, diced

20gm of dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes

3 large portobello mushrooms, diced

1/2 bunch of thyme, tied with string

1.5 cups of red wine

700ml of tomato pasta

1/2 cup of tomato paste

1 tbs of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt and cracked pepper

1 1/2 packets of Latina fresh lasagne sheets (freeze the leftover in a ziplock bag for next time)

1 cup of tasty cheese

1/2 a cup of grated parmesan

Thyme leaves for garnish

For the Béchamel:

80gm of butter

1/2 a cup of plain flour

4 cups of milk

1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg (fresh is best but dried will do)

1/2 a cup of freshly grated parmesan

Sea salt and black pepper

Once the porcini’s have soaked for 15 minutes, drain them and set aside the liquid for later use.  Finely chop the porcini and set aside.

Heat a large heavy based frypan.  Rub the beef brisket with a little oil and season generously with salt and pepper.  Place it in the pan and allow to caramelise for 4 minutes either side or until golden.  Remove from the pan and place it in the slow cooker.  Set the temp to high, just to get it going and then turn to low when you add the sauce.

In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed and lightly fry the onion until soft.  Add the garlic, mushrooms and porcini along with the bundle of thyme and continue to fry until the mushrooms are softening.  Pour in the wine and allow to reduce for 3-4 minutes before adding the passata, 1 cup of the porcini liquid, balsamic vinegar and the tomato paste. Season with salt, pepper and sugar and stir to combine.  Allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes.  Give the sauce another stir and then pour it over the top of the Beef Brisket in the slow cooker.  Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the sauce, this helps to keep the moisture in.  Pop the lid on and leave for 8 hours.  If you are home, give it an occasional stir but if not, just make sure the brisket is fully immersed in the sauce.

To make the bechamel, melt the butter in a large saucepan.  While the butter is melting, season with salt and pepper and add the grated nutmeg.  Once the butter is melted and bubbling, sprinkle over the flour.  Mix well with a whisk and allow the mixture to cook for a minute or two, before adding the milk a little at a time and continuing to whisk.  The mixture will thicken very quickly so keep whisking to avoid lumps.  When all the milk is added to the mixture, allow it to come up to a simmer before adding the parmesan.  Stir right into the corner of the pan until the cheese has melted and set aside.

To pull the Beef Brisket apart, remove it (leaving the sauce behind) from the slow cooker and place it in a shallow baking dish. Remove the thyme sprigs too and discard.  All of the leaves will be left behind in the sauce.  Use a couple of forks to pull the brisket apart into nice mouth manageable chunks so that it is lovely and stringy.  It should literally fall apart.  Once shredded, return the beef to the sauce in the slow cooker and stir well to combine.

Pre heat the oven to 180°.  To assemble the lasagne, coat the bottom of a large lasagne dish with a little olive oil.  Lay the lasagne sheets on the bottom in a single layer (I cut my sheets to fit so there are no gaps) and top with a third of the beef mixture, spread out evenly.  Top with more lasagne sheets and spread over a third of the bechamel. Top with lasagne and repeat the process two more times so the top layer is bechamel.  Sprinkle over the cheeses and thyme leaves and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Remove the lasagne from the oven and allow it to rest for approximately 10 minutes (cover with a piece of foil if you wish).  Allowing it to rest makes it a lot easier to serve.  Divide the lasagne into 8 generous portions and serve with a crisp green salad.

The last time I made this dish, I made the pasta from scratch. To do this you really need a pasta machine to be able to get the sheets thin enough. If you have a machine, I am assuming that you have made pasta before but the method I use is 1 egg per 100gm of flour. For this particular dish I used 5 eggs to 500gm of flour, mixed together until combined in a large bowl and then wrapped in cling wrap and refrigerated for half an hour before rolling out in the pasta machine. It was absolutely divine and I am going to find it difficult to go back to packet pasta, although for convenience sake there is no doubt that I will. If you have the time and the inclination, I highly recommend giving it a go.

Do you have dried porcini left over? Perhaps you could make this…..

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/italian-sausage-wild-mushroom-chianti-risotto/

The post Beef Brisket & Porcini Lasagne appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:   25 Minutes

Cooking Time:   30 Minutes          

$  Low Budget

Serves 4

For the Moroccan Meatballs:

500gm of lamb mince

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

2 tsp of ground cumin

2 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of turmeric

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp of ground black pepper

1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes (optional)

Stems of 1 bunch of coriander, washed and finely chopped

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1 tbs of fruit chutney

1/2 a cup of bread crumbs

1 egg

Sea salt and pepper

For the Sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, final chopped

1 brown onion, diced

1 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup of chicken stock

400gm tin of diced tomatoes

1 tbs of tomato paste

1 cup of coriander leaves

1/2 tsp of sugar

Sea salt and pepper

Toasted pistachios, roughly chopped for garnish

Greek yoghurt and coriander leaves for garnish

For the Cous Cous:

2 cups of cous cous

3 cups of  boiling water

A generous pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper

1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

Grated rind of an orange

In a large bowl combine all the Moroccan Meatball ingredients and get your hands in to combine really well. I find that if you make a well in the centre of the mince and place your ingredients in the well, you can fold the mince in and everything combines better.  Wet your hands and roll the meatballs to about golf ball size, put them on a plate and set aside.

Heat a large heavy based frypan and lightly fry the onion and garlic until the onion is soft.  Add your spices and fry until the onion is coated and the spices are aromatic.  Don’t worry if they start to stick, squeeze the lemon juice in and this will deglaze the pan, lifting any flavour of the bottom.  Add your stock, tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar.  Stir to combine and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a  low simmer and  gently add the meatballs.  I don’t fry them before hand, they are nice and soft after poaching gently in the liquid.  Pop the lid on and allow them to poach for 20 minutes.  Remove the lid and stir gently to toss the meatballs and leave the lid off for another 10 minutes to allow the liquid to reduce a little.  Just before serving scatter over the coriander leaves (set some aside for garnish) and gently stir again.

In a large bowl pop in the cous cous, boiling water and olive oil.  Cover with cling wrap and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Remove the cling wrap, grate in the orange rind and season with salt and pepper.  Fluff the cous cous with a fork and mix well to combine.

To serve the Moroccan Meatballs, divide the cous cous among four serving plates and top with the meat balls and a generous portion of the sauce.  Top with yoghurt, toasted pistachios and coriander leaves and serve with steamed greens or a crisp green salad.

Are you a fan of Middle Eastern inspired food? You may like to try this…..

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/middle-eastern-lamb-shoulder-freekeh-salad-garlic-yoghurt/

The post Moroccan Meatballs with Orange Scented Cous Cous appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Thai Fish Cakes have always been my favourite Thai starter so I thought why not upsize them!  The quintessential balance of flavours……. hot, salty, sweet and sour that make Thai and other Asian cuisines so darn good are a stand out in this extremely easy, fresh and mouthwateringly delicious dish that were so good I made them again about 5 days later.  Now coming from a global weekly kitchen such as mine, that is saying something!

Prep time:  30 minutes          

Cooking time:  25 minutes          

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

600gm of fresh and firm white fish fillets (I used flake but ling or dory will do), chopped into chunks

3 tbs of red curry paste

1 egg

4 Kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 tsp of castor sugar

1 large handful of green beans, finely sliced

Peanut oil for frying

For the Salad Cups:

1 lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced with a mandolin

1 carrot, peeled and finely julienned

4 radishes, finely sliced with a mandolin

2 cups of bean shoots

1/2 a red onion, very finely sliced top to bottom

1 cup of coriander leaves

1/2 cup of Thai basil, optional

1 red chilli, finely sliced

2cm piece of lemongrass, finely sliced

Cos, Cosberg or Iceberg lettuce for cups

1/2 a cup of granulated peanuts

2 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and finely sliced (easy to do if you roll them up in a tight little wad)

1/2 a cup of rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup of light soy sauce

1 tbs of fish sauce

2 tbs of caster sugar

Steamed jasmine rice to serve

To make the Thai fish cakes place the fish, curry paste, egg, lime leaves, fish sauce and castor sugar in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to get the mixture going.  Turn the processor on fully and process the mixture until the ingredients are well combined and have formed a thick paste.  Transfer to a bowl and stir through the beans.  This will take a little effort but I find the easiest way to get the beans through the mixture is to use a spatula and slice and fold through the mixture.

Be sure to clean your food processor and its attachments really well (with a skewer if it has hollow holes) as there may be a rather offensive smell a few days later emanating from your cupboard if you don’t.

Heat a wok or shallow pan and pour in enough oil to cover the base to about 1cm.  Wet a soup spoon and scoop up a heaped spoonful of the mixture and place it in the hot oil. The oil should bubble straight away, if not it is not hot enough. They will not be pretty and uniform like the takeaway ones but I like the more organic look, they look homemade.  Fry on each side until golden and crispy.  Repeat with remaining mixture and drain on an oven tray lined with paper towel and transfer to a 180°C oven for approximately 5 minutes.

To make the dressing combine the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl and whisk to combine until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chilli and lemongrass to the dressing and allow to sit and infuse for a little while

To make the salad cups, place the carrot, cucumber, radish, bean shoots, onion, coriander leaves and basil leaves in a large bowl and toss well to combine. Seperate the lettuce so that you have 8 nice, even sized leaves and make sure they are well rinsed. Place the lettuce leaves on plates and place little piles of the salad inside them. Divide steamed jasmine rice between the plate and divvy up the Thai fish cakes (there may be a few leftover). Drizzle the dressing over the fish cakes, salad and rice and sprinkle with granulated peanuts and the remaining shredded lime leaves before serving. The best.

Just a little tip…..you can save yourself so much time and make your food look a whole heap better with a few simple kitchen tools. I use my hand held mandolin on an almost daily basis. I also have a julienne peeler that gives me those lovely little strands of carrot and save me so much time. They are available from kitchen shops or online. Below are a couple of links so you can have a browse. This is not a sponsored post, I’m just trying to make your food look better and your lives a little easier….

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cooking-tools/best-mandoline-slicer/g4827/best-mandolines/

https://www.google.com/search?q=julienne+peelers&rlz=1C5ACMJ_enAU522AU547&oq=Julienne+peelers&aqs=chrome.0.0l4.14496j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

The post Thai Fish Cakes with Salad Cups appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$ Low Budget

Serves 6 as a side

1kg of baby potatoes, halved or quartered (good waxy ones)

4 boiled eggs, chopped

6 radishes, thinly sliced with a mandolin

1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup of finely chopped dill

1/4 cup of finely chopped chives

1/2 cup of roasted almonds, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, very finely diced

For the Mayonnaise:

1 duck egg yolk or two chicken egg yolks (room temperature)

1 cup of olive oil

1 tbs of seeded mustard

2 tbs of white wine vinegar

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Place the potatoes in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 10 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and then put the lid on to allow them to steam for a few minutes. Allow to cool.

To make the mayonnaise, place the duck egg yolk and mustard in a mixing bowl. I really must stress how important it is to have your yolk at room temperature as it will prevent your mayonnaise from splitting. I have had many failed attempts until I discovered that this is key to a good mayo. I am actually not sure of the science behind it as I am a cook not a scientist but believe me, it makes all the difference. Whisk the egg yolk and seeded mustard together until the yolk is nice and creamy and then add the oil a drop at a time, whisking constantly until you can see it start to bind. You can do this in a food processor or with an electric mixer if you prefer. Once you can see that it has begun to bind, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Once you have a nice, thick consistency and all of the oil is gone, season with salt and pepper and stir in the vinegar. This should loosen the mayonnaise up but if a little more liquid is needed just add a touch of water until you reach the desired consistency.

Grab a salad bowl and place the cooled potatoes, chopped eggs, radish, red onion, 2/3rds of the herbs and the almonds in it along with 2-3 tablespoons of the mayonnaise. Use a couple of wooden spoons or your hands to gently toss the ingredients until well combined. I say ‘gently’ as you don’t want the egg to break up too much. Scatter over the remaining herbs and serve the potato salad along side your favourite Barbecue meat, salads or veggies.

The post Potato Salad appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 40 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Extra virgin olive oil

2 large eggplants

3 cloves of garlic

1 red onion, peeled, halved and sliced top to bottom

1 tsp of grated ginger

1tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika & chilli flakes

1/2 tsp of turmeric

1 punnet of grape tomatoes (I used a mixture of red and yellow), halved

400gm tin of crushed tomatoes

400gm tin of chickpeas, drained

4 handfuls of chopped kale (about 2/3 of a bag)

Grated rind & juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 a bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Sea salt & Cracked pepper

1 cup of toasted pepitas, sliced almonds & pine nuts (fabulous to have in the pantry anyway so do a big batch)

8-12 (depending on size) broccolini stems, blanched and chargrilled before serving

Coriander sprigs for garnish

EV olive oil for drizzling

For the Pumpkin Hommus:

700gm of Butternut pumpkin, peel and seeds removed, chopped into pieces

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1 small bulb of garlic, halved with skin and cloves still intact

1 tsp of smoked paprika

Sea salt and pepper

1 tbs of tahini paste (I prefer the unhulled type, I think it has loads more flavour)*

For the Tahini Dressing:

1/2 cup of tahini paste

1 small clove of crushed garlic

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Sea salt & pepper

1 tbs of honey

1/2 to 1 cup of water

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the pumpkin pieces and garlic bulb halves on a lined baking tray and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with smoked paprika, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and tender.

To prepare the eggplant, cut them in half lengthways. Use a small pairing knife to cut gently around the perimeter of each half, about 1/2 a centimetre from the edge, being careful not to pierce the skin. Use your hand or a light slicing motion with your knife to remove the flesh from the centre. It may look a little rough but that is ok, just do your best to remove as much flesh as possible while keeping the skin intact. Bruch the halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place them flesh side up on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

Take the eggplant flesh and give it a rough chop into cubes. Heat a large frypan and a good lug of olive oil. Fry the eggplant until golden and then remove and set aside for later. In the same frying pan, add a little more oil if needed and fry the red onion until soft before adding the garlic, frying until aromatic. Add the chickpeas, fresh tomatoes and eggplant back to the pan and then sprinkle over your lemon rind and spices. Stir to combine and fry for about a minute before adding the lemon juice, tin tomatoes, water, sugar and seasoning with salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to simmer away gently for about 10-15 minutes before adding the kale and chopped coriander about 5 minutes before serving.

While the curry is cooking, make the Tahini dressing by combining the tahini, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and 1/2 a cup of water. Whisk until smooth, adding a little more water until it is to a consistency that can be drizzled, like a thick dressing running off a spoon.

To complete the hommus, place the pumpkin and tahini in a food processor and add the garlic by squeezing the skin until the flesh pops out. Give it a blitz until you have a nice thick and smooth consistency. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

To plate this delectable Vegan dish, place a large dollop of pumpkin hommus on each plate and use the back of the spoon to spread it in a circular motion. Remove the eggplant from the oven and spoon generous amounts of the chickpea curry in each one. Place them on top of the hommus and give a generous drizzle of the tahini dressing. Scatter over toasted nuts and seeds and serve with grilled broccolini, coriander sprigs and a small drizzle of EVOO.

Leftover Tahini? You may like to cook this……

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/freekeh-lamb-carrot-salad-with-tahini-yoghurt/

The post Vegan Chickpea Curry Stuffed Eggplants appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 45 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 6

40gm of butter

Olive oil for drizzling and frying

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 a bunch of thyme, tied with a string

6 large good potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 large leeks, green part removed, washed well, halved and sliced

1/2 a cauliflower, cut into florets

1 fennel bulb, quartered, core removed and cut into wedges

1 cup of dry white wine

1.5 litres of low sodium chicken or vegetable stock

200ml of cream

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

200gm of pancetta or speck, cut into lardons

1/2 a cup of natural flaked almonds, toasted

Serve with crusty bread

For the Herb Oil:

4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped

4 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

8 chives, finely chopped

1 pinch of salt

1/2 a cup of good extra virgin olive oil

A squeeze of lemon

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

To make the soup, place the cauliflower and fennel on a large, lined baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and tender.

Heat a large pot and add the butter and a lug of olive oil. Fry the leeks until they are nice and soft and then add the garlic, thyme and potatoes. Fry for a few minutes and then pour in the wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any golden bits and allow it to reduce by half before pouring in the stock. Stir, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and pop a lid on for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the cauliflower and fennel from the oven and add it to the soup. Simmer for another 20 minutes so that everything is wonderfully mushy and then remove the thyme stalks from the soup. Use a stick blender or food processor to blend the soup until it is super smooth and velvety. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste and pour in the cream. Stir to combine and allow to simmer gently until you are ready to serve. You can always make this ahead too and just reheat when ready.

Fry the pancetta in a pan until golden and crispy.

Place the herbs in a mortar and pestle with a good pinch of salt and pound until the herbs are bruised and mushy. Pour in the olive oil and lemon juice and stir well to combine.

To serve the soup, ladle into bowls and drizzle with the herb oil. Sprinkle over the fried pancetta and toasted almonds and serve with cracked pepper and crusty bread.

Leftover chicken stock? Freeze for later use or you may like to cook this…..

Leftover herbs? You may like to cook this…..

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/braised-chicken-beans-pancetta-tomatoes/

The post Potato, Cauliflower & Fennel Soup appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

The beauty of this recipe is that is totally flexible. I will tell you what I served these with but feel free to play around with your additions. You could go completely vegetarian, add bacon, remove the smoked trout. Whatever your heart desires and whatever you have in your fridge. There are no hard and fast rules here…..

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Fritters:

Oil for frying

1 Bag of chopped Kale

1/2 a bunch of dill, finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Grated rind of 1/2 a lemon

3/4 cup of self raising flour

2 tbs of greek yoghurt

1/4 cup of milk

100gm of fetta, crumbled

1/4 cup of parmesan

3 eggs

Sea salt and pepper

For the Additions:

1 avocado, halved peeled and sliced

8 baby truss tomatoes, portioned into two’s

4 eggs

150gm of smoked ocean trout

Assorted micro herbs or herbs (dill, parsley, chives)

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

A sprinkle of chilli flakes

A smattering of grated lemon rind

Olive oil for drizzling,

Lemon wedges to serve

To make the kale fritters, place the kale in a large mixing bowl and pour over boiling water so that it is all covered. Allow to blanch for about 30 seconds and then pour into a strainer and run under cold water. Once cool, squeeze out any excess water, really well with your hands until it is really squashed and wrung out. Place it back in the mixing bowl and break it up with your hands before adding the rest of the ingredients for the fritters. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture until it is smooth and well combined.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes on a lined baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until blistered.

Heat a large non stick frypan and add a little oil. Place a few large tablespoons of the kale fritter mixture in the pan (about 3) and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. Cook the fritters on either side until golden for about 3-4 minutes before placing on a lined baking tray and popping them in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the mixture.

Cook the eggs to your liking. I do poached but I have to admit, I cheat and use the silicon poaching cups. I can poach an egg the traditional way but I just find it easier when doing a few at one time. If you prefer you can fry, boil or scramble.

To serve the dish, place a kale fritter or two on each plate. Top with the poached eggs, slices of smoked ocean trout, roast tomatoes and the slices of avocado. Garnish with micro herbs or herbs, chilli flakes, pine nuts and lemon rind. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil or any juices from the tomato tray and serve with lemon wedges.

If you have leftover dill, you may want to cook this…..?

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/greek-lamb-fetta-meatball-tray-bake/

The post Kale, Dill & Fetta Fritters appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Oil for frying (peanut, vegetable, canola)

2 chicken breast fillets

4 portions of rice vermicelli noodles, prepared according to packet instructions

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Stalks of 1 bunch of coriander, well rinsed and finely chopped

Half a bunch of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

3cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced

1 large brown onion, peeled, halved and sliced to to bottom

3 tbs of curry powder*

1 litre of chicken stock

400gm can of coconut cream

100ml of pure cream (optional but does make it beautifully creamy)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Zucchini, halved and sliced diagonally

1 bunch of broccolini, sliced diagonally

A couple of handfuls of green beans, ends removed and halved diagonally

Sea salt and cracked pepper

For the Garnish:

2 Spring onions, sliced diagonally,

Half a bunch of coriander leaves, picked

1 long green chilli, sliced diagonally

1/2 a cup of shredded coconut, lightly toasted in a dry pan

To make the curry chicken soup, heat a large pot and add a little oil. Fry the onions until they are just starting to soften and then add the ginger, garlic and coriander stalks. Fry and stir until aromatic and then sprinkle over the curry powder, stirring continuously and taking care not to burn the spices. Pour in the stock and coconut cream, stir to combine and bring to a low simmer. Once simmering, pop the chicken breast fillets in and cover with a lid. Poach on a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes or until the breast meat is just cooked, you can remove and slice one in half to check. Once cooked, remove and set aside to cool down.

Add the cream and lemon juice to the soup stock, season generously with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Allow the soup to simmer gently while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Place the spring onion and coriander leaves in a bowl of iced water so they are nice and crispy.

Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, use your hands to pull the chicken apart so it nice and shredded.

Prepare your noodles according to packet instructions.

Place the chicken and the green vegetables into the soup and turn up the heat. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are just cooked but still lovely and bright green in colour.

To plate the Curry Chicken soup, divide noodles between four bowls and ladle over the soup. Drain the garnish and place a nice pile on top of each bowl, sprinkle over toasted coconut and scatter over green chilli slices. Serve the soup with extra lemon wedges for an extra bit of zing!

*There are quite a few different curry powders on the market but I have always preferred Clive of India as a brand. It is a very mild version and is low in salt which means you can add heat and salt to your liking. If you are using the Keen’s version, take care with the hot one as it can be quite spicy. Maybe just add a spoon at a time until you have your desired flavour and heat.

Love the flavour of traditional curry powder? You might like to cook this……

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/big-johns-sausage-curry/

The post Curry Chicken Noodle Soup appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

This could easily be a vegetarian dish, just omit the prosciutto…..

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

Budget $$

Serves 4

Olive oil for frying

80gm of butter

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

600gm of Jap or Kent pumpkin

1 large brown onion, finely diced

8 sage leaves, thinly sliced

12 sage leaves, for garnish

2 long celery stalks, finely chopped

1.5 cups of arborio rice

1 cup of dry white wine

1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock

100ml of cream

1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan

100gm of prosciutto

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

1 bag of baby spinach leaves

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To prepare the pumpkin, take about 2/3rds and remove the skin and seeds. Cut the pumpkin into little bite sized cubes and place on a large lined baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper.

Once you have the risotto up and running, bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Take the remaining pumpkin and remove the skin and seeds before cutting into larger chunks. Take one of the chunks and use a peeler to slice ribbons (about a handful) and then place the rest of the pumpkin into a steamer. Steam for about 10 minutes or until tender. Once tender, remove from the steamer and place in a small bowl with the cream and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Use a fork to mash the pumpkin as smoothly as you can.

Line a baking tray with paper and lay the prosciutto slices on it along with the pumpkin ribbons. Bake in the oven until the prosciutto is nice and crispy and the ribbons are golden. Again, place this in the oven once the risotto is up and running so everything is ready at the same time.

Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.

Heat a heavy based pan and add a drizzle of oil and about 20gm of the butter. Once bubbling, fry the onion until soft before adding the garlic, sliced sage and celery. Fry until the celery is just tender and then add your rice. I have found the secret to a really good risotto is making sure that you toast the rice really well. You don’t want it to burn but the more you toast the rice, the more it holds its starch and the less gluggy your risotto will be. Once you have toasted the rice for a good minute or so, pour in the wine and stir to combine. Allow the rice to absorb the wine on a medium/low heat before adding your stock, a couple of ladles at a time and stirring frequently until the rice is almost cooked. It should still have a bit of bite to it.

Over the heat, stir the puree’d pumpkin through the risotto with the grated parmesan, adding more stock if needed and then just before serving, fold through the baby spinach leaves, followed by the baked pumpkin chunks.

Heat a small frypan and add the remaining butter. Once bubbling, fry the sage leaves for a minute or so until crispy. Remove the sage from the butter and place on a piece of paper towel. Reheat the butter if needed just before serving.

To serve, divide the risotto between four serving bowls. Break the prosciutto into largish pieces and place on top of the risotto along with the pumpkin ribbons. Top with crispy sage leaves, toasted pine nuts and drizzle with the sage infused butter. I really hope you enjoy!

leftover Sage? You might like to cook this…….

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/porcini-and-sage-bolognese-2/

The post Pumpkin, Sage & Prosciutto Risotto appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  30  Minutes               Cooking Time:  21/2  Hours                $  Low Budget

Serves 4

Olive oil for frying

800gm of chuck steak, cut into 2-3cm chunks

100gm of speck*, rind removed and sliced into little batons (lardons)

12 pickling onions, peeled

1 punnett of swiss brown mushrooms, halved

8 thyme sprigs

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 cup of good red wine

300ml of beef stock (salt reduced preferably)

2 tbs of tomato paste

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

1/2 cup of finely chopped continental parsley

For the Creamy Mash:

4 large dutch cream potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (these are the absolute best for mashing but not essential)

50gm of butter

150ml of pure cream

Sea salt and lashings of ground white pepper

To make the Beef Bourguignon heat a large heavy based pan or casserole dish and add a little olive oil.  Fry the speck batons until golden and crispy.  This may take 5-10 minutes and it will make a mess so use a splatter guard if you have one or get someone else to clean up 😉

Once golden, remove the speck and drain it on a piece of paper towel.  Add a little more oil to the pan if needed, season the beef and brown it in batches, making sure the pan is nice and hot, until golden and caramelised.  Place it in a bowl and set aside.

Place the whole onions in the pan and sear them on as many sides as possible until golden, remove from the pan and set aside.  Add the garlic and thyme (with a little more oil if needed) and fry for a few minutes before adding the wine.   Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the lovely flavour off the bottom and reduce the wine by about half before adding the stock.  Bring to a simmer, add the tomato paste and sugar and season with a little salt and pepper.  Return the meat, speck and onions to the pan and add the mushrooms.  Stir, cover with a piece of baking paper (nice and tucked in) and cover with a tight fitting lid and allow to cook on a low simmer, stirring occasionally for 11/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.  Remove the lid for the last 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce slightly.

Bring the potatoes to the boil in a large pot of water and cook until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain well and mash with a potato masher until lump free. Place the pot on a low heat and add the butter, cream and salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to whip the potatoes until gloriously creamy and smooth. Have a wee taste and add any seasoning if necessary.

To plate, divide the mash between 4 shallow serving bowls and spoon the Beef Bourguignon over the top. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve with a side of steamed green beans.

*Speck is a smoked pork product that can be found in the delicatessen section of the supermarket.  You could use bacon or pancetta as a substitute.

Leftover Speck? You may want to cook this…..

https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/roast-chicken-with-speck-cranberry-pine-nut-stuffing/

The post Beef Bourguignon appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

For the Vietnamese Meatballs:

500gm of pork mince

2 spring onions finely sliced

3 coriander sprigs, finely chopped

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 tsp of finely minced lemongrass

1 level tbs of caster sugar

1 tbs of runny honey

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

A pinch of sea salt

1/4 tsp of ground white pepper

For the Salad:

1 baby Cos lettuce, leaves whole, washed and drained

1 lebanese cucumber, very finely sliced

1-2 carrots, peeled and then finely julienned or grated (you can buy a tool for this at House or online, it is called a julienne peeler)

2 cups of whole herb leaves, I used mint, coriander, Thai basil & Vietnamese mint

1/2 cup of toasted granulated peanuts

4 portions of dried vermicelli noodles, cooked according to packet instructions, drained and rinsed in cold water

2 spring onions, finely sliced

For the Nuoc Cham (dressing/dipping sauce):

1 long red chilli, seeds removed for less heat and finely minced

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbs of fish sauce

1 tbs of caster sugar

2/3 cup of warm water (this will help the sugar to dissolve

To keep the carrots, cucumber and herbs nice and crispy, I place them in individual bowls of iced water and then drain well before serving.

To prepare the meat balls, place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine (I like to use my hands). Have a small bowl of cold water handy and with wet hands, roll the mince mixture into golf ball sized patties. Place on a tray and flatten slightly with your finger tips. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before cooking for best results.

Place the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine until the sugar has dissolved and then place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Heat a frypan until nice and hot and add a little oil. Fry the meatballs in batches for 3-4 minutes or until lovely and golden on the outside and firm to touch. You can keep them warm in a low oven once cooked while you plate the salad.

Arrange the salad ingredients around each plate (refer to the image at the top of the page for my plating method). Top the noodles with the meatballs and spoon half of the dressing over all of the ingredients, leaving some for dipping either on each plate or in the centre of the table. Sprinkle over the toasted nuts and spring onions and serve.

The beauty of this dish is that you can eat it Vietnamese street style where you place a little of everything in a lettuce leaf and wrap it up. Otherwise you can use chopsticks or a knife and fork and eat the items individually. Whatever floats your boat!

Leftover Vietnamese Mint or other herbs? You might like to make this……

The post Vietnamese Bun Cha appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

There are a few elements to this dish and because I was in total creative mode, I didn’t really time the prep etc. I have a fairly good idea of how long it took and certain elements can be done ahead so maybe don’t try and pump this one out on a busy weeknight. Plan ahead, pop the tunes on, grab a glass of wine and enjoy the process. It is definitely a process that needs to be enjoyed. In saying that, nothing about the dish is technical or difficult.

Prep time: Approx 30-40 Minutes + at least 30 mins marinating time

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

800gm of pork fillet

1/2 a cup of red wine

2 tbs of Fig Chutney (I used Beerenberg Fig & Caramelised Onion Chutney that was available at the supermarket)

1 tbs of seeded mustard

8 ripe figs, halved

100gm of good blue vein cheese

1 red onion, peeled with roots left intact, halved and sliced into wedges

A few handfuls of baby rocket

6 radicchio leaves, roughly torn

500gm of cauliflower, cut into small chunks

1/2 cup of chicken stock

A pinch of nutmeg

A dozen sage leaves

1/3 cup of hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Extra virgin olive oil for frying & drizzling

Sea salt and pepper

To prepare the pork, place the red wine, chutney and mustard in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Place the pork in a shallow dish (if the fillets are really long, cut them in half) and pour over the marinade. Set aside for at least 30 minutes but longer if suitable.

Place the cauliflower in a saucepan with the chicken stock, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and bring to the boil with the lid on. Reduce the heat and allow to steam until the cauliflower is super soft. Remove the lid and reduce the liquid by about half. Before serving, puree with a stick blender until nice and smooth. I made this ahead and just reheated before serving. This is also a light version so add a knob of butter and a dash of cream if you like it richer.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the onion wedges around. Dot the halved figs, flesh side up around the tray and break up the blue cheese, filling the figs with as much as you can. Drizzle over a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden. Maybe leave this step until 20 minutes before serving so that it is still melted and oozy.

Heat a small frypan and add enough oil to cover the base of the pan. Fry the sage leaves for a minute or so until nice and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel. Don’t throw the oil out as you will use it to dress the salad leaves.

Combine the rocket & radicchio leaves in a bowl and just before serving use the sage oil to dress the salad with a sprinkle of salt & pepper.

Heat a griddle pan or fry pan to a nice high heat and add a little oil. Drain the marinade from the pork into a small saucepan. Bring the saucepan to a simmer and allow the marinade to cook for about 5-7 minutes until reduced and a little sticky. Cook the pork in the pan on all sides until lovely and brown for about 10 minutes, then transfer the pan to the oven for a further 5-10 depending on how thick the fillets are and how well done you like your pork. I like mine on the pinkish side, more medium well as it maintains its moisture and is nice and juicy. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 2cm slices, on the diagonal for aesthetics.

To plate the dish, divide the cauliflower between four plates and use the back of the spoon to swirl it around. Place a pile of salad leaves to the side of the cauliflower and then place the pork slices on top of the cauliflower. Scatter the red onion & figs & blue cheese around the dish. Sprinkle over the toasted hazelnuts and sage leaves and drizzle the reduced marinade over the salad and pork. For plating inspiration, refer to the photo above.

Crack open a bottle of light red , some romantic tunes, light the candles and you have yourself the perfect Valentines Day meal right there!

Leftover Sage? You might like to cook this…….

The post Warm Salad of Pork, Figs & Blue Cheese appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time: 25 Minutes

Cooking time: 45 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Extra virgin olive oil for frying and drizzling

4 medium sized whole sweet potatoes, stabbed with a fork on all sides a few times

2 corn cobs, peeled (a tin of kernels is fine if you are pushed for time)

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 heaped tbs of Em’s Mexican Spice Blend (recipe below, very handy to have in the cupboard and takes minutes to make)

1/2 a bunch of coriander, washed well and finely chopped, stalks included

1 cup of water

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp of sugar

Sea salt and pepper

Sour cream to serve

1 avocado, quartered, peeled and fanned (see photo)

Coriander leaves for garnish

Green Chilli slices for garnish

For the Pico Di Gallo:

2 large ripe tomatoes, quartered and flesh removed then finely diced (you could use grape or cherry and finely chop)

1/2 a red onion, finely diced

1/2 a green chilli, finely chopped, seeds removed for less heat

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 bunch of coriander, washed well and finely chopped, stalks included

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Place the stabbed sweet potatoes on a lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until tender in the centre when pierced with a skewer.

Heat a griddle pan or BBQ and chargrill the corn cobs until tender and lightly charred. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before standing the corn on its end and running your knife down all sides to remove the kernels. Set aside for later.

Heat a fry pan and add a little oil. Fry the onion until soft and then add the garlic, frying for a minute or so until aromatic. Sprinkle in the spice blend, beans and corn kernels, pour in the water and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer and reduce the heat. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and lime juice and allow the liquid to reduce until you have a nice pasty mixture. Stir through the coriander a few minutes before serving.

To make the Pico Di Gallo, place the tomato, onion, chilli and coriander in a bowl and toss to combine. You can make this ahead and if you do, don’t add the lime and salt and pepper until just before serving as it will draw the moisture out of the tomatoes and make it a touch soggy.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. They will be piping hot so use a tea towel to hold them while you slit them down the middle about 2/3rds of the way down and pull them apart slightly. Pop the sweet potatoes on plates and divide the bean mixture between them. Place a dollop of sour cream on each one and top with the seasoned salsa. Garnish with the fanned avocado slices, chilli slices and coriander sprigs. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and serve with lime wedges if you wish.

The post Mexican Loaded Sweet Potatoes appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

I am an absolute sucker for tomatoes but not just your stock standard variety, I mean those glorious colourful, meaty ones that are not usually available at the supermarket. You have to go to a farmers market or specialty supermarket to get them and if they are there it is guaranteed that I will over purchase by a country mile. This usually turns out to be a great thing as I then set about creating something that is hopefully going to showcase the produce, let it shine so to speak. I do believe this simple Risoni Bake did just that. The risoni was merely the vehicle for these star studded, bowl ripened, juicy tomatoes. The flavour was totally intensified by the bake and the heightened sweetness of the tomatoes along with nutty pesto and creamy, molten bocconcini made for the perfect topper to what would have otherwise been a relatively stock standard meal.

It is a vegetarian delight, with chunks of golden eggplant and sweet, caramelised fennel to replace the ‘meat’ and loads of herbs, garlic and lemon to totally elevate the flavour. It just reinforces to me that vegetarian food need not be boring, in fact, it can be super exciting!

I use my homemade pesto for this recipe as I have never liked the shop bought variety. The link to the recipe will be in the ingredients list below. It takes just minutes and tastes so much better but if you are really pushed for time, store bought is fine.

Prep time: 25 Minutes

Cooking time: 30 Minutes

$$ Medium Budget

Serves 4

Olive oil for frying

1 large brown onion, diced

1 baby fennel bulb or half a large fennel, diced

1 large eggplant, cut into 2cm chunks

6 sprigs of oregano, leaves removed and finely chopped

8 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stalks discarded

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 cup of risoni

11/2 cups of chicken stock

1 x 400gm tin of cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1 cup of basil leaves, roughly chopped

1 tsp of sugar

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Chilli flakes and Basil leaves to garnish

Lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

For the Topper:

4 -6 Heirloom variety tomatoes (or the tastiest tomatoes you can find, perhaps leave them in a bowl to ripen for a few days to intensify the flavour), sliced thickly

3 tbs of homemade pesto https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/basil-pesto/

6 Bocconcini

Preheat the oven to 200°C

To make the Risoni Bake, heat a large heavy based, oven proof pan and add a good lug of olive oil. If you don’t have an ovenproof one, just use a normal frypan and then transfer to an ovenproof dish before adding the topper. Fry the eggplant until golden, you may need to add a little more oil as eggplant is an extremely thirsty vegetable. Once golden, place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb some of the oil.

In the same pan, add a little more oil and lightly fry the onion until just softening before adding the garlic, fennel, oregano, thyme and lemon rind. Stir to combine and allow the fennel to soften before adding the risoni, tin tomatoes, stock, sugar and seasoning with a good amount of salt and pepper. Give it a really good stir (as risoni has a tendency to stick) and bring to a simmer for a few minutes before finishing off with the parmesan and roughly chopped basil leaves. This is the point where you would transfer to an ovenproof dish.

Turn the heat off and top the risoni bake with tomato slices, torn bocconcini and dollops of pesto. Bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbling. You can pop a teaspoon in the side of the dish and taste a little of the risoni if you are unsure as to wether it is cooked or not but it literally takes no time at all.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for a couple of minutes before drizzling with lemon juice and olive oil and sprinkling with chilli flakes and baby basil leaves. I served this with a crisp salad of witlof, rocket, radicchio and cos lettuce.

Leftover pesto? https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/pesto-chicken-with-panzanella-salad/

The post Risoni Bake with Eggplant, Fennel & Tomato appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.