Author Archives: Linda Peek

Shakshuka

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Shakshuka originated in north Africa and is now popular all over the Middle East.

Serve with toasted sourdough or Turkish bread for brunch, lunch or Sunday evening supper. You probably have all the ingredients in the pantry. We had to nip out to buy one red capsicum from the corner shop.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 red capsicum (pepper)
1 onion
2 Tbs harissa, or to taste
1 tsp chilli paste, or to taste
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
4 eggs
1 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To serve:
4 Tbs thick Greek yoghurt
1 Tbs chopped fresh coriander

Thinly slice the capsicum and onion. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized deep non-stick frying pan and cook the capsicum and onion over medium to high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and starting to caramelise. Add harissa and chilli paste to taste and cook, stirring for one minute. Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are reduced by half, stirring often.

Season to taste, turn heat down to a simmer, then make four indents in the mixture and break an egg into each. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Test by pressing with your finger.

Garnish with dollops of yoghurt and the coriander. Serve with toasted sourdough or Turkish bread.

Serves 4 as a snack, 2 as a meal

 

Japanese Salad with Sushi Flavours

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This salad combines all the flavours we love in Japanese sushis and it’s delicious.

Serve it on steamed rice for a quick poke bowl, or on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce, lightly dressed with Kewpie toasted sesame dressing, which you can find in most Australian supermarkets. Or use the salad as a filling for sandwiches or wraps. Or just eat it as it is for a high protein, low carbs light meal.

2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks (buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket for ease) or 300g cooked prawn meat, coarsely chopped
1 large ripe avocado, cubed
2 Tbs lemon or lime juice
1 Tbs Kewpie mayonnaise* (or ordinary mayonnaise)
1 Tbs Thai sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp sesame seeds (preferably black)*
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbs pickled ginger, chopped*
1 Tbs Asian crispy shallots*
Salt to taste
2 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered lengthwise then cut into small cubes
1 clove garlic, crushed
To garnish:
A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 sheet nori cut into strips, then into small julienne pieces*

Place all ingredients for salad in a large bowl and mix well.

Serve garnished with the coriander and nori pieces. Serve alone, or on steamed rice or in wraps or sandwiches.

Serves 4 on rice or in wraps or 2 on its own

*if you can’t find black sesame seeds, Asian crispy shallots, pickled ginger, Kewpie mayonnaise and nori seaweed sheets in the Asian section of your supermarket, go to an Asian grocery store

Lamb with Spicy Labneh and Carrot Salad

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This recipe was inspired by a dish I was served at the annual lunch of the International Women’s Club which was held at the Marion restaurant in Canberra in late August.

There were 180 women seated at tables for 10 and the food and service were both excellent. The main course was an alternate serve, where half had salmon with baked Jerusalem artichokes and half had sliced lamb rump on a bed of spicy labneh, with a shredded carrot salad.

This is my interpretation, but I have used lamb cutlets instead of rump. The carrot salad is delicious on it’s own or as a filler for sandwiches or wraps, or as part of a buffet.

2 cups thick Greek-style plain yoghurt
2 tsp harissa paste (or to taste)
8 lamb cutlets, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika
Carrot Salad:
500g carrots, cut into thin julienne or very coarsely grated
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, cumin and paprika
2 tsp honey (or more to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To garnish:
Chopped parsley or another green herb
Balsamic Glaze (optional)

To make Labneh, strain yoghurt for a few hours or overnight in a sieve lined with muslin or a man’s handkerchief, in the fridge. Discard the liquid and mix in the harissa.

Place currants in a small bowl and add just enough warm water to cover. Leave to plump up for half an hour.

Place all ingredients for the carrot salad in a frying pan, including the currants and water, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until the dressing has thickened a bit. The carrots should remain fairly crunchy. Meanwhile season the cutlets with salt, pepper and paprika and cook them on a hot griddle, barbecue or in an air fryer, until they are cooked the way you like them – about 3-4 minutes each side.

Divide the labneh between 4 serving places and spread into a circle. Top with some carrot salad (you will probably have leftovers) and two cutlets per person. Garnish with chopped parsley and, if liked, a drizzle of balsamic glaze around the edge of the plate.

Serves 4

Variations: if you don’t have harissa paste, any chilli paste will do.

Potato Fritters with Smoked Salmon & Poached Eggs

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This recipe comes from Bill Granger, a Sydney-based chef who sadly died far too young in 2023 of cancer.

Bill is credited with inventing avocado toast, a breakfast or brunch dish which has become popular not only in Australia, but around the world.  My Chilean son-in-law says he’s been eating avocado toast for breakfast all his life and that it’s always been popular in Chile, so maybe Granger didn’t actually invent it. However, he certainly introduced it to Australians.

Bill was a self-taught cook who became a celebrated global restaurateur and food writer with a career spanning over 30 years. Together with his partner Natalie, they built a thriving business that today counts 19 restaurants across Australia, Japan, South Korea and the UK. He wrote 14 cookbooks, selling over one million copies,

Today’s recipe is one of Bill’s signature dishes. Easy, tasty, quick and healthy. What more could you want?

Any leftover potato mixture will keep in the fridge for 24 hours or so. The second photo shows a larger fritter I made the following day. I put the eggs on top and broke them open. In the first photo the eggs are hiding below the smoked salmon.

 

Fritters:
2 medium to large starchy potatoes (eg Desiree)
1 very small onion or half a larger one
1 egg
1 Tbs chopped mint
2 Tbs crumbled feta cheese (optional)
2 Tbs plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbs vegetable oil to fry the fritters
Dill oil:
1 cup loosely packed dill, finely chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lemon juice and some grated zest
To serve:
4 eggs
2 Tbs sour cream
2 tsp ground sumac
4 slices smoked salmon or trout
Lemon wedges

Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes and onion and place in a colander. Add a good pinch of salt, mix and leave to drain for 20-30 mins. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can with your hands. Mix in remaining ingredients apart from the oil.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan. Make fritters using 2-3 heaped tablespoons potato mixture for each one and spreading them out to make each fritter into an oval about 7cm long. At the same time poach the eggs and mix all ingredients for the dill oil.

Serve one fritter per person, topped with two poached eggs, two slices of smoked salmon or trout, a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of dill oil. Top with a sprinkle of sumac and garnish with a couple of lemon wedges.

Serves 2

Note: if you don’t have sumac – a Middle Eastern spice – use coarsely ground black pepper.

The Zucchini Wrap which has gone Viral

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This wrap made with sliced zucchini (courgette) has gone viral on social media sites. I made it the other evening as a light supper and we had half each with a bowl of soup. Delicious, healthy, no carbs.

1 or 2 zucchini (courgette) depending on size
Grated mozzarella cheese
2-3 Tbs basil pesto
1 burrata cheese, drained and broken up
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sliced tomatoes
A handful of rocket leaves

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Thinly slice the zucchini and lay on the paper in a rectangle then cover with a thin layer of grated mozzarella, as shown in the first photo.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden, see second photo. Remove from the oven and turn it over onto a chopping board. Spread with pesto then arrange the tomatoes and rocket on top (third photo) then season and roll up. Cut in two.

Makes 2 servings

Variations: use feta or goat cheese instead of burrata. Or some canned tuna or cooked chicken. Use lettuce instead of rocket. Cucumbers instead of tomatoes. Mayonnaise or humus instead of pesto. A smoked salmon, cucumber, dill and cream cheese combo would be nice.

Rocket & Pear Salad with Parmesan & Nuts

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My Peruvian friend Christina, an art restorer, was living in Paris when we were posted there. She gave me this recipe. Well, to be honest, she made it when we went to her place for dinner one night and I copied the idea. It has since become one of my favourite salads. Especially in the colder months when the pears are good but the tomatoes aren’t.

Sometimes the pears you find at the supermarket are very underripe, so it’s good to plan ahead and keep one in the fruit bowl for a couple of days until it feels just ripe, which is perfect for this recipe.

Rocket leaves or a mix of salad greens
1 ripe but not overripe pear (peel if preferred, I don’t)
1 shallot or ¼ of a red onion, very finely diced
Toasted pine nuts or chopped walnuts or pecans
60g coarsely grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Dressing:
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
3-4 Tbs olive oil
Salt and freshly grated black pepper to taste
1 tsp honey (optional)
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Place all ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid and shake to combine.

Arrange rocket or salad greens on serving dish. Quarter and core the pear, then cut into thin slices. Arrange over the salad. Sprinkle with the onion, toasted nuts and Parmesan. Drizzle with the dressing, then gently mix. Any leftover dressing will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

 

Halloumi with Rhubarb Sauce

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We had this dish when we were travelling in Poland several years ago. As we grow rhubarb in our garden I made a mental note to recreate it, but then I forgot about it.
I was cleaning out the freezer in our garage this morning. A good weekend activity which doesn’t get done very often. I found all sorts of things I had forgotten about, including a container of cooked rhubarb.
So I added a few things to it, including half a cup of frozen raspberries and came up with a delicious lunch for two, as close to the Polish version as I can remember.
The raspberries are not essential, but they do give the sauce a better colour. You will have enough sauce to make this recipe two or three times. Any leftover sauce will keep in the fridge for several days or can be frozen.
Rhubarb Sauce:
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
½ cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
For the Halloumi:
225g packet halloumi, sliced 1cm thick
1 Tbs olive oil
To serve:
Rocket leaves|
Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh herbs
Cracked black pepper
For the sauce, place all ingredients in a large saucepan and cook over moderate heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, or until thick and chunky. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Dry the halloumi on paper towels then cook on both sides in the olive oil in a nonstick frying pan, until golden brown.Serve the halloumi on a bed of rocket leaves. Top with some of the rhubarb sauce and garnish with fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and some cracked pepper.

Serves 2 as a light lunch or starter
Variations: use pitted red plums, chopped, instead of rhubarb.

Chocolate Pear Cake

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This egg-free, dairy-free recipe caught my eye as I’ve always liked the combination of pears and chocolate. I didn’t have any fresh pears, but a tin of pears in the pantry from goodness knows when worked well.

If you’re not dairy intolerant you can of course use ordinary milk and yoghurt.

Served with a blob of cream (I prefer sour cream shown in the photo below the recipe) with a cup of coffee or as a dessert, this recipe is definitely a keeper. You could leave out the pears and add a few more nuts. Maybe try blueberries instead of pears? Let me know if you try something different.

Cake:
1½ cups plain flour, sifted
¾ cup raw sugar (see substitutes)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup almond or oat milk (see substitutes)
½ cup coconut yoghurt (see substitues)
½ cup warm strong coffee
¼ cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 tsp vanilla essence
Topping:
2 firm pears, peeled, cored and sliced into thick wedges (or one can pears, drained)
2 Tbs plain flour
1 Tbs raw sugar
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
100g walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 22cm round cake pan and line the bottom with baking paper. Place all ingredients for cake in food processor and mix well, stopping to scrape down the sides. Scrape into the cake pan and smooth the top.

Dry the pear slices on paper towel then mix with the 2 Tbs of flour and 1 Tbs sugar. Arrange over the top of the cake, discarding any flour mixture left in the bowl. Sprinkle the chocolate and nuts over the top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until well-risen and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake mixture comes out clean. Cool for an hour then run a knife around the edges and remove from the tin. If liked top with a little icing sugar through a sieve.

Serve with sour cream, whipped cream or pouring cream.

Serves 12-16

Substitutes: you can use any kind of milk, any kind of plain thick yoghurt and any kind of sugar in this recipe.

 

Rich Chocolate Mousse

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This recipe was given to me by my friend Jenny. It doesn’t contain any cream and is very chocolatey.
While travelling in Portugal recently we enjoyed a similar rich chocolate mousse which was garnished with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt flakes. It was delicious if you like that sort of sweet and salty combo. If not, serve the mousse with berries and thick cream.
250g dark chocolate
4 large eggs separated
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs brandy or rum
To serve:
Thick cream and berries
or, Maldon sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Melt chocolate and butter in a large bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat. Mix in  the egg yolks one by one, then the brandy or rum.
Whip egg whites till stiff then fold carefully into chocolate half at a time. Scrape into a nice glass serving bowl, or individual bowls.  Chill.
Serve the mousse topped with a few flakes of salt and a drizzle of oil. Or with berries and thick cream.
Serves 6

Roasted Pumpkin & Spiced Apple Soup with Cashew Nut Cream

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On the way from Canberra to Sydney we stopped at Eling Forest Winery, in the Southern Highlands, for lunch.

Roasted Pumpkin and Spiced Apple Soup was on the “specials of the day” menu and we both had the same. The combination of sweet, smoky pumpkin and spiced apples was divine and I couldn’t wait to make my own version.

Topped with Cashew Nut Cream and crunchy Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, this soup, which is suitable for Vegans, is a real winner. Perfect for lunch or supper on a cold day in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, or anywhere else when it’s a bit nippy.

If you’re not following a Vegan diet you can thin down the soup with cow’s milk.

Soup:
About 500g pumpkin, peeled
4 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
½ tsp each of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground cayenne
1 litre vegetable stock
Milk as required (cow’s, oat, almond etc)
Crunchy Pepitas:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
¼ tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp sugar, honey or maple syrup (optional)
¼ tsp each ground cumin, cinnamon and paprika
Cashew Nut Cream:
1 cup raw cashew nuts + enough water to cover
2 tsp cider vinegar
2-3 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt to taste
To serve:
Toasted sourdough or Turkish bread

Cashew Nut Cream: Cover cashew nuts with water and leave to soak overnight. Place in food processor or blender with the water and vinegar and process until smooth, stopping halfway to scrape down the sides. Add the nutritional yeast, if using, then taste and add a little salt if needed. It will keep for a few days in the fridge. Thin down if necessary with a little water.

Soup: Preheat oven to 200° C. Cut the peeled pumpkin into large chunks, mix with 2 Tbs of the olive oil, spread out on a baking tray and roast for about half an hour or until tender and starting to brown. Meanwhile heat remaining 2 Tbs oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and add the onions, apples and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until soft. Add the spices and cook, stirring for a minute or two. Add the roasted pumpkin and the stock. Simmer for 25 minutes then turn off the heat. When cool enough to handle, puree the soup in a blender or food processor. It will be very thick. Can be made ahead to this stage and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Crunchy Pepitas: place pumpkin seeds in a medium-sized non-stick frying pan with the oil and stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add salt, sweetener (if using) and spices. Continue to cook, stirring all the time, until the seeds are starting to change colour. Tip out onto a large dinner plate and leave to cool. Keep in a jar in the fridge and use about a tablespoonful for each serving of soup.

To serve, reheat the soup adding water or milk to thin it down to the required consistency. Taste and add salt if required.

Serve with toasted sourdough or Turkish bread, topped with a swirl of cashew nut cream and a few crunchy pepitas.

Serves 8