Author Archives: Linda Peek

Crisp-skinned Fish with Warm Potato Salad & Salsa Verde

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This recipe was inspired by a photo of a dish served at The Retreat on the Row restaurant, located in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK. It’s very quick to whip up for a midweek family dinner, but smart enough to serve to friends. The herb mix is very versatile. You can even use a few rocket leaves if that’s all you have.

Choose a waxy potato which will hold its shape in a salad and any firm-fleshed fish fillets which haven’t been skinned.

Two portions of firm-fleshed fish, skin on (I used barramundi)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbs olive oil
250g small waxy potatoes
Basic Salad Dressing
Snipped chives
A quarter to half a red onion, very thinly sliced
Something green to garnish – I used a pea shoot from the garden
Salsa Verde:
2 big handfuls fresh herbs – mint, coriander, basil, parsley, whatever you can find in the garden
Juice of half a lemon
2 tsp capers
Small clove garlic, crushed
2 small gherkins
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Cook in boiling salted water for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, then mix with some basic salad dressing, a few snipped chives and the red onion.

Salsa verde: place all ingredients in food processor except the oil and process for a minute or until chunky. Drizzle olive oil through the feed chute with the motor running, until you have a thick chunky green sauce.

Season fish then place skin side down in a cold non-stick frying pan smeared with the tablespoon of olive oil. Turn on the heat and cook over medium heat until skin is golden and crispy. Turn fish over and cook for another couple of minutes, or until cooked through.

Spoon some Salsa Verde on two serving plates. Top with the potato salad, then the fish and garnish with a pea shoot.

Serves 2

Apple Cake

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The last few posts have all been savoury, so I thought it was time for a cake.

Everyone loves apples and this recipe, which appears in various formats on Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, is delicious, quick and easy. It’s raining cats and dogs as I write this – what could be better on a cold and miserable day than a warm slice of cake with my morning coffee?

This cake is also nice served warm as a dessert, with cream or ice cream.

3 eggs
¾ cup sugar (150g)
4 Tbs vegetable oil
Grated rind and juice of 1 small lemon or ½ large lemon
½ cup plain yoghurt or sour cream (125g)
1½ cups self raising flour (230g)
2 apples, cored, halved and sliced
1 tsp icing sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon
50g butter
Extra icing sugar

Preheat oven to 170°C. Place eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk with electric beaters until thick and pale. Whisk in the oil, lemon rind and juice and yoghurt or sour cream and lastly fold in the sifted flour. Scrape into a greased and bottom lined loaf pan.

Push the apple slices (leave the peel on) into the top alternating from side to side. You may think you’re going to have too many, but they just fit in nicely. Mix cinnamon and icing sugar, then sprinkle over the top, using a small sieve. Dot with small pieces of butter. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until evenly puffed and golden and a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool, then sprinkle with a little more icing sugar using a sieve. Serve cold as a cake or warm as a dessert, with cream or ice cream.

Makes 1 loaf

Pasta with Chorizo, Crispy Chickpeas & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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I’ve always loved Brussels sprouts, even back in the days when my mother used to boil the Bejeezers out of them to go with the Sunday roast. Nowadays I prefer them roasted or stir-fried, until they’re cooked enough to be slightly charred, but still a bit crunchy.

If you’re a fan of Brussels sprouts I think you will like this recipe. If you’re not, give it a try. Some die-hard haters have been swayed when they have tasted their first roasted sprout. Vegetarians can just leave out the chorizo or use prawns instead, if you eat fish. Feel free to play with the quantities of pasta, sprouts and chorizo. I halved the pasta but left everything else the same. The crunchy chick peas are a real winner and make a tasty addition to almost any dish.

500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed & sliced vertically into 3
2 Tbs olive oil
400g can chickpeas, drained and patted dry with paper towels
1 tsp garlic powder
500g dry pasta of your choice
250g chorizo, sliced
2 Tbs currants
An extra 2 tsp olive oil
A handful of fresh sage leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts, walnuts, or pine nuts (left whole)
To garnish:
Balsamic glaze
Extra virgin olive oil, walnut or hazelnut oil

Preheat oven to 200°C. Mix sprouts with 1 Tbs oil and season to taste. Spread out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast for 10-20 minutes or until starting to brown around the edges. They should be cooked, but still have a bit of bite to them. Alternatively you can cook the sprouts in an Air Fryer. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water.

Meanwhile in a non-stick frying pan heat the other tablespoonful of oil. Mix the chickpeas with the garlic powder and a good pinch of salt, then stir fry them for 10-15 minutes until golden and crunchy, stirring frequently. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add sliced chorizo to the pan and cook, stirring often, until browned on both sides. Cover the currants with hot water for 5-10 mins, then drain.

Drain pasta, keeping one cup of the liquid, then put the pasta back into the pan with the reserved liquid and the sprouts. Cook for a minute or two, stirring, until liquid has almost disappeared.

Add the currants, chorizo and chickpeas. Mix well and season to taste. In a small frying pan heat the two teaspoons olive oil and cook the sage leaves for 20-30 seconds, add the nuts then turn off the heat.

Serve pasta garnished with the sage and nuts, a drizzle of oil (olive, hazelnut or walnut) and a drizzle of balsamic glaze around the edge.

Serves 4

Variation: use peeled green prawns instead of chorizo.

Prawn and Pesto Pizza

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I don’t eat pizza very often, but when I do I’m fussy about what goes on top.

This is my favourite combination, using home-made pesto instead of the usual tomato base and a gourmet topping of prawns, bocconcini balls, grated mozzarella and pine nuts. This combination elevates the humble pizza to a whole new level.

To speed things up you could use a bought pizza base and bought pesto, but the home made options are, as always, best. The dough recipe makes one very large pizza (or two smaller ones) and is easy to double for a crowd. Many teenagers have hollow legs and are capable of demolishing a whole pizza each!  If you do make double the dough recipe, do it in two batches, otherwise your food processor might struggle. If you make two smaller pizzas you could do one with prawns for the adults and one with whatever the kids prefer.

When we fire up our pizza oven for a crowd, I make 3 double batches of this dough and end up with about eight medium-sized pizzas. For one pizza it’s not worth using the pizza oven, so I use the oven.

Dough:
250g plain flour (preferably “00”)
½ tsp salt
Half a packet of dried yeast (about one level teaspoon)
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbs olive oil
160 ml (about ¾ cup) lukewarm water
Topping:
About 6 Tbs pesto
16-20 raw, peeled prawns, depending on size
100-150g bocconcini balls
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
2-3 Tbs pine nuts

Place all ingredients for the dough in a food processor and process until it forms a ball. If the mixture is a too sticky to form a ball, stop the motor and add another tablespoonful of flour and mix again. Tip out into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave for an hour or two, or until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile make the pesto and assemble the topping ingredients. Preheat oven to 220°C or whatever is the hottest temperature your oven can reach. Knock down the dough and knead it for a minute or so, then press it out into a circle about 30-35 cm in diameter on a lightly oiled baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread with pesto, then arrange the prawns and bocconcini balls over the pizza. Top with grated mozzarella and pine nuts.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until browned and bubbly. In a pizza oven it will take slightly less, probably 8-12 minutes.

Serve with a salad.

Makes one very large pizza

Savoury Cheese and Onion Bread Pudding

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This savoury version of bread and butter pudding makes a tasty breakfast or brunch and is a good way to use up stale bread and odds and ends of cheese. You can also serve it with a salad for lunch. I made half the recipe for two.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 packet French Onion Soup mix
Freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
2 cups milk
4 cups day old bread, cubed (crusts removed)
1/3 cup grated gruyere cheese (cheddar or other hard cheese)
To garnish:
Snipped chives
Extra virgin olive oil

Grease a 6 cup capacity baking dish. Place oil, onion soup mix, pepper, eggs and milk in a bowl and whisk to combine. Arrange the bread cubes in the dish to more or less fill it – add a few more if not enough.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread, then press down all over with a spoon to make sure all the bread is coated. Cover with the grated cheese.

Stand for an hour or two before baking, or refrigerate, covered overnight. Preheat oven to 180°C, then bake the bread pudding for about half an hour, or until golden and crispy on top.

Serve garnished with the chives and drizzled with a little olive oil.

Serves 4

Variatons: add some sliced, sautéed mushrooms and/or some diced bacon or ham.

Quick Bang Bang Chicken Salad

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The name Bang Bang is derived from the way the chicken is tenderised before cooking this recipe. Not something you have to worry about in this version. No doubt the original recipe also had you chasing the chook around the backyard and catching it, before you got to the bang bang bit.

After catching and tenderising your chicken, a traditional Sichuan recipe for Bang Bang Chicken Salad starts with cooking it whole. This is the quick version where instead you head to the supermarket. Perfect for those days when you have limited time to organise something tasty for dinner.

Buy a cooked chicken at the supermarket – actually I bought a half – then grab some beansprouts, cucumber, baby spinach, coriander and a lime. Hopefully you have all the ingredients for the dressing in your pantry.

½ a roast chicken (more or less)
2-3 cups beansprouts
2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)
Dressing:
2 Tbs sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 Tbs Tahini paste
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs vinegar (Chinese black if available, if not any will do)
4 Tbs vegetable oil
Pinch chilli flakes
To garnish:
3-4 handfuls baby spinach leaves
A handful of fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Tbs roasted peanuts or cashews, coarsely chopped
Good pinch chilli flakes or some fresh finely diced chilli

Shred the chicken and place in a bowl with the beansprouts and spring onions (if using). Whiz all the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or blender. Add the dressing to the chicken – you may not need to use it all.

Line a serving dish with spinach leaves. Pile the chicken salad on top, then garnish with the coriander, cucumber, nuts, chilli and a piece of fresh lime. As you can see in the photo, I forgot the lime!

Serves 3 (more as part of a buffet)

 

Affogato with Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream

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Affogato consists of vanilla ice cream or gelato drizzled with a shot of freshly brewed coffee and some Amaretto – an Italian liqueur made with almonds.

This traditional Italian dessert is so quick and easy to make. The perfect way to end a meal with friends, with almost no work involved and a cinch to make for yourself, when you feel you deserve a little treat.  If you don’t have Amaretto, experiment with other liqueurs you find tucked away at the back of your alcohol cupboard, such as Baileys Irish Cream, Tia Maria or Frangelico.

The home made vanilla ice cream takes less than five minutes to make (plus freezing time) and it’s so delicious! But if you can’t be bothered just buy your favourite brand.

Vanilla ice cream – bought or quick home-made (see below)
Freshly made espresso coffee
Amaretto or liqueur of your choice

Place two scoops of ice cream in a small tumbler. Add a shot of espresso, then drizzle with about a tablespoonful of Amaretto or liqueur of your choice. Serve immediately.

Quick Home Made Vanilla Ice Cream: whip two cups (half a litre) whipping cream until thick then add a can of condensed milk and a teaspoon of vanilla essence (or vanilla seeds scraped from one pod) and continue to whip until combined. Scrape into a container with a lid and freeze for several hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. If you prefer it a little less sweet use more cream. I used three cups (750ml) instead of two.

Quick Pasties Using Roti Paratha

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I bought a packed of 8 frozen roti paratha from an Indian grocery store and used them to make these meat pasties. They were amazing. The best meat pies I’ve ever made.

If you can’t find Indian roti paratha, buy puff pastry and cut out big circles about 15cm or 6 inches in diameter. I thawed the roti, filled them, pinched together the sides at the top, brushed them with beaten egg, then baked them at 200°C for just over half an hour.

As for the filling, you can use your imagination. I used some leftover roast lamb from a slow roasted shoulder, mixed with leftover gravy and leftover roast pumpkin, all cut into 2cm cubes. I served the pasties with hot English mustard and a mix of peas and asparagus.

You could look for a Cornish pasty filling online and use that, or use this beef casserole recipe, or this recipe which uses oxtails – just take all the meat off the bones.

For a seafood pasty use this recipe for Seafood Mornay, without the breadcrumb topping. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this blog.

Grilled Prawns with Cauliflower & Miso Dressing

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Our friend Meg served this delicious prawn and cauliflower starter from Aussie chef Matt Moran recently. The recipe makes six starters, or  make half as a light and healthy mid-week dinner for two.

½ cauliflower cut into florets (about 300g)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
18 green jumbo prawns peeled and deveined, tail on
100g butter
100g baby spinach
S and P
¼ green apple finely sliced vertically, then julienned, so you have peel each end
50g sliced almonds, toasted
Baby or regular coriander
Cauliflower purée: 
40g butter
The rest of the cauliflower (about 300g) chopped small
½ cup cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
White Miso Dressing:
100g white miso
½ small golden shallot, very finely chopped
1cm piece ginger, very finely chopped
½ small hot red chilli, very finely chopped
1½ Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs mirin
1 tsp rice wine
2 tsp tahini
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs caster sugar
5 tsp veg oil
75 ml water

Puree: heat butter in frying pan, add cauliflower, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 mins or till very soft but not coloured. Add a few teaspoons of water if it starts to stick. Process with cream, salt and pepper till smooth. Reheat to serve if necessary.

Dressing: blitz all together in food processor till smooth, then push through a sieve.

Cook cauliflower florets in boiling salted water for 4  minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside. Preheat chargrill plate till hot. Mix prawns with the oil in a bowl and cook on the grill for 3 minutes, turning once, until just cooked.

Meanwhile heat half the butter in a frying pan and toss the cauliflower florets for 4-5 mins till golden, set aside. Add remaining butter to pan and toss the baby spinach till just wilted, season.

To serve, divide cauliflower purée between 6 plates and spread into a circle. Top each serving with 3 prawns, some spinach, cauliflower florets, almonds, apple julienne. Drizzle with some dressing and top with coriander. I also drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil around the edge.

If serving as a main, increase the prawns so each person gets 5 or 6.

Serves 6 as a starter, four as a main

 

Pasta with Jerusalem Artichokes & Chorizo

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It’s Jerusalem artichoke time and I’m always on the look out for new recipes.

I wouldn’t recommend growing them in a suburban garden because they tend to take over and become impossible to eradicate. We grow them at our farm where we have plenty of room.

These root vegetables look a bit like ginger and can be used in any way you would cook potatoes – boiled, baked, pureed into soup or whatever. The flavour is slightly sweet, like a parsnip. Some people avoid them because they cause wind. Others are unaffected or perhaps they don’t care.

To minimise the wind issue, my suggestion is to use them in a recipe which has other ingredients, such as this pasta dish, rather than in a soup made with 100% Jerusalem artichokes. Or mix them 50-50 with potatoes in a mashed or roasted recipe. Some recipes say to peel them, but we just give them a trim and a good scrub, as you would with new potatoes.

This recipe serves 4 so I made half. As you can see I used some penne pasta and some spiral because they both needed using up!

500g penne or another pasta of choice
1 cup diced dry-cured chorizo (about 250g)
500g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled or scrubbed and cut into 5mm slices
1/3 cup water
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
2 tsp olive oil
4 cups lightly packed baby spinach
1/3 cup cream
2 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbs lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
2 Tbs toasted pine nuts
2 Tbs currants in port (see note below) (optional)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in boiling salted water, according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain and keep about ½ cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile in a large nonstick frying pan, cook chorizo until lightly browned and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside leaving any fat in the pan. Add oil and artichokes and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Add the water and simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add garlic and thyme and stir for a minute or two.

Add spinach, pasta, cream and reserved liquid. Season with the lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. Mix in the chorizo and serve garnished with the pine nuts, currants and grated Parmesan.

Serves 4

Note: Currants in port: place some dry currants in a small jar and cover with port. They  keep in the pantry for months. A very useful addition to many dishes. Delicious to garnish chicken liver paté or foie gras spread on toast or crackers.