Category Archives: Recipes

Sausage Rolls

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When I was growing up in England we always made sausage rolls for Christmas and other celebrations.  With bought puff pastry, they’re quick to make and everyone likes them.  If you want to freeze and store them, cook them for less time, then reheat either thawed, or straight from the freezer, when you need them. Great to have in the freezer when unexpected guests pop in for a drink over Christmas.

Sausage Rolls

3-4 sheets of bought puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds (optional)
Filling:
750g pork mince
2 cups breadcrumbs, made in the food processor using day old bread
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped in the food processor
3 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
plain flour for rolling

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Mix all ingredients for filling.  Cut pastry down the middle into two long rectangles.  Form filling into sausages by taking a handful and rolling on a floured surface.  Each sausage should be about 2cm in diameter and the length of a piece of pastry.  Place a sausage on each piece of pastry, dampen the long edge with water, seal with a fork, then cut into desired length – if you make them about 4cm long you will get 6 from each rectangle.  Place on trays lined with baking paper.  Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle if liked with sesame seeds, then bake for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.  Cool a bit on a cake rack, then serve while still warm with tomato sauce (ketchup) for dipping.  If liked you can bake them ahead until they are almost ready, then cool and keep in the fridge (for up to 2 days) or freezer (for up to 2 months) until needed.  They will only need to be heated up for a few minutes in a hot oven to serve.

Makes about 36 or so, depending on size

Note: puff pastry sheets in Australia are 25cm square.  If preferred you can buy puff pastry in a block and roll it out yourself.

Warm Salmon Salad with Red Nut Dressing

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Tonight we had a warm Salmon salad with an invented dressing I’ve called Red Nut Dressing. The salad is adaptable, so use whatever you have on hand, such as baby tomatoes, asparagus, rocket etc. A perfect dish for an early summer evening with a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

Warm Salmon Salad with Red Nut Dressing

4-6 cups mesclun (small salad leaves)
1 cup beansprouts, washed and dried
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small red capsicum, seeded and thinly sliced
1 avocado peeled and sliced
2 salmon portions weighing about 180-200g each, skinned and boned
1 Tbs olive oil

Red Nut Dressing
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup walnuts, blanched almonds or pine nuts
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup vegetable oil e.g. canola
¼ cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make dressing place all ingredients in a food processor and process until chunky-smooth.  Tip into a jam jar with a lid.  Place salad ingredients except avocado and salmon in a salad bowl.  Meanwhile lightly season salmon and pan fry in the 1 Tbs olive oil until cooked to liking.  It won’t take more than about 3 minutes each side (depending on thickness) and is nicer if still pink in the middle. Cut salmon into chunks.  Shake dressing then add enough to the salad to moisten. Mix well and divide between two individual salad bowls.  Arrange the avocado slices and salmon chunks on top, then spoon over a little more dressing.  There will be some left over.

Serves 2

Notes: the walnuts need to be fresh otherwise they can be bitter.  If in doubt substitute almonds or pine nuts.  If preferred, leave the salmon in one piece and just place it on top.

Sticky Honey Chicken

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This weekend we went to Woodlands, our 46 hectare rural property at Hereford Hall, 40 minutes out of Braidwood, New South Wales.  Sometimes we invite friends or family to join us, but this weekend Matthew wanted to prepare the area around the house for planting a lawn and sow the seeds, so there was no time for socialising.

Browsing through this month’s Delicious magazine before we left, I read a letter from a reader which mentioned a recipe for Sticky Honey Chicken with Ginger and Garlic by Rick Stein. It had apparently appeared in the magazine many moons ago and the reader said it was so good she was still making it regularly.  I decided to find it on the internet, print off a copy and make it over the weekend.  Here is my slightly adapted version.  I cut out the olive oil – the chicken was fatty enough without it – and added fresh coriander as a garnish.  I also cut down a bit on the quantities in the glaze and used only chicken thighs, because I’m not mad about drumsticks.  The cayenne pepper gives the sauce a nice kick and any leftovers are nice cold.

Rick Stein’s Sticky Honey Chicken with Ginger and Garlic

8-12 chicken pieces – drumsticks, thighs etc, skin left on
juice of one small or ½ large lemon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Glaze
1½ Tbs honey
2-3 cm fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbs HP sauce (I substituted BBQ sauce)
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 Tbs tomato puree
2 Tbs red wine or cider vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
2  large garlic cloves, crushed
fresh coriander to garnish

Preheat oven to 200°C. Trim chicken of any excess fat or skin.  Place in a shallow ovenproof dish in one layer.  Sprinkle with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt. Turn chicken pieces until well coated. Cover and set aside while you mix the glaze.

Make glaze by mixing all ingredients together. Roast chicken for 15 minutes skin side up. Turn chicken pieces over, spoon over half the glaze and roast for another 15 minutes.  Turn over so they are skin side up again, spoon over remaining glaze and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through.  Garnish with coriander. Serve with steamed rice, with a knob of butter added and a steamed green vegetable or green salad.

Serves 4-6

Mum’s Bread Pudding

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When I was growing up in England, my mother usually had a freshly-baked cake waiting for us when we arrived home from school.   Sometimes it was a butter cake, baked in a slab tin then iced with white icing and cut into rectangles with a glace cherry on each piece.  Sometimes it was drop scones (pikelets), which we ate with butter and golden syrup.  One of my favourites was bread pudding – quite different to bread and butter pudding, which uses cream and eggs and is served as a dessert.  Although it’s called a pudding, we ate it as a cake, still warm from the oven.  It’s an old recipe from World War 2, when nothing was wasted and many things, including eggs, were rationed.  For a modern twist use chocolate chips instead of the dried fruit or a combination of the two.

Mum’s Bread Pudding

9-10 slices stale bread
125g mixed dried fruit
1 Tbs mixed peel (optional)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp mixed spice
2 heaped Tbs softened butter
2-3 Tbs white sugar

Soak bread in cold water for half an hour. Squeeze bread to expel as much water as possible, then beat with a fork to remove lumps. Mix all ingredients together and spread into a shallow baking tin about 20x30cm in size, lined with baking paper.  Bake at 180°C for a good hour or until nicely browned. Sprinkle liberally with white sugar, cut into squares and serve warm.

Chicken Satay

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When we lived in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1980s, The Pink Tablecloths, our favourite street cafe, gave me their recipe for satay with peanut sauce – a dish which is popular in both Malaysia and Indonesia.  I haven’t made them for quite a while, but a week in Bali has reminded me how tasty they are.  You can use any meat you like, but I prefer chicken.  The original recipe used all peanuts, but I have substituted half for peanut butter, which I find gives a creamier result.

Chicken Satay The Pink Tablecloths

1 kg chicken meat (thighs are best)

Marinade:
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small to medium onion, grated
1 heaped Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs tamarind juice or paste
3 Tbs soy sauce

Cut meat into cubes or strips and thread onto wooden skewers which have been soaked for half an hour in cold water, so they don’t burn. Mix marinade and pour over the meat. Leave for at least 30 minutes then cook over a charcoal grill or under a grill. Serve with Satay Sauce, steamed rice and a small side salad of sliced cucumber and onion.

Serves 4-6

Note: beef, lamb or pork can be used instead of chicken in this recipe.

Satay Sauce
½ cup salted peanuts
½ cup peanut butter
1 small onion, peeled
1 can coconut cream
2 Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
1-2 smal red chillies, seeded and chopped (to taste)
2 tsp lemon peel, or lemon grass, chopped
Soy sauce to taste
Juice of half a lemon or lime

Process all ingredients together in a food processor until you have a thick, slightly chunky sauce. Heat until thick in a small saucepan.  Serve at room temperature.  Any leftover sauce can be frozen for next time.

Relaxing in Bali

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Spending a week relaxing in Bali at the Green Garden Hotel and Spa.  A small place with comfortable rooms, good aircon and friendly people.

Last night we had a delicious meal of fried calamari rings, satay chicken and chilli prawns with rice.  Today a light lunch down by the beach.  I chose a salad which was just right for the warm weather.  Here’s my take on it.

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad with Olive Dressing

4-6 handfuls of small salad leaves including rocket if liked
250g mozzarella or bocconcini balls, sliced or cubed
4 tomatoes, sliced, or the equivalent in baby tomatoes, halved
2 large avocadoes, sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil e.g. canola
¼ cup cider or white wine vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs finely chopped olives (green stuffed with pimento are nice)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp honey or sugar

On four plates arrange the lettuce leaves, then the tomatoes, avocado slices, onion and mozzarella.  Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake vigorously.  Drizzle dressing over the salads.

Serves 4 as a light lunch

Moroccan-style Sweet Potatoes with Carrots

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In the good company of Jamie Oliver I simply love my Magimix and am onto my third over a period of about 35 years.  When we were posted overseas I always took it with me in my suitcase, because I couldn’t bear the thought of being without it for the two months it took for a sea container to arrive with our goods and chattels.

I recently watched Jamie making a Carrot Salad on his Thirty Minute Dinners show.  He used a very large 0.5cm grating attachment for his Magimix, which my model  didn’t have.  So I went to my local department store and ordered one for the princely sum of  $59.  It’s perfect for grating carrots for salads or potatoes for Rösti.

Last night I created a new dish using some mashed sweet potatoes left over from the previous night’s dinner.  I also had some grated carrots which needed using up.  The result was this Moroccan style dish which was delicious.

Moroccan-style Sweet Potatoes with Carrots

500-600g sweet potatoes (one large or two smaller)
3-4 large carrots
25g butter
1/3 cup raisins or sultanas
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbs finely chopped preserved lemon (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh coriander to garnish (optional)

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into small chunks. Cook in boiling, salted water until tender then mash thoroughly with a potato masher. Peel and grate carrots coarsely. Heat butter in a medium frying pan. Add carrots and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the mashed sweet potato, raisins, cumin, preserved lemon and season to taste. Keep stirring for a minute or two until thoroughly heated through. Serve garnished with chopped coriander or as it is. It’s nice either way.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Note: preserved lemons are available in specialty shops

Big Mary’s Mexican Bombe

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Our offspring are all married and running their own households.  They all love to cook and we spend a lot of time discussing recipes and things we have made.  James went to a Mexican-themed dinner party the other evening and made an impressive meringue-based dessert called Big Mary’s Mexican Bombe.  I gather everyone went back for seconds and there was none left for breakfast!

You may wonder how the Bombe got its name.  Well one of my father’s cousins from the Hill House clan in the north of England was called Big Mary, to distinguish her from Little Mary, wife of one of her brothers who was much shorter.  Big Mary gave me this recipe which has always been a winner.  The optional cream around the sides (not shown in the photo) gives the Bombe more of a gateau look and the longer you leave it in the fridge, the more the meringues will soften into a cake-like consistency.  I know the recipe seems to have a lot of sugar in it, but with a few unsweetened raspberries on the side, it just hits the spot!

Big Mary’s Mexican Bombe

4 egg whites
250g brown sugar
2 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tsp water
Filling:
125g caster sugar
2 Tbs water
2 Tbs water, extra
125g dark chocolate
2½ cups cream
To garnish (optional):
1½ cups cream, extra
50g praline, roughly chopped (optional)

Fresh berries to serve (optional)

Line 3 baking sheets with foil or non-stick baking paper and draw a 20 cm diameter circle on each.  Set oven to 120°C.  Whip egg whites until stiff.  Gradually beat in brown sugar and continue beating until sugar has dissolved and meringue is stiff and shiny.  Fold coffee mixture into meringue and divide amongst the foil sheets, spreading it evenly into three round discs.  Bake for 1 to 1½ hours or until crisp.  If your oven heats unevenly, swap the tins around halfway through cooking time.  A fan-forced oven helps avoid this.  Turn oven off and leave until cold.

Filling: melt chocolate and cool.  Whip cream and divide in two.  Heat sugar and water gently until dissolved.  Increase heat and cook, without stirring, swirling pan from time to time, until you have a rich caramel.  Quickly add extra cold water, being careful to protect your arm from the steam.  Swirl the pan to dissolve the caramel, then cool.

Gradually beat caramel into half the cream and fold cooled chocolate into other half.  Peel meringues from foil.  Place one on a large flat plate, flat side down.  Spread evenly with chocolate cream.  Place another meringue on top and spread with caramel cream.  Place remaining meringue on top and gently press down.  Refrigerate for several hours.

Optional garnish: An hour or two before guests arrive, whip extra cream and spread around the sides of the bombe, filling in the holes to create a smooth surface.  If liked, press roughly chopped praline into the cream.  Refrigerate until serving time.  Serve the bombe in thin slices, accompanied, if liked, by fresh berries.

Serves 12

Thai Pumpkin Soup

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I borrowed a cook book from the library last week called Five of the Best by Valli Little.  It was printed to celebrate five years of the Australian food magazine Delicious.  I read cookbooks the way some people read novels and by the time I had finished going through the recipes I had decided to buy a copy so I ordered one from the ABC bookshop.  So far I’ve made several dishes including Tuna Stuffed Capsicum, Cauliflower Cheese Soup, Baked Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Cream and Thai Pumpkin Soup – all very good.  We’re not vegetarians, but sometimes I think it makes a nice change to skip meat for a few days.  Here’s the Pumpkin Soup recipe.

Thai Pumpkin Soup with Coriander Pesto

2 bunches fresh coriander, roots trimmed
(a few leaves reserved for garnish)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves
4 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp grated ginger (I used a bit more)
1 Tbs Thai red curry paste
1 kg pumpkin, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 cups (500ml) vegetable or chicken stock
400ml can light coconut milk
thinly sliced red onion and thinly sliced red
chilli, to garnish

To make the pesto place coriander, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic in food processor.  Process adding 3 Tbs oil to make a sauce consistency, season to taste.

Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium head.  Add onion and stir for a minute.  Add ginger and curry paste and stir for a minute.  Add pumpkin and stock, bring to the boil, then simmer 15 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked.  Cool a bit then blend until smooth.  Return to the pan, add coconut milk and season, then warm through.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a swirl of pesto, some onion, chilli and reserved coriander leaves.

Serves 6

Note: to make a more substantial meal, serve with croutons or toast.

Jacqueline’s Bread

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When we were living in South Africa in the late 80s, just before Mandela was released, we became friends with Johan van Heerden and his French wife Jacqueline.  Johan continues to be one of South Africa’s leading sculptors.

One Sunday they invited us for lunch and Jacqueline had made a delicious bread which she served with home made pâté.  When I asked for the recipe, she said it was too embarrassing to give it to me, because it was SO easy!  I told her it was just the kind of recipe I like – something which looks and tastes fantastic, but takes less than five minutes to make.

The basic recipe is just buttermilk, self-raising flour and salt, but you can add anything which takes your fancy to make it more interesting.  It’s best eaten the same day.

Jacqueline’s Bread

500g self raising flour, sifted
600 ml buttermilk
1 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients. Put 2-3 Tbs water into the packet and shake  to remove any remaining buttermilk stuck to the sides and add this to the mixture. Mixture should be like a stiff scone mixture.  Add any extra ingredients – see below.

Spoon roughly into a greased metal ring mold or a loaf tin for 45 mins at 180°C – don’t smooth it over. A ring mold is best because you get more crunchy edges. Eat the same day or freeze. Delicious toasted.

Don’t be tempted to take it out too early – it may look cooked on the outside but might still be raw in the middle.  If after 45 mins you’re not sure, stick a toothpick in the middle and check that it comes out clean.

Variations:

  • use wholemeal self raising flour instead of white or half and half
  • add 1 Tbs honey or sugar and some dried fruit and/or nuts
  • add 2 Tbs olive oil, chopped herbs and crushed garlic
  • add chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives and grated Parmesan
  • sprinkle the top with sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds
  • add some porridge oats or bran or poppy seeds