Tag Archives: quick

Mum’s Kedgeree

Posted on by
6

Kedgeree was a popular Anglo-Indian breakfast dish in Victorian England, introduced by army officer’s wives returning from India. The main ingredients are rice, fish and eggs. Some versions add curry paste and other ingredients, but when we were growing up my mother made a very simple kedgeree which I still make.

Before I married I lived in a little bed-sit in Geneva which only had two hotplates and no oven. I could get home from work, absolutely starving and have a bowl of kedgeree ready in 20 minutes.

Filling and satisfying, for me it’s pure comfort food. It’s easy to eat with a fork in front of the TV with a glass of chilled white wine. The perfect dish for a quiet evening at home when you don’t want to spend much time cooking and don’t feel like anything heavy or spicy. You can use smoked fish or canned salmon or tuna instead of the prawns. But for me the prawns really make the dish, so I always keep some handy in the freezer.

The second kedgeree recipe uses the same basic ingredients of rice, fish and eggs, but is more complicated and spicy. Equally nice, just totally different.

1 cup long-grain rice (such as basmati or jasmine)photo
2-3 eggs
250-300g peeled cooked prawns
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
25g butter, cut into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Put the rice on to boil and the eggs on to hard boil. I have been known to throw them all in the same pan, for speed! When cooked drain rice thoroughly and place in a warm serving bowl. Add butter and stir till melted. Then add the eggs, peeled and roughly cut up, the spring onions, prawns and season to taste. Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped herbs.

Serves 2

Asian Kedgeree

Asian Kedgeree1 cup long grain rice (such as basmati or jasmine), cooked
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp grated ginger
½ small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
100g smoked trout, flaked
½ cup canned corn, drained
About 1 Tbs fish sauce – to taste
Scrambled egg topping:
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2-4 tsp curry paste or powder, to taste
2 tsp brown sugar
½ small red chilli, finely chopped
2-3 tsp tamarind paste, to taste
2-3 tsp fish sauce, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
To serve:
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled and cut into ribbons (discard seeds)
2 Tbs cashew nuts or peanuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
Chopped fresh coriander and lime wedges

Make scrambled eggs first. Heat oil in a small frying pan and cook curry paste for a minute, stirring. Add sugar, chilli and tamarind paste and cook for 1-2 mins. Add egg and cook until lightly scrambled. Lastly add fish sauce to taste and remove from heat.

Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilli stirring for 1-2 mins. Add rice, sugar, trout and corn. Cook for 1-2 mins or until heated through then add fish sauce to taste. Divide kedgeree between two serving bowls, top with the scrambled egg and garnish with cucumber, nuts, lime wedges and coriander.

Serves 2

Variations: use frozen corn or peas instead of canned corn. Cook in boiling water for a few minutes then drain. Use smoked salmon, canned salmon or tuna instead of the smoked trout.

Note: if you can’t find tamarind paste add a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice instead.

Staples Special

Posted on by
2
Major and Mrs H.W. Staples, and their four children - Pat, Edwin, Margaret and Daphne outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival on Malta in January 1939.

Major and Mrs H.W. Staples and their five children – Patrick, Edwin, Margaret, Daphne and Joan outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival in Malta in January 1939.

My grandfather, Herbert William Staples, was posted to Malta from the UK in January 1939 with the Royal Engineers. When War broke out later that year he was offered the chance to leave with his wife and five children, aged between 10 and 14. But leaving by ship was risky, with many being bombed and sunk, so they opted to stay. My mother Margaret was almost 10 at the time and spent the next 6 years on the island with her younger twin sisters Joan and Daphne and two older brothers, Patrick and Edwin. At the end of the War she received a medal for never having missed a day of school, despite periods of heavy bombing when she had to get there via air raid shelters.

More bombs fell on this little island of just 121 square miles than fell on London during the Blitz. The Germans wanted to capture it for strategic reasons, due to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes. But they didn’t succeed and at the end of the War Malta was awarded the George Cross for bravery.

Feeding a family of seven was a constant challenge for my Irish grandmother Hilda Mary. Strict rationing allowed just one slice of bread per person per day. My mother remembers her brothers asking if they could have another slice and my grandmother giving them hers, half each. Nana Staples was skin and bone at the end of the War, but she made up for it afterwards! There were no cattle on the island, which meant no dairy industry. Sometimes the Quartermaster would issue a few cans of food to each British family. My mother still likes tinned peaches served with evaporated milk, for nostalgic reasons. While onions and tomatoes were easy to grow and Mediterranean fruit such as figs, grapes and pomegranates were plentiful in season, food-wise life was tough.

My Uncle Pat was a very good diver and could hold his breath for a long time. One day he heard that a ship had been sunk in the bay so he dived down and inside the wreck he found a whole cheddar cheese, weighing about 10 kilos. He wrapped it in his towel and staggered home, triumphant. My grandmother was thrilled and as she had tomatoes and onions in the garden she invented Staples Special with what she had available.

Home grown tomatoes

Fortunately I’ve never known what it is to go hungry or be unable to buy enough food for my family. But I still make Staples Special because it’s so delicious and makes a perfect Saturday lunch or Sunday evening supper. It’s important to use vine-ripened tomatoes from the garden or local market. Those tasteless ones you buy in supermarkets during winter just won’t work in this recipe. The same goes for the toast – the better the bread, the better the toast.

My Dad was a nurseryman and for many years his main crop was tomatoes, grown under glass in Kent, in south-east England. All my tomato-growing knowledge came from him and I think he would be proud of this year’s crop from our Canberra garden. To be honest Matthew does all the work, but I do cook the produce. One cardinal rule I learnt from my Dad and that’s never, ever store tomatoes in the fridge.

1 large onion, halved and slicedStaples Special
2 Tbs olive oil
500-600g ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 large slices buttered toast (Turkish bread is nice)
Basil leaves, torn up (optional)

Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook onion, stirring, over moderate heat, until soft but not brown. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring. Tomatoes should be semi-cooked and still chunky. Add sugar and season to taste. Add cheese and when just melted serve on toast garnished with basil.

Serves 4

Sweet Potato Soup with Buttered Cashews

Posted on by
4

When I was growing up in England we had swedes, parsnips and turnips, but I never saw sweet potatoes or pumpkin. So I didn’t try either of these vegetables until I married and moved to Australia in 1975. I quickly became a big fan of both – in soups, roasted, mashed – I love their sweet earthy flavours and satisfying textures.

February is usually the hottest month in Canberra, but this year we have had some cool, wet days. And this weekend, the first in March, is positively autumnal. After several months of salads a bowl of soup goes down well for lunch on a cool day, with a slice or two of toast.

I made this soup with sweet potato, but pumpkin would work equally well. Two year old granddaughter Natalia, who had hers without the toppings, had fun finding the chick peas which she called “chippies”.

Sweet Potato Soup with Buttered Cashews

25g butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup white wine
4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
About 2 cups milk
1 can chickpeas, drained
Hot pepper sauce (see note below)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To serve:
Sour cream or thick plain yoghurt
¾ cup unsalted cashew nuts
small piece of butter
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano, marjoram or coriander
Hot pepper sauce (see note below)

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook gently, stirring from time to time, until soft but not brown. Add sweet potato, wine and stock and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender. Meanwhile heat a small piece of butter in a small frying pan and cook the cashew nuts, stirring, until browned.

Blend soup in a blender until smooth, adding enough milk to make desired consistency. Put soup back into a saucepan with the chickpeas and ginger, adding hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Reheat soup and serve in soup bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream, some cashews, chopped herbs and a drizzle of hot pepper sauce.

Serves 6

Variations: use pumpkin instead of sweet potato; pecan nuts instead of cashews.

Note: If you can find a smoky hot pepper sauce such as Montezuma’s Smoky Chipotle sauce, this is ideal. Have a look in the Mexican food section of your supermarket and see what they have. If you can’t find a smoky one use Tabasco or Peri Peri sauce.

Rare Roast Beef with Blue Cheese Dressing & Zucchini Bake

Posted on by

A rare roast fillet of beef is handy to have in the fridge in summer. It lasts several days and makes life easy when you have guests staying and limited time to cook, or during a heatwave. It’s expensive, but a little goes a long way.

I’m not a big fan of strong blue cheeses, preferring the milder creamier versions. But toned down a bit with yoghurt and vinegar this Blue Cheese Dressing is delicious with salads – especially crunchy cos lettuce –  steaks and dolloped onto baked potatoes.

While this zucchini (courgette) dish goes well with the beef it’s also nice on it’s own as a vegetarian dish. As you can see from the photo, the zucchini I used were rather larger than those you buy in the shops. Unfortunately that’s what happens when you grow your own. One day you look and they’re not quite ready to pick. You go back a day or so later and they’re huge!

Rare Roast Fillet of Beef

1 fillet beef weighing 1.8 – 2.2kg
salt and freshly ground black pepperphoto
olive oil

Preheat oven to 200°C. Trim meat of any excess fat and sinews. Place in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and season. Bake for 25-40 minutes depending on weight of fillet. A meat thermometer is useful for deciding when to take the meat out. Cool then refrigerate, covered. Serve thinly sliced with the Blue Cheese Dressing.

Blue Cheese Dressing

100g blue cheese
2 heaped Tbs plain yoghurt
1-2 Tbs white Balsamic vinegar, to taste
1 tsp sugar

Place all ingredients in food processor and mix, adding a little water to give a pouring consistency. Keeps for a week in a jar with a lid in the fridge. Shake before using.

Zucchini Bake

Zucchini Bake750g zucchinis, thinly sliced
30g butter
1-2 Tbs olive oil
Sauce:
25g butter
25g flour
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup breadcrumbs (about a slice of bread whizzed in food processor)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat half the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Sauté zucchini slices until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Heat remaining oil and butter and fry the rest of the zucchini. Make sauce – heat butter in small pan, add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring, gradually add milk, then lastly cheese and seasoning. Remove from heat and mix in the egg. Fold in the cooked zucchini, tip into a buttered shallow ovenproof dish (about the size of a quiche dish) which has been sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Top with remaining breadcrumbs and bake 30 minutes until brown and bubbling.

Serves 6 as a side dish or 3-4 as a vegetarian main

Salmon with Couscous and Cherry Tomatoes

Posted on by
Reply

Instant or quick-cook couscous is ready in a jiffy and so is salmon, so I often team them up for a week-day dinner. With cherry tomatoes and lemons in the garden I came up with this tasty combination which you can have on the table in 15 minutes.

Any leftover couscous mixture makes the basis of a tasty salad for lunch the following day. Just add any of the following – cubed leftover chicken or other cooked meat, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, canned corn, herbs, onion and a dollop of mayonnaise, French dressing or pesto. To stretch if even further, serve on a bed of salad greens and voila, lunch is served. As I write this blog I am eating my leftover couscous salad. I added leftover roast chicken, a diced perfectly ripe nectarine, some cucumber, a teaspoon of curry paste and a dollop of mayonnaise. Delicious.

Salmon with Couscous and Cherry Tomatoes

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
2-4 tsp grated ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 salmon fillets weighing 180-200g (with or without skin, as you prefer)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbs olive oil
Juice and zest of half a lemon
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 spring onions, finely sliced or ½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup chopped coriander
½  to 1 birds eye chilli, to taste, seeded and finely diced

Heat water in a saucepan and when it boils add couscous, stir then cover and turn off heat. Leave to stand while you cook the salmon. Place salmon in a dish with half the oil, garlic, half the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste and turn to coat. Pan fry salmon in a non-stick frying pan over moderate to high heat for 3-4 minutes each side, or until done to liking. There is no need to add additional oil as there is some in the marinade. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add the ginger, tomatoes, onion, coriander, chilli, remaining zest, juice and oil. Season to taste and add any juices from cooking the salmon. Serve salmon on a bed of couscous garnished with more coriander. The couscous will be warm not hot.

Serves 2

Mexican Corn Soup with Avocado Salsa

Posted on by
4

This recipe is slightly adapted from one which appeared in the December 2012 edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller. My daughter made it and said it was yummy. I added some sugar and a substitute for chipotle chillies in adobo for those who – like me – are unable to find them easily. When something’s not sold in the first two supermarkets, I usually look for a substitute.

The original recipe called for two avocados, but I found one large one was plenty. A couple of fine slivers of red chilli on top of the avocado salsa would have improved the photo.

Mexican Corn Soup with Avocado Salsa

6 large vine-ripened tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
¼ cup olive oil
2 banana chillies, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups (750ml chicken or vegetable stock)
2 chipotle chillies in adobo (see note)
3 cups (500g) fresh corn cut from 3-4 cobs
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 tsp sugar, to taste
1-2 avocados, depending on size, diced
Juice of 1 lime or ½ lemon
½ cup loosely packed roughly chopped coriander

Preheat grill to high. Line a baking tray with foil and place tomatoes, skin side up and onions on the foil. Season then drizzle with half the oil. Grill 5-6 mins till blistering then add the banana chillies and grill for another 5-6 mins or till tender. Cool then remove skins from tomatoes. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook garlic until tender but not brown, stirring occasionally. Add stock, grilled vegetables, chipotle chillies and bring to the boil. Add corn, season to taste then simmer 4-5 mins until tender. Pulse in a food processor or blender until chunky-smooth. Tip back into pan and check seasoning. Mix avocado, lime juice and coriander and season to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and top with avocado salsa.

Serves 4

Note: substitute ½ tsp smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper

Hanne’s Dog Biscuits

Posted on by
3

Matthew and I both grew up with dogs and feel that a house without a dog is not a home. By taking dogs from people leaving the country at about the time we were arriving and leaving them with our successors we managed to have a dog in every country where we were posted – except Paris where we lived on the 8th floor of the Embassy complex and dogs weren’t allowed. It may seem cruel to leave them, but I think it was harder on us than on them.

When we headed off to Copenhagen for 3 years it was the first time we didn’t have any of our three offspring in tow. I have often heard them telling anyone willing to listen “We didn’t leave home like most kids do, our parents left home.” A real sob story as you can see.

It’s definitely a plus having school-aged kids when you arrive in a new country because you meet people through them. Owning a dog is another good way to make friends. As Copenhagen was to be our last overseas posting we decided to buy a puppy for the first time and bring it back through Australia’s strict quarantine at the end of our posting.Holger Danske

Within a few months of arrival we had bought our child replacement in the form a male golden retriever puppy we called Holger Danske, or Danske for short. Six years after leaving Copenhagen Danske is now a middle-aged gentleman of eight and a half, and going strong. We are still in regular touch with quite a few “doggy friends” including Marianne the breeder and Hanne (pronounced Hannah), whom I met in the doggy park.

Hanne and her dog Boelle were regulars at the park. With her pockets full of home-made dog biscuits Hanne was popular with the canines. I liked her too and it certainly wasn’t about the biscuits! Before I left Hanne gave me the recipe and I have made them every 2 months or so ever since. If I handed them out to all and sundry as Hanne did I’d be making them every weekend! I have adapted the recipe a bit by cutting down on the eggs.

Anyone who makes dog biscuits must be more than a little crazy about their four-legged friends and I am happy to admit that I fall into that category. However, to be honest, one of the main reasons I make them is because I’ve been unable to buy a dog treat which is the right size for Danske’s Kong ball. This red rubber toy in the shape of a ball has a hole into which you feed biscuits. He then tosses it around until they have all come out. Great fun and it’s now part of his daily routine. He brings me the ball to be filled each day at about noon. If the biscuits are too small they all fall out the first time he throws it. If they’re too big they’re impossible to get out and I have to use a knife – remember getting coins out of an old-fashioned money box? So that’s why I simply cannot afford to run out of Hanne’s biscuits. Danske would go into deep depression. Even small dogs can benefit from having a Kong ball.

Hanne's Dog Biscuits4 cups boiling water
1 beef or chicken stock cube
1 tsp salt
2 cups cracked wheat or rye
4 eggs, beaten
4-5 cups plain flour
4 cups porridge oats

Mix water, crumbled stock cube, salt and cracked rye and leave for a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients, using enough flour to make a stiff scone-like mixture. Take out in portions and roll into sausages on a floured surface, using extra flour as needed. Cut sausages into 1-2cm lengths, then bake the biscuits on oven trays lined with baking paper for 40 minutes at 180°C then turn the oven off. The biscuits can be very close together on the trays. When cold store in a tin.

Note: These healthy biscuits make an ideal treat but they are not designed to be everyday food. They are unsuitable for small puppies who still have their milk teeth, as they are quite hard.

Iced Ginger Cake

Posted on by
1

I decided to invent a ginger version of everyone’s favourite carrot cake – the one with the cream cheese icing – and came up with this. Using three different types of this versatile tubor – fresh, powdered and crystallised – this cake gives ginger addicts a serious overdose.

Ginger Cake250g butter at room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar
1 Tbs black treacle (or substitute Golden Syrup)
3 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1½ Tbs powdered ginger
3 eggs
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup plain yoghurt or buttermilk
Icing:
1 x 250g Philadelphia style cream cheese, at room temperature
250g icing sugar (about 2 cups) sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence
Crystallized ginger to decorate

Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 20-22cm (8-9″) square cake tin with baking paper. Place first five ingredients in food processor and mix well. Add eggs and when incorporated add flour and yoghurt or buttermilk. Stop to scrape down the sides then mix a bit more. Scrape into tin and smooth the top with a knife. Bake for 30-40 mins or until well-risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin. When cold tip out and ice the bottom which gives you a nice flat surface. Decorate with slivers of crystallized ginger – I just used one per square, but you could use more! Cut into squares and store in a container with a lid. Keeps for a day or two outside the fridge in cooler weather, but in summer it’s best to refrigerate.

Icing: beat cream cheese and vanilla with icing sugar, either by hand or in food processor, using the pulse button, until light and fluffy. Don’t over-beat or the icing will go runny.

Makes 16 generous squares

Quick Lamb Chops and Zucchini with Tarragon & Sour Cream

Posted on by
Reply

Getting a tasty evening meal on the table in next to no time is a challenge faced by all working parents. In his cook books 30-minute Meals and more recently 15-minute Meals, Jamie Oliver set out to show how this can be achieved.

About twice a month we have lamb chops or cutlets as a week day dinner. My favourite recipe is so quick and simple, it’s hardly a recipe at all. Mix equal quantities of Dijon mustard, honey and finely chopped fresh rosemary. A heaped teaspoon of each makes enough for two people. If you coat the chops with this mixture before you cook them the honey has a tendency to burn and go black. A better method is to pan fry the chops for 2-3 minutes each side in a smidgen of oil. Then paint or drizzle with the honey mixture and cook for another minute or so each side.

At the moment we have zucchini (courgettes) and fresh tarragon in the garden, so it’s time to make one of our favourite vegetable dishes Zucchini with Tarragon and Sour Cream. This recipe makes the most of the two main ingredients, zucchini and tarragon. You can buy zucchini pretty much all year round in Australia, but fresh tarragon is much harder to find. We have masses of it in the garden in summer when it grows like a weed.  Then it dies down and I have to do without until next season. I’ve tried freezing, but it’s not quite the same.

This recipe is a good way of using zucchini which have grown a bit too big – just remove the seeds if they are starting to look like marrows!

Zucchini with Tarragon & Sour Cream

1 kg zucchini (courgettes)Quick Lamb Chops and Zucchini with Tarragon & Sour Cream
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
½ to ¾ cup sour cream
½ cup chopped fresh tarragon, firmly packed
freshly ground black pepper

Wash zucchini, remove seeds if they are really big, but leave skin on.  Grate coarsely, place in a sieve with the salt mixed through to drain for a minimum of 10 minutes and up to half an hour. Squeeze and press hard to remove most of the moisture. Heat butter in a large frying pan and stir-fry zucchini for 4-5 minutes. Add sour cream, tarragon, pepper and check to see if it needs any more salt.  Don’t boil and serve immediately.

Serves 6

A Long Weekend at Woodlands

Posted on by
2

We spent the Australia Day long weekend at Woodlands, the 115 acre rural property near Braidwood in New South Wales which we bought about 4 years ago.

The tussock and thistle hadn’t been sprayed for some years and gave the place a somewhat neglected look, but we could see the potential. Since then Matthew has been fighting an on-going battle with the weeds, but is gradually making progress. He has planted over 200 deciduous trees to contrast with the existing native eucalyptus which cover about 20% of the land. The rest is grazing land and in due course we plan to buy some cattle, though I can see them all becoming pets with names, which will make selling them something of a challenge. Matthew’s ambition to turn Woodlands into a park-like setting which lives up to its name certainly keeps him busy.

We were joined for the weekend by our son David, his wife Amy and her parents Ian and Bev. The purpose of the weekend was to build a pizza oven. Ian is a potter and has built kilns and pizza ovens, so he was in charge of proceedings. I took on my usual role as chief cook and bottle washer.

Each day the heavens opened at about six in the evening, with very heavy rain accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightening. Standing on the covered verandah as the water came down in sheets felt a bit like being on the set of the Titanic. Fortunately there was plenty of time each day to work on the oven and cover it with tarpaulin before it got wet. It’s now finished and looking great, as you can see from the photos.

Spectacular views across the valley towards the Great Dividing Range which forms part of the Tallaganda National Park and a very pretty fast-flowing creek on the western boundary makes Woodlands a very special place. It’s a 40 minute drive to Braidwood, the nearest town, which is a long way to go if you run out of milk. We recently had the excavators in to make a large pond with a small island in the middle. This is so the ducks and swans – which I’m hoping will turn up once the habitat is right – have somewhere to escape with their babies when Mr Fox comes looking for a quick lunch. I read somewhere that foxes can swim but don’t really like to. The pond is quickly becoming home to ducks and other birds, but so far no swans.

Two years ago we completed a stone house with all mod cons. It’s a privilege to to be able to soak up the peace and tranquility of such a remote spot, while enjoying the advantages of comfy beds with electric blankets (you really need them in winter when it can get down to minus 12), hot showers, an open fire and a dishwasher. Not to mention good food and a bottle or two of vino.

Our golden retriever Danske had the company of Hershey (chocolate lab) and Frankie (Staffordshire Terrior) for the weekend. They swam in the pond, chased kangaroos (without a hope of even getting close), rolled in mud and played rough games together. By the end of the weekend they were exhausted. Danske’s full name is Holger Danske, after a legendary medieval Danish warrior. He was acquired when we were living in Copenhagen, so he really is a Dane. Danske is petrified of thunderstorms and tries to hide behind people’s legs when he hears the scary rumbling. You would think being eight years old and having lived through quite a few storms he would be over it, but he’s not.

Peek gatherings are all about the food and I usually plan a combination old recipes and new ones I’ve been wanting to try. Lunch on the first day consisted of Gazpacho followed by some simple Bruscetta (see below). That evening we had rack of lamb with Mint Pesto accompanied by potatoes roasted in duck fat and Peas with Broad Beans and Artichokes (see below). This was followed by Italian Mince Pies with Panna Cotta and Berry Compote.

For breakfast next morning we had Ricotta Pancakes with Honeycomb Butter and lunch was Gravlax with Sweet Mustard Sauce, followed by a selection of cheeses and salads.  That night I made Kylie Kwong’s Caramelized Pork Belly with Scallops and potatoes, dug up that afternoon from the veggie patch, followed by Rich Chocolate Mousse with Peanut Brittle Ice Cream (see below). Brunch next day before everyone headed home was fresh mango mixed with passionfruit served with a dollop thick Greek yoghurt and followed by Bill Granger’s Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa. I will have to dig out some of my Dukan diet recipes this week!!

The cement on the pizza oven has to “cure” for a few weeks, but we are all looking forward to trying it out.

Bruscettas with White Beans, Feta and Tomato

Bruscettas with White Beans, Feta and Tomato1 French loaf, sliced at an angle (plain, wholegrain, sourdough, whatever you prefer)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Extra virgin olive oil
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Half to 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 large tomatoes, sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Fresh basil leaves

Mix one clove garlic with some olive oil. Brush both sides of bread slices then bake on a metal tray in a moderate oven for 10 mins or until golden. Meanwhile mash beans with a fork, adding feta, olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. You can also add any leftover oil from brushing the bread. Season to taste.

Spread bean paste thickly on the bread slices and arrange on serving platter. Top with slices of tomato, onion and basil leaves. Drizzle with more oil.

Serves 6

Peas with Broad Beans and Artichokes

1 500g packet frozen peas
1 500g packed frozen broad beans
1 cup artichokes marinated in oil
25g butter or 1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or marjoram or 1 tsp dried

Cook peas in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and place in large frying pan. Cook broad beans in boiling salted water. Drain and when cool enough to handle slip off the outer skins. Add to frying pan with peas. Roughly chop artichokes and add to pan with remaining ingredients. Can be made ahead to this point. To serve heat the vegetables over moderate heat for a  few minutes, stirring. When hot and butter has melted serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

Rich Chocolate Mousse with Peanut Brittle Ice Cream

Rich Chocolate Mousse with Peanut Brittle Ice CreamMousse:
150g chocolate chip cookies, crushed
30g unsalted butter, melted
400ml thickened cream
400ml milk
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
400g dark/bitter chocolate, broken into squares
Ice Cream:
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 litre bought vanilla ice cream
2/3 cup salted roasted peanuts or cashew nuts

Mousse: Mix cookie crumbs with butter and tip into a square or oblong cake tin lined with baking paper. Size of tin is flexible – could be a small slice tin or loaf tin. If made of silicone there’s no need for the paper. Flatten the mixture evenly over the bottom with your hand. Alternatively divide crumbs between about 10 individual serving dishes or glasses – Martini glasses would look nice. Or use one large glass dish. Press crumbs down then chill while you make the mousse.

Heat cream and milk in a saucepan. In a bowl mix egg yolks with sugar, mix in some of the hot milk and cream, then tip mixture back into the saucepan. Continue to cook, stirring with a flat bottomed wooded spatula until almost boiling and mixture coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Leave for a few minutes then stir briskly until thoroughly combined and chocolate has completely melted. Pour mousse into cake pan or individual dishes and chill overnight.

Ice Cream: Melt sugar in a pan over moderate heat. Cook to a golden caramel, swirling from time to time so it colours evenly. Add nuts and tip onto a sheet of foil. When cold peel off the foil and chop coarsely by hand. Remove ice cream from freezer to allow to soften a bit. Keep some praline to garnish then fold the rest into ice cream and return to freezer.

To serve, tip mousse out of tin and cut into slices or serve in the individual glasses. Top each serving with a ball of ice cream and sprinkle with reserved praline. Mousse in the photo wasn’t refrigerated overnight so it wasn’t firm enough to slice and had to be scooped. Still tasted good!

Serves 10