Chicken Fajitas

I’ve been writing this blog since 2011 and this is the first Mexican dish. Fajitas make a quick and easy mid-week dinner which even some fussy kids might enjoy.

It’s a good option for those trying to cut down on carbs, so I had mine without the tortilla, Serving with tortillas makes it go further, so double the recipe will serve a family of six.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, sliced or cut in wedges
1 red or yellow capsicum, or half of each, sliced
2 Tbs olive oil
½ lime, juiced
Seasoning:
1 tsp each chilli powder, ground cumin and garlic powder
½ tsp each paprika, oregano and salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To serve:
Tortillas, warmed
Sour cream
1 avocado, sliced
Coriander

Mix seasoning in a bowl. Trim chicken breasts and cut each into 3 or 4 thick lengthwise strips. Add to the bowl of seasoning and mix to coat well.

In a large frying pan, heat half the oil, add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and add the other tablespoonful of oil with the onion and pepper strips. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes until cooked and starting to brown. Slice chicken and return to the pan. Stir fry for a couple of minutes, then drizzle with the lime juice. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, avocado and coriander.

Serves 2-3

Red Dressing

This dressing was originally called Sweet and Sour Dressing, but in our house it quickly became known as Red Dressing. It was our kids absolute favourite when they were growing up and still is.

It’s actually orange, but we still call it red dressing. Our grandkids also love it and say if I sold it to supermarkets I would make a fortune. While it goes well with any salad, it goes particularly well with spinach, where it contrasts beautifully with the bitter leaves. This is the original spinach salad where I first tried this dressing.

A jar of red dressing makes a nice gift for a friend who has everything.

¼ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1 small onion or ½ medium
½ cup cider or white wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
½ cup tomato ketchup

Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Keep in the fridge in a jar with a lid. Shake well before using.

Steamed Bok Choy with Bacon and Onion Vinaigrette

I found a recipe in a French cookbook for a warm bacon and onion vinaigrette and decided it would probably go well with some bok choy I had in the fridge. It did. A true fusion recipe where East meets West.

3 or 4 whole bok choy or baby pak choy
200g bacon, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 Tbs cider, red wine or white wine vinegar
2-4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive oil
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Run the cold tap over the bok choy, separating the leaves a bit, so you remove any soil, but leaving them whole. Trim the ends if necessary then steam until just tender. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange one on each serving plate.

Meanwhile cook the bacon in a non-stick frying pan, stirring. As the bacon starts to release the fat, add the onion and continue to cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion has softened and the bacon is crispy. Add the vinegar and cook for a minute or two, until it’s almost evaporated, then add enough olive oil till the dressing looks right.

Spoon dressing over the bok choys, garnish with salt flakes and black pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 3-4

Crisp-skinned Fish with Warm Potato Salad & Salsa Verde

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

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

Savoury Cheese and Onion Bread Pudding

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.

Affogato with Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream

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.

Best Beef Burgers

When we were a family of five, spaghetti bolognese and lasagne were regulars on the week-day menu. Now there’s just the two of us we don’t eat a lot of mince. Every now and then, however, I like to make burgers. Like everything else you make yourself, they are so much tastier than the ones you get in fast food outlets, especially if you use top quality, lean minced beef. And it’s the additions, such as mustard and grated Parmesan, which make all the difference to creating a great burger.

This mix is our favourite. If you end up with too many burgers, freeze them raw, or cook them and reheat the following day for lunch. Sometimes I have mine with just half a bun, or no bun at all and find I don’t miss the carbs. Feed a family by making some oven fries in the oven, or in an air fryer to go with the burgers.

500g top quality minced beef
1 small onion, or ½ a large onion, very finely chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs (made from stale bread or use Panko crumbs)
1 tsp mustard (I use hot English)
2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
Pinch grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbs olive oil, to fry the burgers
To serve: 
4 burger buns, split and toasted
Lettuce, rocket or baby spinach leaves
Sliced tomato
Sliced red onion (optional)
Sliced cucumber or avocado or both
Mayonnaise or aioli
Fruit chutney, tomato ketchup or barbecue sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients except oil and use your hands to shape into 4 evenly-sized burgers, the diameter of your buns. Refrigerate until serving time.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat and cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes each side, or until cooked to taste. Spread one side of the toasted buns with mayonnaise or aioli and the other with chutney, tomato ketchup or barbecue sauce. Serve the burgers in the buns with lettuce, rocket or spinach leaves, tomato and cucumber slices.

Makes 4 burgers

Kale with Quince

This healthy and delicious side dish from Australian cook Maggie Beer goes well with roast meats, particularly pork, turkey or chicken.

For lunch the following day I heated up the leftovers and served them on toasted sourdough, with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese, a slice of crispy bacon, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Quinces are in season in winter, so they are in the shops in Australia now. At other times of the year you could substitute a sharp cooking apple.

Find more quince recipes here and here and here.

1 large quince, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes
1 bunch of kale
50g butter
2 Tbs olive oil
2 shallots or 1 small to medium onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbs lemon juice

Wash kale and strip the leaves from the stalks. Discard the stalks. Cook in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Drain, squeeze out excess water and chop.

Heat butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the onion and quince over moderate heat, stirring often, until cooked and starting to turn golden. Add the kale and toss together over the heat for a couple of minutes. Season to taste and drizzle with lemon juice.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

No Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

I belong to a group which meets once a month to speak French over a pot luck lunch. We take it in turns to host the lunch and the food is always amazing. All you have to do is let the hostess know you will be attending and whether you will bring a sweet or savoury dish, to make sure we don’t end up with too many desserts and not enough savoury dishes.

This delicious dessert was brought last month by Vanessa, one of the members whose husbands work at the French Embassy. It’s very easy to make and Vanessa kindly shared the recipe. It’s not really a cake, more a sliceable chocolate mousse. The texture is more like a panna cotta or a rich chocolate jelly than a mousse.

4 Tbs cocoa powder
¼ cup water
2 cups milk
1¾ cups cream
½ cup condensed milk
5 Tbs sugar (I cut it back to 3 Tbs)
200g dark chocolate, chopped
5 tsp gelatine powder
½ cup water
To serve:
Cocoa powder
Thick pouring cream
Fresh berries

Mix cocoa powder and ¼ cup water to a smooth paste. Heat milk, cream, condensed milk and sugar in a saucepan. Add chocolate paste and chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Mix gelatine powder with ½ cup water in a small bowl, then zap briefly in the microwave to dissolve. Add to the mixture in the pan.

Line a loaf tin with a capacity of about one and a half litres or six 250ml cups with non-stick baking paper. I used a triangular one, but a rectangular one is fine. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan through a sieve, in case there are any undissolved bits. Refrigerate overnight.

Tip the mousse out onto a serving platter and remove the paper. Cover with sifted cocoa powder. Cut into thick slices and serve with cream and berries.

Serves about 12