After a dash to the fish co-op one afternoon we produced this delicious dinner of a Barbecued Snapper served with Spicy Mango and Avocado Salsa and accompanied it with the best friend of white fleshed fish - potatoes - simply steamed and tossed in butter. It was spectacularly simple and delicious ….
Inspired by my favourite, old, French cookbook, I prepared this mussel dish. It is very simple to make, the quality of the result relying upon the use of the very best produce you can lay your hands on. And aren’t we fortunate in Australia to have such ingredients to indulge our appetites and fantasies? ….
This is a recipe for XO Sauce with a difference. It is gluten-free, of course, which is the first difference. The next is that XO sauces usually include dried scallops and seafood but we use readily available bacon and mushroom to create the savoury complexity expected in an XO sauce ….
Versions of moussaka have been made in the Levant and the Balkans, in Egypt and Turkey and Greece for who knows how long. Proof of its popularity. But do we need another one? Well, this Mushroom and Lentil Moussaka has no gluten. It has no meat. It has no potato. The eggplant is grilled not fried ….
Deliciously succulent pasta tubes filled with aubergine, ricotta, spinach, parmesan and smoked Fior di Latte, topped and bottomed with home made tomato sauce ….. salivating yet? This week’s recipe is a home-cook’s dream as it can be prepared well ahead of time and gently reheated to serve topped with fresh basil leaves. It can be made in very large quantities for parties and freezes well ....
Once upon a time home cooks across Australia did little to the humble cauliflower other than boiling the florets or occasionally smothering them in gluggy mornay sauce. Understandably, the cauliflower went out of culinary fashion for a while. But recent years have seen a resurgence in popularity as we have learned how to make them tastier and more interesting (due in no small part to the seductive recipes of Yotam Ottolenghi and his love of the blond brassica) ….
A Donburi (meaning ‘bowl’ in Japanese) is a big bowl containing rice topped traditionally with fish, chicken or meat and vegetables simmered in stock. It makes for a hearty meal. In my version I do stick to the big bowl containing rice part of the tradition, and I do top it with fish, chicken or meat and vegetables, I just don’t simmer them in stock, preferring to grill ….
A classic roast has always been a great way to feed a lot of people, but why not try Roasted Barramundi instead the usual lamb or beef. We had our regular gang of ten for a birthday dinner recently and the idea, rather than sweating over a hot stove, was to let the oven do the work. (Okay, confession time, minimal last-minute fuss was the real agenda.) ….
There are many versions of these Cevapi or Cevapcici - Skinless Sausages made throughout the Balkan countries although, since my only connection to these culinary traditions comes from the long-gone waitressing days, there’s no particular claim to authenticity here. What this recipe does promise, though, is very tasty meat, lots of flavour and super-simple preparation ….
Looking in the cupboard one day for ‘Divine Dinner Inspiration’- as you do - I came across a big packet of yellow lentils, moong dhal. Fortunately, there was also a can of coconut milk to be had and putting them together in this dish of Creamy Lentils with Corn was, if not exactly inspired, the logical outcome ….
Finding an excellent gluten-free Hot Crossed Bun can be almost as daunting as the thought of producing a batch at home so this Easter we’re baking Hot Crossed Muffins instead. They make a very easy alternative with all the spicy flavour and dried fruit plumpness of a traditional Hot Crossed Bun, without all the fuss ....
When this photograph was taken recently we were enjoying dinner together, which we rounded up with a lovely Cherry and Ricotta Tart. What a difference a week makes! Now that we’re all involved in social distancing, we’re reminded of all the wonderful relationships and friendships we share and the closeness we normally take for granted ….
