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 ....
Chestnut is the hero of this layered dessert cake. It’s rich, delicious and worthy of a celebration, we think. The gluten-free sponge uses chestnut flour which has a delicate and distinct aroma, and the glorious filling is a combination of sweetened chestnut purée and cream. Dark chocolate is the supporting act in the form of a luscious icing ….
I have fallen deeply in love with kabocha, the sweet, nutty Japanese pumpkin that’s called Kuri Kabocha in Japan, which means ‘nutty flavour.’ For a pumpkin it’s a revelation. (Are you starting to worry about me?) Add garlic, pepper, chilli and parmesan and you have a delicious stuffing for the seasonal delight that is zucchini flowers. ….
As always, the very best produce needs to be used in our Sweet Chilli Prawns and Coconut Rice dish. (We know you know this but we like to press the point!) A good prawn is a thing of beauty. An old prawn is not! Similarly with the herbs and leaves. If they look good enough to stick in a vase then you have chosen the right bunches. No wilting greens here ….
It’s winter in Australia and lockdown in Sydney is now in its fifth week. We can exercise outside without a mask and the sun does shine a lot in sunny Sydney, even in winter, but still the highlight of the day does seem to be dinner! And I’m delving deep to keep it interesting. Last night I made a Roast Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry and served it with Tofu in Chilli Sauce ….
We were heading off to spend a few days in Orange recently, and in the process of planning meals what should spring to mind but that cordon-bleu classic - Duck a l’Orange! Given the dish has been described by Gordon Ramsay as the culinary equivalent of flared trousers, the temptation to go there was impossible to resist. Somehow in the process, though, the duck became good old Aussie chook ….
Coming across hemp seeds in the supermarket recently, I had to take some home to try. They’re said to help with weight loss, improve skin, relieve joint pain and arthritis, aid in digestion, lower blood pressure and lots more. If you’re expecting to hate the medicine, though, the good news is that hemp seeds are quite delicious, even more so when they’re cooked. They add a rich nutty flavour and texture to baked goods, as in these thoroughly agreeable Gluten-free Hempcakes.
We like to think of our Gluten-free Mandarin Cake as the little black dress of the pantry. After all, it has been said that orange is the new black. This moist and scented cake is a good one to have on hand because you never know when you might just need it. Equally as delicious for afternoon tea as for a fancy dessert, you can leave it plain, dress it up or add some culinary bling to suit your taste ….
When I was a child my mother cooked. My father only ever did so when, decked out in one of Mum’s floral aprons and with tongs in hand, he’d hover over the barbecue blackening sausages and chops. They were the days. Despite this evidence to the contrary, Dad claimed to be a cook of quite some accomplishment, and he was always just on the cusp of creating for us his most famous dish – a Sea Pie ….
High Tea began as a mid-afternoon ‘meal’ for working men and was usually taken, along with a cuppa, sitting up on tall stools, thus the expression ‘high’ tea. High tea today seems to have become elevated to quite a special occasion affair and while our Almond and Poppy Seed Cakes would certainly hold their own on multi-tiered fine bone china, we’d like to think they’d be equally as happy at a picnic, in a lunchbox or any time you’re in need of a delicious, sweet treat ….
According to the old proverb: ‘the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat.’ Leaving metaphorical meanings aside, when we’re talking about the long, slow cooking of meat on the bone, the culinary experts couldn’t agree with the ancients more. There’s not only the buttery bone marrow, they say, but the collagen in the bones themselves that melts to create gelatin. Both end up adding texture and body to carry and enrich the more complex meaty flavours ….
I can’t resist the flavour of coconut. For many westerners it reminds us of the exoticism of Asia. And whether it be in soups, curries, cakes or desserts; as a cream, a milk, desiccated, toasted, shredded or shaved it rewards us with a gorgeous tropical flavour. And what could be more tropically tantalising than the sweet scent of a coconut cake baking in the oven? Well … the combination of lime and coconut is pretty hard to beat …
Crêpes are lovely things to have as a lunch dish, a light supper or a family meal. They’re easy and fun to make and most people really like them. Especially children. With a delicious nutty flavour, soft texture and crisp edges, our Gluten-free Savoury Buckwheat Crepes could soon become a favourite dish in your household ….
