Mushroom Pizzetta

Friday nights used to be take away night in our house until I turned into a stay at home mum, now I usually cook for 2 reasons, a) as you know I love it and b) – a bad pizza a couple of months ago put me off take away. As Michael used to love take away night & the most common food was pizza I decided to make my own using this unusual recipe from Delicious provided by Jamie Oliver. The pancetta is actually chopped up & forms part of the base which I haven’t seen before. You couldn’t really taste pancetta itself though I do think the dough definitely was improved by this, it was salty (not too much) and the overall flavour was enhanced, of course you could just put it in top! One tip, make sure the oven is really, really hot before you put the pizza in or the base will not crisp up, mine was a bit on the soft side but I know for next time to just pump the oven right up. In the end I would much rather eat this than a take away & it really wasn’t all that difficult or time consuming either.

Mushroom Pizzetta

1 garlic clove
A sprig of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls (200g) mixed mushrooms, wiped & sliced thinly
250g Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced
A few handfuls of rocket

Pizza Dough
100g sliced pancetta
500g plain flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp (10g) dried yeast

For the dough, pulse the pancetta in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the flour & pulse to combine. Add 350ml lukewarm water, sugar & yeast in that order & stand for 10-15 minutes until the yeast starts to foam. Pulse once again to mix, then cover the feed tube of the processor & leave the dough to prove for 20-30 minutes until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220c. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Bash the garlic, thyme and a pinch of salt in a pestle & mortar. Stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Pulse the dough gently in the food processor to break up a little. On a floured surface, knead the dough briefly until smooth. Cut the dough into 6 or 8 small lumps or 2 big ones, using a rolling pin, roll out into circles & place on the baking trays. Brush with the garlic & thyme oil, scatter with the sliced mushrooms & top with the cheese. Drizzle with more garlic oil, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper & bake for 15-20 minutes until the bases are puffed & cooked through. Toss the rocket in a little olive oil & the lemon juice & scatter over the top of the pizza before serving.

Soft Polenta with Wine Lamb

This week my new experience for my mum & dad was polenta which they again had never tried before. I used this recipe from Marie Claire’s Cooking, which had parmesan, butter & mascarpone added to it to provide an irresistible, creamy & cheesy polenta. This topped with the gorgeous lamb cutlets & rich red wine & quince sauce was a match well made & they were very impressed so I’m happy to have turned them on to another exciting food staple.

Soft Polenta with Wine Lamb

4 cups hot water
1 ¼ cups polenta
sea salt & pepper
65g butter
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup mascarpone
cracked black pepper
8 lamb cutlets
½ cup red wine
½ cup beef stock
2 tablespoons quince paste

To cook polenta, place water in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Allow water to come to a slow simmer. Slowly pour polenta into water while whisking to combine. Reduce heat to as low as possible. Stir polenta occasionally with a wooden spoon for 40-45 minutes. Polenta is cooked when it comes away from the sides of the pan. Stir salt, pepper, butter, parmesan, mascarpone & extra pepper through polenta & keep warm.

Place a frying pan over high heat, add cutlets & cook for 2 minutes on each side or until they are cooked medium. Remove from pan & keep warm. Add wine, stock & quince paste to pan & simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Serve lamb on polenta with sauce spooned over. Serves 4.

Spring Minestrone with Pesto

This weeks soup is Jamie Oliver’s Spring Minestrone from Jamie’s Kitchen – I’m sure he would forgive me for making this in Autumn! The pesto on top is a nice touch which boosts the flavour wonderfully. As you can see from the photo it is not the most photogenic of soups but it is packed full of fresh healthy veggies & I think I can safely say I have now filled my fiber content for the week!

Spring Minestrone

6 heaped tablespoons fresh pesto (see recipe below)
1.5 litres chicken, ham or vegetable stock
1 bulb fennel
100g fine asparagus
2 Romanesco or 1 large cauliflower
6 baby courgettes
6 plum tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
100g green beans, finely sliced
100g yellow beans, finely sliced
100g peas, podded
100g broad beans, podded
100g spaghetti, broken up (or other small soup pasta)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 small handful of green or purple basil
1 small handful chives

Bring a pot of stock to the boil. Then prepare all of the vegetables & put to the side. The fennel has to be halved, sliced & finely chopped, the asparagus needs to have the woody ends removed, the stalks finely sliced & the tips left whole, the cauliflowers need to be divided into small florets, the courgettes need to be quartered lengthways & finely chopped & finely the tomatoes need to be blanched. Cut them in half, remove the pips & finely slice.

In a casserole type pan (quite wide but not very deep) put 5 tablespoons of olive oil & heat the pan on medium heat. Add the garlic, spring onions & fennel & gently fry without coloring at all for about 15 minutes. Then add the rest of your prepared vegetables, the pasta & your boiling stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for about 10 minutes, season & serve in big bowls with a dollop of fresh pesto in the middle & a sprinkling of chopped basil & chives & a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pesto

¼ clove of garlic, chopped
3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked & chopped
1 handful of pinenuts, very lightly toasted
1 good handful of grated parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
optional: small squeeze of lemon juice

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt & the basil leaves in a pestle & mortar: or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like. Add the pinenuts to them mixture & pound again. Turn out into a bowl & add half the parmesan. Stir gently & add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce to get it to an oozy consistency.

Season to taste, then add the rest of the cheese. Pour in some more oil & taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste & consistency. It may need a squeeze of lemon juice at the end but it’s not essential.

Lentil & Beetroot Salad

I had some leftover beetroots from last week so I made this salad from the Marie Claire ‘Luscious’ Cookbook. It was good although the beetroot still needed quite a bit of cooking after the hour so plan on that in advance. The lentils were great with the salad, every time I cook them I forget how much I love them & promise myself to cook more real soon, hopefully more lentil recipes coming up soon!

Lentil & Beetroot Salad

4 beetroot, about 150g each, washed but not peeled
100g puy lentils or tiny blue-green lentils
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 orange
100g baby rocket leaves
100g marinated goat’s cheese

Preheat oven to 200c. Sit the beetroot in a roasting tin & pour in 250ml/1 cup of water. Cover with foil & bake for 1 hour or until a knife passes easily through the beetroot. Remove the beetroot from the tin & leave to cool.

Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with 500ml/2 cups of water. Add the sea salt & bring to the boil, then reduce the heat & simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain off any excess water, tip the lentils into a bowl & stir in the vinegar & olive oil.

Wearing rubber gloves to stop your hands staining, peel the skins from the beetroots. Cut the bulbs into wedges, put them in a bowl & pour the orange juice over the top.

Scatter the rocket leaves on a serving platter & arrange beetroot wedges on top. Spoon the lentils over the top, season with salt & pepper & drizzle with any remaining orange & beetroot juice. Crumble the goats cheese over the top. Serves 4.

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing

The other day I had people in and out so I baked this pleasing cake from Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie. Whilst it turned out very nice in the end it wasn’t without some drama. Firstly I have an electric fan forced oven that usually cooks perfectly as per recipe instructions or if anything faster so I was surprised when after cooking for a bit over the recommended 50 minutes and a skewer coming out clean, I left it for 10 minutes then went to turn it out & it started dripping out!!! Maybe I should have left for 5 seconds as recommended, I thought he was just being fussy in the recipe. I was not happy so I quickly turned the oven back on & stuck it in for another 20 minutes or so by which time it was finally cooked. After all of that fussing it did break in half when turning out but I managed to patch it back together with the very yummy icing which tasted just like cheesecake & a not too sweet one at that. I also had heaps of icing left over & I iced the sides too.

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing

285g unsalted butter, softened
285g light brown soft sugar
5 large eggs, separated
zest and juice of 1 orange
170g self raising flour, sifted
1 slightly heaped teaspoon of baking powder
115g ground almonds
115g shelled walnuts, chopped, plus a handful for serving
1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
a pinch of ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
285g carrots, peeled & coarsely grated
sea salt

Icing
115g Mascarpone cheese
225g full fat cream cheese
85g icing sugar, sifted
zest & juice of 2 limes

Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and line a 22cm square or round cake tin with greaseproof paper. Beat the butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, and add the orange zest & juice. Stir in the flour & baking powder & add the ground almonds, walnuts, spices & carrot & mix together well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold them in the cake mix. Scoop the mixture into the prepared cake tin & cook for about 50 minutes until golden & risen. Check to see if cooked by poking in a cocktail stick, remove after 5 seconds & if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. If sticky it needs a bit longer so put back in the oven. Once cooked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool for at least an hour.

Mix all the icing ingredients together & spread generously over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts & serve.

Barbecued Sweet Corn with Lime, Chilli & Parmesan Butter

To go with some leftovers I cooked up some corn cobs with a really tasty butter that I found in Ben O’Donoghue & Curtis Stone’s Surfing the Menu. I halved the quantities for 2 & still have heaps of butter leftover which I think will go nicely with some baked spuds. It was delicious & went fantastically with the grilled corn cobs which were tender & juicy yet not overdone at all cooked in this manner.

Barbecued Sweet Corn with Lime, Chilli & Parmesan Butter

4 whole corn cobs, in their husks
100g unsalted butter, softened
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
finely grated zest of 2 large limes
1-2 birds eye chillies, seeded & finely chopped
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, quartered

Place the corn cobs on a preheated hot grill and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning often. Peel off the husks when cool enough to handle.
While the corn is cooking, combine the butter, cheese, zest & chilli & beat until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Smear each cob with the butter & serve with a wedge of lime

Lamb Cutlets & Greek Salad

This dinner is a week late, I had the lamb sitting in the fridge all nicely marinated when I went into labour last week. My mum suggested freezing them, marinade & all so that’s what Michael did & now we have finally cooked them up. From Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer. The freezing did no harm & the lamb was beautifully tender & the marinade provided great flavour. The Greek salad on the side was yum too with a nice twist on the traditional.

Lamb Cutlets with Yoghurt & Cumin

450-500g Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 large onion
1 head garlic
1 teaspoon Maldon salt
20 lamb cutlets

Empty the yoghurt into a large shallow dish (big enough to fit all of the chops in) & then stir in the cumin. Peel & roughly chop the onion and add it. Break the head of garlic into cloves, peel them & squash them slightly just by pressing on them with the flat of a heavy

The Ultimate Greek Salad

1 red onion
1 tablespoon dried oregano
black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
200ml extra virgin olive oil
5 good tomatoes
1 teaspoon caster sugar
pinch of maldon salt
1 large cos lettuce
1 bulb fennel
125g pitted black olives
400g feta cheese
juice of half a lemon

Peel & finely slice the red onion then sprinkle over the oregano and grind over some black pepper. Pour in the vinegar & oil & toss well, cover with cling film & leave to step for at least 2 hours. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, then cut each quarter into quarters (always lengthwise) again, so that you have a collection of very fine segments. Sprinkle with the sugar & a pinch of salt & leave while you get on with the rest. Wash the lettuce, tear into large pieces & place in a salad bowl. Slice the fennel & add that, then the olives & feta cut or crumbled into large chunks & toss well. Now add the tomatoes, the red onion in its dressing & the lemon juice. Toss gently so that everything is well combined.

knife, then stir into the yoghurt along with the salt. Add the cutlets & stir well. Cover with cling film & put in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Heat a ridged grill pan & then take the cutlets out of the marinade, wipe with some kitchen towel. Fry for a few minutes each side until cooked to your liking.

Spaghetti with Spicy Meatballs

To please my man on Valentines Day I made this hearty dish of spaghetti & meatballs, what man doesn’t like this dish? The recipe came from Bill Granger’s Bills Food and was a big hit with Michael. I used the oven method of cooking the meatballs & they held together perfectly as well as using less oil & being less fiddly, ie no turning, standing over the pan watching them cook.

Spaghetti with Spicy Meatballs

80ml (1/3 cup) milk
1 slice of bread, crust removed
500g beef mince (or pork or veal)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 egg, lightly beaten
25g freshly grated parmesan
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
60ml olive oil
2 x 400g cans chopped roma tomatoes
50g (1/2 cup) fresh basil leaves
500g spaghetti

To serve
A handful of fresh basil leaves
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Put the milk & bread in a small saucepan and place over a low heat. When the bread has absorbed the milk, remove from the heat & mash with a fork. Allow to cool.

Combine the meat, onion, parsley, thyme, egg, parmesan, garlic, half of the chilli, the bread mixture & lots of salt & pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix with your hands, then shape into small balls. I find wetting my hands makes this easier.

Heat the oil in large frying pan over a medium heat & when hot, add the meatballs. Brown the meatballs on all sides, turning carefully. Alternatively, you can toss the meatballs in oil in a roasting tin & bake them at 220c for 10-15 minutes. You may find this easier because the meatballs wont break up. Drain off any excess oil (if you’ve baked the meatballs transfer them to a frying pan) and add the tomatoes, remaining chilli, basil & salt & pepper. Stir the meatballs carefully to coat with the tomatoes, then simmer for 20 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat. Add the spaghetti & cook according to packet instructions.
Serve meatballs over drained spaghetti with extra basil leaves & freshly grated parmesan

Chicken Tikka Masala

Another delicious curry, this one from Jamie Oliver’s Jamies Dinners. Great flavours, though surprisingly on the hot side for a Tikka Masala which is all ok by me but be warned if you are expecting the normal mildness of this dish.

Chicken Tikka Masala

6 cloves of garlic, peeled
7.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2-3 fresh red chillies, deseeded
olive oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 tablespoons garam masala
200g natural yoghurt
4 medium chicken breasts, skinned & cut into large chunks
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, peeled & finely sliced
2 tablespoons tomato puree
a small handful of ground cashew nuts or almonds
sea salt
115ml double cream
a handful of fresh coriander
juice of 1-2 limes

Grate the garlic and ginger on the finest side of a cheese grater and put to one side in a bowl. Chop the chillies as finely as you can & mix them in with the ginger & garlic. Heat a good splash of oil in a pan & add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add them to the ginger & garlic mixture along with the paprika, cumin, ground coriander & 2 tablespoons of the garam masala. Put half of this mixture in a bowl, add the yoghurt & the chicken pieces to it, stir and leave to marinate for half an hour or so.

Melt the butter in the saucepan the mustard seeds were in & add the sliced onions & the remaining half of the spice mix. Cook gently for 15 minutes or so without browning too much. Add the tomato puree, the ground nuts, half a litre of water and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well and simmer gently for a few minutes. Let this sauce reduce until it thickens slightly and then place to one side.

Put the marinated chicken on a hot griddle pan or barbecue & sear until cooked through.

Warm the sauce and add the cream & the other tablespoon of garam masala. Taste & correct with seasoning if necessary. As soon as it boils, take off the heat & add the grilled chicken. Check the seasoning again & serve sprinkled with the chopped coriander & the lime juice & some steamed rice.

Ricotta & Tomato Tart

For brunch with the girls the other day I made this tasty Tart from Bill Granger’s ‘Bill’s Sydney Food’. To save time I made the pastry the day before & even though when I took it out of the fridge the next day it was rock hard & I thought an absolute disaster, after leaving out for quite some time I was finally able to roll it out, it did break up a bit & needed some squishing back together but in the end it was light & buttery & fantastic, not bad for my first attempt at puff pastry I must say. As you can see mine was a very rustic looking pie indeed. The filling was really yum too & the tart made for a nice morning/afternoon with some salad, bread, prosciutto & cheese to accompany it.

Ricotta & Tomato Tart

Filling
2 ripe tomatoes, finely sliced
sea salt
2 cups ricotta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup cream
¼ cup finely grated parmesan
a pinch of ground nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely shredded rocket
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten, for glazing
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Rough Puff Pastry
200g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
200g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons chilled water

Place flour & salt in a bowl, add butter & rub through with fingertips until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water, cutting in with a knife, to form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll out dough into a 30 x 15 cm rectangle. Fold in the two short ends to meet in the centre, then fold in again. Roll the pastry into a 30 x 15cm rectangle again, then repeat folding process. Refrigerate as a small rectangle for a further 30 minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 200c. Place tomatoes in a colander, sprinkle with salt & leave to drain. Place pastry dough on a lightly floured surface & roll out to a circle about 35cm in diameter & 3mm thick. Place dough on a lightly floured baking tray.

Place ricotta, eggs, cream, parmesan, nutmeg, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix well. Add rocket & stir to combine. Place this mixture in the centre of the dough, and spread filling over the dough leaving a 5 cm border around the outside. Using your hand, lift & push the border onto the filling. Arrange tomato slices over the top of the filling. Brush pastry with egg yolk & bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley & freshly ground black pepper. Serves 8

Summertime Tagliarini

More pasta cooked up by the wonderful Michael who no doubt is looking fwd to me finishing work at the end of this week so I can take on some of the cooking again, at least for 3 weeks or so until it all becomes impossible again! This dish is from the new Jamie Oliver ‘Cook with Jamie’, light, easy & lovely tangy tasty.

Summertime Tagliarini

115g pinenuts
juice & zest of 2 lemons
a large bunch of flat leaf parsley, half finely chopped & half whole
215ml extra virgin olive oil
150g parmesan cheese, finely grated plus extra for serving
50g pecorino cheese, freshly grated
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
500g tagliarini or tagliatelle

Smash up half of the pinenuts to a paste, then put into a big heatproof bowl with the rest of the whole pinenuts, the lemon juice & the zest, the finely chopped parsley and the olive oil. Stir & add the parmesan & pecorino. Season with freshly ground black pepper, taste & if the balance isn’t to your liking add more oil and or parmesan.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Sit the sauce bowl on top of the pan while the water’s heating up – this will take the chill out of the sauce & warm it through slightly. When the water boils, remove the bowl, add the pasta & cook accordingly to packet instructions. Drain & reserve a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the sauce & some of the water to loosen it up a little. Serve with extra parmesan & parsley.

Baked pasta shells stuffed with spinach & ricotta

More pasta, can you believe the amount of carbs my pregnant body is craving, I am really loving the stuff & am not at all interested in meat of any kind as I used to be, I do still eat it though, you know iron, protein & all that jazz that apparently my body needs now. Anyhow this pasta dish is pretty simple yet sensational, it comes from Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer. The fiddly part of stuffing I did while sitting on the couch so as not too tire myself out too quickly!

Baked pasta shells stuffed with spinach & ricotta

1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion finely, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 x 700g bottles tomato passata
700g fresh spinach (or 1kg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & thoroughly drained)
500g ricotta
2 eggs, beaten
100g parmesan
freshly grated nutmeg (or from a jar as I used)
salt & pepper
500g large pasta shells

Preheat oven to 200c.

In a very large saucepan, gently fry the garlic & onion for about 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add the passata & refill both bottles with water about 3 quarters full, giving them a good shake to mop up any tomato. This will give you about 1.2 litres water, add to the pan, bring to the boil, partially cover & simmer for about 25 minutes.

Soak the fresh spinach in some cold water to get rid of any dirt, then cook in just the water still clinging to the leaves until it has wilted down & cooked through, then drain very well, squeezing out as much extra moisture as you can, & chop roughly (use some scissors while still in colander is easiest).

Empty the ricotta into a bowl, add the eggs, then grate on about 75g of the cheese. Add the spinach when its cool, then stir it all together with the nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Cook the pasta shells in a large pan of slated boiling water, for about 5 minutes once they come back to the boil, then drain & leave til cool enough to handle. Tip into a baking dish, approx 38 x 32cm, so that they lie in a single layer, stuff each shell with approx 1 heaped teaspoon. Ladle the sauce over the pasta, grate the remaining cheese over the top & bake for 20-30 minutes until pasta is cooked & sauce hot & bubbling. Cool slightly before serving.

Proper Blokes Sausage fusilli

Michael cooked me my first meal from the new Jamie Oliver book – Cook with Jamie, the cooking is part of this Christmas gift from him – brilliant idea! So of course it stands to reason that he chose a dish that was in Jamie’s words ‘blokey’. It was really yum, the fennel flavour was fantastic & it all had just the right amount of zing to lift the flavour but not burn. Here is Jamies description…

Proper Blokes Sausage fusilli

This is a real blokey, gutsy yet simple pasta dish – but saying that, girls tend to like it as well! It hasn’t really got a sauce of any description because all the flavour that comes out of the ingredients will stick to the pasta and that’s enough. I will even go so far as to say that this is one of my top ten pasta dishes! Remember to buy the best sausages you can afford – if you get cheap, dodgy sausages it just won’t work. Thanks Michael & looking fwd to more of your ever improving cooking skills!

Serves 4

2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds
2 dried red chillies, crumbled
olive oil
600g/1lb 6oz good quality course Italian or Cumberland sausages (used Lamb and Rosemary)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
a wineglass of white wine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
500g/1lb 2oz good quality fusilli or penne
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a couple of knobs of butter
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf Parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Bash up the fennel seeds and chillies in a pestle and mortar or Flavour Shaker until coarsely crushed, then put to one side. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pan, really breaking it up using the back of a spoon. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to color and the fat has rendered slightly, then crush it once more so it resembles coarse mince. Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and chillies and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.

Stir in your oregano, then pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat down to low while you cook your pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. When the pasta has cooked al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water, and toss it in the pan with your sausage meat. Coat the pasta in all the lovely flavours then add the butter, Parmesan, chopped parsley and a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water. This will give you a lovely, shiny sauce. Taste and check for seasoning, then serve immediately with a little extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Spaghetti Tetrazzini (Chicken & Mushroom Pasta Bake)

I made this dish from Jamie Oliver’s Italy a couple of weeks back & have hesitated in posting it. Frankly it was quite average, a bit on the oily side & not up to the standard that I expect from his recipes. It was still ok but nothing special. I don’t know if I did something wrong or not so would love to hear of anyone else out there who has also tried this one out & what they thought of it. Pretty much the only real difference between mine & the recipe below was that I omitted the porcini having none handy.

Spaghetti Tetrazzini (Chicken & Mushroom Pasta Bake)

20g/a small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
Olive Oil
4 Chicken Thighs, boned, skinned & cut into bite sized pieces (I bought thigh fillets)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely sliced
350g handfuls mixed mushrooms, cleaned & torn
200ml white wine
455g Spaghetti
500ml double cream
200g parmesan cheese grated
a sprig of fresh basil, leaves picked

Preheat oven to 200c. Put your porcini in a bowl & pur over just enough boiling water to cover them. Put to one side to soak for a few minutes. Heat a saucepan big enough to hold all ingredients, and pour in a splash of olive oil. Season the chicken with salt & pepper & brown gently in the oil. Strain the porcini, reserving the soaking water, and add them to the pan with the garlic & fresh mushrooms. Add the wine, with the strained porcini water & turn the heat down. Simmer gently until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the wine has reduced a little.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water according to packet instructions & drain well. Add the cream to the chicken, then bring to the boil & turn the heat off. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Add the drained spaghetti to the creamy chicken sauce & toss well. Add ¾ of the parmesan and the basil & stir well. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish, sprinkle with half the remaining cheese & bake in the oven until golden brown, bubbling & crisp. Divide between your plates & sprinkle with the rest of the cheese before serving.

Gingery Hot Duck Salad

Last night for dinner we had one of my favourite Nigella Lawson dishes, Gingery Hot Duck Salad. The recipe comes from Nigella Bites & is under the chapter, temple food – what Nigella describes as ‘soothing, pure, would be restorative food I make for myself after one binge or late night too far. Temple as in ‘my body is a ‘’. Now obviously in my condition I haven’t been binge drinking though I did spend the day snacking on cheese, crackers, dips & bread & the like while watching the races so was definitely in need of something good & light.

I was a bit tired too after all that eating & race watching so Michael was kind enough to make this for me this time which also proves how easy peasy it is! Lovely flavours that work oh so well together & a lovely touch of chilli to add some spice aswell. You must try it

Gingery Hot Duck Salad

1 duck breast
2 tablespoons fish sauce
juice of half lime & juice of half orange
1 chilli, finely chopped
1cm ginger, grated
few drops of sesame oil
Baby spinach, mixed lettuce, etc to serve

Grill or fry the duck breast, fat side down, until cooked the way you like it.

Let it rest while you mix the fish sauce, lime & orange juice, chilli, ginger & sesame oil in a bowl. Pour any juices that the duck has made into a bowl, then carve the meat on the diagonal into thin slices. Toss the duck into the bowl & stir everything well. Serve on top of mixed leaves.

Luscious Cherry Cheesecake

This is a cheesecake that I used to make all the time years back, the recipe comes from The Australian Lifestyle Cookbook, a book my mum gave to me for my 21st birthday, it is a giant of a book & I haven’t pulled it out in years. Now that I have made this old favourite again will take a look & see what else I can try out. Just from reading the ingredients you can probably already taste how beautiful this cake is, lovely & rich & creamy with a nice tang from the cherries on top, way back when it was made all the time everyone adored it. Quick tip, it is best to start this cake a couple of days ahead, ie I made the crust Friday night so it was nice & chilled ready for the filling on Saturday which needs 24 hours before putting on the topping. It may sound like a chore but it actually makes it easier as you just do a bit here & there instead of one big job, just needs some prior planning.

Cherry Cheesecake

Base
180g plain sweet biscuits (I always use butternut snaps), crumbed
pinch cinnamon or nutmeg
60g butter, melted

Combine ingredients and mix well together. Press into a 20cm foil lined pie plate to form a crust. Refrigerate.

Filling
250g cream cheese
400g can condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon gelatine dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

Beat cream cheese until soft. Gradually beat in condensed milk, lemon juice & dissolved gelatine and mix well. (Use ripe lemons as green lemons may prevent a firm set). Pour mixture into chilled crust and refrigerate at least 24 hours

Topping
450g can cherries, drained, syrup reserved
1 tablespoon brandy
1 ½ tablespoons arrowroot
red food colouring, optional (I never use this)

Arrange drained cherries over top of cake. Bring syrup to the boil. Blend together arrowroot & brandy then add to boiling syrup, stirring continuously until thickened. Add a few drops of red food colouring if desired. Spoon carefully over cherries, chill.

Griddled Eggplant with fetta, mint & chilli

Today I’m having Michaels family over for a bbq & to start with I thought I would try out these little morsels from Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer that I have heard so many good things about.

The recipe calls for a large bunch of fresh mint which luckily I have growing in my courtyard no thanks to me. It initially grew on it’s own & every year I cut it back as it tries to take over the garden & just keep a little patch to use for cooking. I love the fact that I can just pop out the back door to take a cutting whenever I need, and Mint is so versatile, it can be used in sweet, savoury & even drink recipes, you gotta love it. You can see in the picture how it’s growing very heartily amongst my lobelia against the back wall! So this recipe is my entry this weekend for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Pat at Up a Creek without a Patl this round.

I have to say these are absolutely yummy, I could have eaten them all if it wasn't for the fact that I had a mamoth bbq waiting for me. The strong taste of the eggplant went really well with the salty, creamy cheese & the mint & chilli just set the whole thing off, really easy to prepare too. One hint too, I was very cautious with the filling & eneded up hacing some leftover so stuff them full.

Griddled Eggplant with fetta, mint & chilli

2 large eggplants, each cut thinly. Lengthways, into about 10 slices
4 tablespoons olive oil
250g fetta cheese
1 large red chilli, finely chopped, deseeded or not, depending on how much heat you want
Large bunch fresh mint, finely chopped, with some saved for sprinkling over at the end
Juice of 1 lemon
Black pepper

Preheat the barbecue or griddle to a high heat
Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the oil, and cook them for about 2 minutes each side until golden & tender
Crumble the fetta into a bowl & stir in the chilli, mint & lemon juice and grind in some black pepper. Pile the end third of each slice with a heaped teaspoon of the mixture & roll each slice up as you go to form a soft, stuffed bundle.
Place joint side down on a plate & sprinkle with a little more mint.

Makes 20 rolls

Pasta al Forno Con Pomodori e mozzarella (Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella)

For a quick & easy pasta dish I made this baked pasta from Jamie Oliver’s Italy cookbook. It’s very traditional & nothing new, just good simple delicious pasta, who doesn’t love pasta with loads of tomatoey sauce & oozy melty cheese. And the best bit is heaps of leftovers to freeze for mid week when I don’t have the time or energy these days to cook most nights. Jamie’s recipe also gives the option of using fresh tomatoes whichI have omitted as that makes it too much hard work! His recipe also says to process the sauce but I went the rustic option & left lumpy, as I said I needed something very, very easy.

Pasta al Forno Con Pomodori e mozzarella (Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella)

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 white onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely sliced
1 or 2 dried red chillies, crumbled
3 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
a large handful of fresh basil leaves
I tablespoon red wine vinegar
400g dried orecchiette
4 big handfuls of freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 x 150g balls of mozzarella, sliced

Preheat your oven to 200c & put a large pot of salted water on to boil. To a large pan add a couple of glugs of olive oil & fry the onion, garlic & chilli slowly for about 10 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the tomatoes & a small glass of water, bring to the boil & simmer for about 20 minutes. Tear the basil leaves & add along with the red wine vinegar & salt & pepper to taste. Meanwhile cook your pasta according to packet instructions & drain.

Add half the sauce & a handful of parmesan to the drained pasta & toss. Then rub a large baking dish with a little olive oil & layer a little pasta in the bottom, top with sauce, parmesan & mozzarella slices, then repeat layers until all ingredients used up, finish off with a good layer of cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden & bubbling.

Fifteen Melbourne - Finally a look in!

A couple of weeks ago when I heard that Fifteen was opening for reservations I suggested to Michael that it would be great if he could get us a booking there, you know a nice surprise seeing as how I'm normally the one doing all of the organising for the 2 of us. I thought the booking line might be a bit busy but had no idea that within a matter of days they would be booked solid until the end of January next year, amazing what a tv show can do for you. Anyway Michael being the fantastic hubbie that he is, got on the line & waited for 1.5 hours (on speaker phone while he was working so it was bearable!) & got us a booking for a Saturday night no less, very impressive.

There have been a lot mof mixed feelings out there about Fifteen so I was quite curious to see exactly what it would be like. I love the idea of what Fifteen stands for, helping those in need but at the same time providing us with a (hopefully) great experience in oder to achieve that goal. At the same time I think that for $90.00 a head for the 6 course tasting menu which is your only option for dinner, the food has to be bloody good & stand up to other great Melbourne restaurants.

I had very high expectactions for the food, a few months ago I did a Queen Vic Market cooking night with Tobi Puttock & the food was to die for so I was hoping for more of the same.

Ok so now down to last night. On the decor, I loved it & it was totally different to the 'artist impressions' as seen on tv. The colorful bar area which Jamie knocked looked great & the colors were much more toned down, oranges, reds, very warm & filled with wine very subtle too. The place is split into 3 areas, the private dining room which I spied a corner of, looked very dark & gothic from what I could see, would be nice having a private party there with some friends, I believe it seats 10. Then onto the main area, on entering you walk down some stairs where you can see straight into the kitchen, then around the corner the bar area with more casual looking dining area in front, light wooden seats & tables, etc. this is split down the middle where you go into the second dining area which is where we were seated. I loved this area, all dark wood furniture, dark wood floors, black walls & ceilings, a purplish couch forming the back seat for the tables on the side & back walls & long mirrors along the walls too & some very funky globe light fittings hanging here & there. Ask Michael, I love black & the trend seems to be now to have everything all nice & light so this darkess worked well for me.

Now onto the food, as mentioned it is a six course set menu, soup, seafood, pasta, main, dessert & cheese platter with a choice of 2 dishes offered for the pasta & main course.


First course was Borlotti bean & pasta soup with fresh grated parmesan & Fifteen olive oil.

This was really nice, though needed a bit of salt, luckily there was a dish of Pink Murray River salt flakes on each table - nice touch - which did the job. As you can see it was a very thick, hearty, warm & homey soup which I would love to replicate at home.


Next was fried whitebait, sage salt, lemon & aioli.

As you can see a very small serve but dont be put off, by the end of the night we were well satisified & if the courses were any biggger we would have struggled to fit them in. The fish was cooked perfectly, nice & light & the salt/aioli combo went very well with it.

For the Pasta course I opted for the Fifteen ravioli with biodynamic riccotta, free-range egg yolk, served with white asparagus & butter broth.

Yummo, nothing beats home made pasta & the runy egg filling was quite unusual, quite a big ravioli too as you can see. Michael went for the Risotto of calamari, squid ink, celery, chilli & fifteen olive oil which he reallay enjoyed too.


For the main we both had the Slow roast Bachus Marsh grass fed beef, Nicola potato & fennel al forno, braised greens & salsa verde. The other choice was Tasmanian Salmon. The beef dish smelled divine which I think was mainly due to the whole clove of roast garlic hidden amongst the greens which I happily devoured. The beef was very tasty though mine was a bit on the cold side which is obviously a bit dissapointing. Mine pictured was cooked a little extra as I'm not supposed to be eating any raw or underdone meat at the moment, Michaels was as per the menu & pretty bloody which is a good thing, nothing worse than an overdone piece of cow.

Dessert was Vialono Nano Tiramasu, little twist on the traditional with crostoli.

The twist was rice instead of sponge/biscuits in the tiramasu, I have to say that this & the crostoli were fantastic & by far by favourite course of the night.


Lastly, the cheese course. pear, quince paste, muscatels, grissinei, some fruit bread & of course the cheeses, sorry have forgotten what they were except tto say that one was lovely & oozy & the other was as bitey spanish crumbly one, both fantastic, in fact the whole cheese course was really great.

Overall the whole experince was enjoyable, the staff were very friendly & helpful, extensive wine list to choose from, fast servce though not too fast that you had no time between courses & the food was good, presentation & tatse. For 2 weeks of opening & a bunch of kids that a couple of months ago had no idea it is pretty amazing to see how far they have come though I would like to see them improve some more & lift the food from being just pretty good to being fabulous!

Fifteen Melbourne
115-117 Collins Street
Melbourne
1300 799 415 www.fifteenmelbourne.com.au

5 things to eat before you die

Reb from Cucina Rebecca has tagged me for the latest meme which seems to be spreading like wild fire, 5 things to eat before you die. This all started not so long ago by Melissa at The Travellers Lunchbox. Here is my contribution which doesn’t contain quite as many fancy things as some, when I came to thinking about my favourite things, they all came back to pretty simple stuff!

1. Pierogi – Home made & Polish style the way my grandma used to make them. One of my best memories from childhood was visiting my Grandma when a fresh batch of pierogi were made, or even better making them with her, this was a whole day affair as when you make them you make 100's so you can give them out to the whole family to take home of course. I think the fact that they were made on this mammoth scale each time is what has deterred me from making my own so far. Pierogi are a European pastry, hers were filled with mashed potato mixed with loads of onion fried in butter. They are then boiled, drained, lots of butter applied until melted & then served with lashings of sour cream. The seconds were then pan fried a golden brown & again served with sour cream. So this simple fair is something I miss dearly & have vowed to stop being so lazy & make & perfect myself before I die. Now that I am about to start my own family hopefully this will inspire me so that my children can grow up with them as I did.

2. Cherries - these luscious beauties would have to be my favourite fruit of all time. I love them & eat them all on their own, they are so sweet & heavenly that I find they need no embellishment. The only downside to cherries is that the season is so short that from beginning to end I eat as many as I can before its all over for another year.

3. Chocolate - sorry to be so general but good chocolate in any shape, size or form is on my ultimate food group list for obvious reasons

4. A picnic of fresh local produce somewhere fabulous with the one you love. A couple of memorable ones for me would have to be a spring picnic in Paris in the botanical gardens with Michael, eating French cheese, bread & wine amongst other delights & the recent picnic I had in Lorne for my wedding anniversary which as well as some fantastic fresh food we topped off with a bottle of Dom Perignon which we had picked up in Champagne itself a few years ago, great food for me does not have to be fancy, the setting & company can play just as major a part & nothing beats eating fresh regional food where its made, ie Fresh bread, local cheeses, chutneys, jams, fruit, dips, chocolates

5. Grilled Haloumi on fresh bread. Something more specific for number 5. Haloumi grilled with a bit of oregano & drizzled with some lemon juice on top of some really good fresh bread would have to be one of my favourite ways to eat cheese, I do love all cheese however this is number one & is so good can pretty much eat enough so that it is a meal in itself

And before I go I will pass this on & tag (hope no one else has got to you first!)

Mellie at Tummy Rumbles
Sarah at Sarah Cooks
Niki at Esurientes
Kaylyn at Kaylns Kitchen
Ellie at Kitchen Wench