Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients

1 Cauliflower, divided into florets

Salt and pepper for seasoning

40g butter

1 & 1/2 tbsp plain flour

1 cup milk

1 & 1/2 cups grated cheese (I prefer to use 1 cup mozzarella for the sauce and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar or other mature cheese.

Method

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 to 10 mins to desired softness/crunchiness.

Drain and place in oven-proof casserole dish. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C

In a nonstick pan, melt the butter over a low heat. When melted, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth paste. Add a little of the milk and stir to a smooth paste. Keep adding the milk in small batches, taking care to stir to remove all lumps before continuing. Repeat until you have a smooth creamy sauce. Don't worry if there is milk left over.

Note: it is important to do this relatively quickly or the butter will start to brown. If you need to take more time, remove the pan from the heat while you are stirring in each batch of milk.

Now add 1 cup of cheese to the sauce and stir gently over a low heat until the cheese melts. If the sauce is now too thick add a little more milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the cauliflower in the casserole dish.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over the top and place in the oven. Bake for about 20 mins until golden.

Optional: to serve more people you can add a broccoli to the cauliflower

 

Passionfruit Cheese Cookies

Ingredients
250g cream cheese, room temperature
125g cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar 

2 eggs 

Pulp of 6 to 8 Passion Fruit 

1 &1/2 cups plain flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

granulated sugar and icing sugar to coat the cookies

Method

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the butter and cream cheese.

Then add the sugar and mix again.

Add the eggs and the passion fruit and mix gently. Add the flour and mix thoroughly until smooth.

Using a teaspoon, scoop small balls of the sticky dough and place on a tray. Put in the freezer for 30 to 40 minutes.  

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer. With your hands roll each individually into a firm ball, dip in the granulated sugar to coat and then into the icing suger to coat again. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and press down to flatten slightly. Make sure there is plenty of space between each cookie for them to expand X2. You may need to do this in batches.

Bake for 14 or 15 minutes.

This recipe makes approximately 30 cookies.

Lentil Cottage Pie ( & Pasta Bake)

For the lentil mixture

Ingredients

Olive oil for frying

2 onions finely chopped 

2 celery stalks finely chopped 

3 medium carrots chopped 

4 garlic cloves finely chopped 

5 white mushrooms, chopped

500g green lentils rinsed 

1/4 cup white wine 

l litre vegetable stock 

1/4 cup tomato puree (passatta)

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

2 tbsp thyme 

1 can of sweet corn, drained

handful of frozen peas 

2 tbsp flour 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Method 

In a large pan heat the oil and the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and  a low/medium heat for about 3 minutes until softened stirring often. Add the mushrooms and continue to fry for another minute. Add the wine and the lentils and cook for 2 minutes stirring often. Add half of the stock, cover, and simmer for 6 minutes. Add the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, corn, peas and the rest of the stock, stir, cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir until no longer visible. Cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Option 1 - Cottage pie

Ingredients

Depending on how big a pie you wish to make, double these ingredients if needed.

5 potatoes peeled and halved

Salt to taste

2 tbsp milk 

1 tbsp butter

Grated cheddar cheese to loosely cover the potatoes.

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked. Drain and return to the pan. Add the milk and butter and mash until smooth and creamy. 

Put as much of the lentil mixture as you'd like into a pie tray. Top with the mashed potato, scatter the cheese over the potato and bake in the oven at 200C for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and serve.

Option 2 - Pasta bake

Ingredients

1 pack pasta - penne, shells, twists - whatever you like, cooked as per pack instructions and drained.

Grated cheddar cheese to loosely cover the pasta.

Method

Combine the cooked pasta and as much of the lentil mixture as you'd like in a pie tray. Scatter the cheese over the potato and bake in the oven at 200C for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and serve.

NOTE: I usually have left over lentil mixture which I freeze to use to create quick pasta bake dinners when in a rush.

Giant Sausage Roll

Ingredients
80g salted butter
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
250g smoked bacon bits
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs
Handful of parsley, chopped
A few sprigs of chopped thyme
Zest of 1 lemon
200g breadcrumbs
500g chicken mince
250g pork mince
2 eggs
2 or 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted

Method
Heat butter and oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the bacon, onion and garlic  for 6-7 minutes until onion is softened. For the last minute add the Italian mixed herbs. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and add the parsley, thyme, lemon zest and breadcrumbs. Cool, then combine with the minced meats.  Add 1 egg and mix well. 

Preheat oven to 200°C. 

Whisk the other egg to make the eggwash. Shape the mince into 5cm-thick logs along the centre of the defrosted puff pastry sheets. You may have 2 or 3. Brush edges of the pastry with eggwash and roll up to enclose filling. Place the sausage rolls onto tray(s) lined with baking paper. Brush the top with eggwash, sprinkle with a little salt and with a sharp knife make a couple of diagonal slits into the top of the pastry for each roll.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Serve as is or with gravy.

Passion Fruit Pavlova

Ingredients

For the meringue

4 egg whites

16 tbsp caster sugar (4 spoons for each white)

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp  vanilla extract

For the cream topping

400ml of fresh cream

4 tablespoons caster sugar

To decorate

Pulp of 4 to 6 passion fruit (depending on size)

Method

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are stiff and form soft peaks. Then add the sugar and beat again.  Add the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla extract and fold together with a spatula. 

Heat the oven to 180C. Line a tray with baking paper. Using a side plate and a pencil, draw a circle on the paper. Spoon the meringue mixture into the circle as evenly as you can. 

Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 150C. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the mixture in the oven to cool completely to cold..

Remove only when they are cold.

Remove from the oven and place on a serving plate.

Beat the cream with the caster sugar with an electric mixer until it is whipped and forms soft peaks. Spoon evenly onto the meringue..Decorate with the passion fruit pulp, then place the pavlova in the fridge until it's time to eat.