Mussels in tomato sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of fresh mussels. Rinse and remove the tongues. Allow to sit on a bowl of water until time to cook

Olive oil for frying

1 leek, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tin tomatoes (or 4 fresh chopped tomatoes if you have them)

2 tbsp tomato passata

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsely

METHOD

In a large saucepan, fry the leeks until they start to soften. Then add in the garlic and fry for another minute. Next add in the tomatoes and the assata and bring to a simmer. Add 9n the stock a little at a time until you get the consistency of sauce you desire. 

Now drain the mussels and add to the sauce. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 mins or until the mussels have opened.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve with baguette or other crusty bread.

Note, if at the end you have left over sauce, remove any mussels and put the sauce through a blender. Heat through and serve with pasta and the remaining mussels.

Salmon parcels

INGREDIENTS

For the dressing

1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into long matchsticks

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, peeled, cut into long matchsticks

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

For the marinade

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

For the parcels

1 cup cold cooked rice

4 skinless Salmon fillets

1 cup peeled edamame

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 220C

Combine the dressing ingredients 8n a small bowl and place in the fridge.

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to a sauce. Add in the salmon, making sure all the pieces are coated. Cover and place in the fridge for 30+ mins.

Using a small bowl, arrange 4 circles of rice on 4 pieces of baking paper. Place one piece of salmon on each of the rice circles. Arrange the edamame along one side of the rice. Drizzle a little of the remaining marinade over the fish pieces.

Fold each price of baking paper to enclose the fish and rice, then place each parcel on an individual piece of tin foil and fold that to hold the parcels together.

Arrange the parcels on a baking tray and place in the oven for 20 to 40ins depending on the size and thickness of the fish.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before placing each parcel on a plate.

To serve, open the parcel on the plate and top with the matchstick dressing.

Hasselback halloumi and potato bake

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sized potatoes, sliced hasselback (to do this, place the potatoes between two wooden spoons and cut in multiple thin slices down to the spoons, leaving the potatoes intact)

Olive oil 

Salt

1 red capsicum, roughly sliced

1 zucchini, roughly sliced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tin tomatoes

1/2 cup passata

Splash of red wine

Drizzle of soy sauce

3 tbsp chopped basil

3 tbsp chopped thyme

1 tsp lemon juice

2 blocks of halloumi, cut into halves and sliced hasselback (see above)

handful of parsley, chopped

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C fan forced.

Line a large baking tray (we'll use this again) with baking paper. Place in the potatoes and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven and bake for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, add some olive oil to a large frying pan and fry the capsicum and the zucchini for 4 mins or so. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Now add the tomatoes, the passata, the wine and the soy sauce and cook for 3 mins. Then add theol9ves, capers, thyme, basil and lemon juice and cook over a low heat to combine and slightly thicken the sauce.

Remove the potatoes from the oven after 30 mins. Take out the potatoes and discard the baking paper. Add the sauce to the baking tray and push in the blocks of halloumi and potatoes. Return the tray to the oven and cook for 45 mins or until the halloumi begins to crispen.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4.

Tuna pasta bake

INGREDIENTS

1vpkt of pasta - spiral or penne

Olive oil for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup tomato passata

1/2 glass red wine

3 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp chopped basil

2 tbsp chopped thyme

2 tbsp capers

Salt and pepper taste

I can tuna, drained

Shredded mozzarella cheese.

METHOD

Cook the pasta al-dente as per the packet instructions. Rinse in cold water to stop it cooling any further and set aside. Meanwhile heat the oven to 180C fan forced.

In a frying pan, fry the onions in the oil until golden, add the garlic and continue to fly for another minute.  Add on the tomatoes, the passata and the wine and cook to reduce the sauce. Add 8n the herbs, the capers and season.

In an oven tray combine the pasta and the sauce and cover with cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until browned.

Serves 4 or 5.

Tofu 'soboro'

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce

4 tbsp hoisin sauce

3 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar

Black pepper to taste 

For the 'mince'

Sesame oil for frying

1 onion, chopped

3 or 4 white mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 block (450g) firm tofu

For the garnish

2 tbsp sesame seeds

3 spring onions, chopped

METHOD

Combine all the ingredients of the sauce and set to one side

Wrap the tofu in kitchen paper and place between two plates to drain any liquid. Set aside for at least 30 mins.

In a dry frying pan, gently toast the sesame seeds until the aroma is released. Be careful not to burn the seeds.

In a deep pan or wok, fry the onions in the sesame oil until soft. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

Crumble the tofu into small pieces. Add to the pan and continue to cook for about 1 minite or until no liquid is released. Add the sauce and cook for about 3 minutes, ensuring the tofu is completely coated in the sauce.

Serve over a bowl of rice and garnish with the sesame seeds and spring onions.

Bara Pyglyd (Pikelets)

Ingredients

1 large egg, whisked

1 cup self-raising flour

¾ cup milk

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

butter,and olive oil  for frying

Method

Combine all the ingredients except milk in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until you have a smooth batter that pours slowly off a spoon. You may or may not need all the milk.

Heat a small knob of butter with a little oil (to prevent the butter from browning) in a flat frying pan. You just need to coat the pan - no more. Using a large soon, scoop a spoonful of the batter into the pan and allow it to spread into a circular shape about 7cm diameter. Depending on the size of your pan you may be able to do 3 or 4 at a time. When you see bubbles or holes appearing in the batter, flip them and cook the other side. It shouldn't take more the 2 or 3 minutes to cook one batch.

Add more butter and oil if needed and cook the next batch. This recipe makes 12 pikelets.

To serve, butter the pikelets or serve with maple syrup or honey.

Japanese style Curry Sauce (for Katsu Kare)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, chopped into small pieces
• 2 potatoes. chopped into small pieces
• 2 tbsp curry powder
  
• 3 tbsp of plain flour
  
• 1 cup vegetable stock 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce 
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsps of honey 
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

In a deep pan, fry the onions in the oil funtil soft and starting to caremelise. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute

While this is going on, boil the carrots and potatoes in a saucepan. Cook until soft.  

Then add the curry powder to the onions and garlic and cook while stirring for about 3 mins until everything is coated in the curry. Then add the flour and stir to combine. 

A little at a time, add the stock and stir to combine, making sure there are no lumps. Simmer for about 3 minutes.

Remove the carrots and potatoes from the boiling water they are in and add to the curry sauce. Save the water (stock).

Add the mushrooms and the soy sauce and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Add in the saved stock to adjust the thickness and the amount of your sauce.

Add the honey and stir though. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with rice and tonkatsu, chicken schnitzel or burgers.

Bouillabaisse

INGREDIENTS

Oil and butter for frying

1 leek, chopped

1 fennel bulb, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 tbsp tomato passata

1/2 cup white wine

Pinch of saffron

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 medium sized fresh tomatoes, dice OR 1 can chopped tomatoes

A few sprigs of thyme, destalked

2 fillets of white fish, eg snapper

Mussels (about 16)

Scallops (about 8)

250g prawns

Parsley for garnish, chopped

METHOD

In a large deep pan fry the leek and the fennel in the olive oil and butter for about 5 mins until soft. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Then add the passata, the saffron, the lemon juice, the thyme the tomatoes and the white wine and cook until the sauce begins to bubble. 

You may need to add more liquid at this point, either water or vegetable stock, to get the consistency you want. Season with salt and black pepper.

Next add the fish and cook for about 10 mins. Then add in the rest of the seafood and cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes until the prawns are pink and cooked through.

Garnish with parsley and serve with baguette.

Iced passionfruit cake

We have heaps of banana passionfruit in our garden. So we've been trying recipes to use them. This recipe requires the passionfruit pulp to be deseeded, which is a pain.  The best way to do this seems to be to put the passionfruit pulp In a saucepan and heat gently. Then in small batches push the pulp through a sieve with the back of a spoon

INGREDIENTS

125 g soft butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup milk

400ml deseeded passionfruit pulp

1 tbs soft butter (for the icing)

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 170C fan-forced.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix then, alternating, add a little flour and milk until you have a creamy cake mixture. Add half the passionfruit pulp and mix well.

Pour into a silicone cake mould or greased cake tin. Bake on the centre of the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Mix the butter and the icing sugar until smooth. Add the remaining passionfruit pulp and mix well. When the cake is cooled, cut it in half and Ice the lower half with 1/2 of the icing. Reassemble and ice the top. 

Bread and Butter Pudding

INGREDIENTS

200ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
75g salted butter
Chunks of slightly stale bread 
3 eggs

2 tbsp of caster sugar

100ml of cream

50g sultanas, or other dried fruit

1 tbsp brown sugar

Nutmeg for grating

METHOD

Heat the milk into a small pan and add the vanilla. Bring to a simmer, then immediately turn off the heat, add the lemon zest and allow to cool a little.

Butter the bread and arrange half the slices, overlapping in an ovenproof dish. 

Whisk together the eggs and the caster sugar until well mixed, then whisk in the milk and the cream. Pour half over the bread, add most of the fruit, and leave to soak for a few minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Arrange the rest of the bread in a second layer in the dish and pour over the rest of the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the rest of the fruit and brown sugar and grate some nutmeg over the top. 

Cook for 35 – 45 minutes until golden brown. Serves 4 or 5.

Paella

INGREDIENTS

1 - 2 tbsp olive oil

1 chorizo sausage chopped

Squid rings (10-12)

1 onion , chopped

3 garlic cloves , minced

1 red capsicum, diced

2 cups paella or medium grain rice 

2  ripe tomatoes, diced 

4 cups chicken stock 

A few saffron threads 

12- 16 large uncooked prawns, tail on

12-16 lmussels , cleaned 

10 - 12 scallops (roe off)

1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish

METHOD

Heat oil in a large frypan overedium heat. Fry chorizo until browned Remove and set aside.

In the same oil, fry the squid for about 1 min 45 seconds, then remove and set aside.

Add a bit more oil if needed, and fry the onion for 2 - 3 mins then add the capsicum and garlic and cook for 1 more min.

Add the rice to the pan and stir until all the grains are coated in oil.

Add in most of the chorizo (reserve a few bits for garnish), stock, tomatoes and saffron. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 mins. Do not stir! At this stage, a bit of rice should be showing at the surface but there should still be plenty of liquid left.

Add the prawns, scallops and mussels and push into the rice so they are partly submerged.

Continue to simmer for 8-10 mins. Add a little boiling water at a time if needed to cook the rice perfectly.  It should be firm but cooked.

Add the squid and reserved chorizo, remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid then rest for 5 minutes for the rice to absorb any remainig liquid. 

Serve with wedges of lemon. 

Serves 5 to 6

Fish and Rice Bake (Doria)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pieces of firm white fish e.g. baramundi
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red pepper
• Small handful of pitted olives/1 red chilli, chopped (either/or)
• 1 cup tomato passata
•  olive oil for frying
• 1/2 glass red wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp paprika
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 to 3 cups of leftover cooked rice
• 150g Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 180C fan assisted.
• Heat  olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the fish until cooked through. Remove from the pan into a large oven proof dish, cut into bite size pieces, remove any skin and arrange the pieces evenly around the dish. Dust with parmesan
• Add a little more olive oil to the pan and fry the onions until soft, then add in the garlic, capsicum and olives/chilli and fry for about 2 mins.
• To the pan add the passata, wine and soy sauce and season to taste. Add the paprika.add a little water if the sauce is thick.cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the fish and dust again with parmesan.
• Cover the sauce with half the rice and then dust with parmesan again. Cover again with the rest of the rice and sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 to 30 mins - until the top is browned and the rice on the top is a little crispy. 
• Serves 4 or 5

Fennel flavoured prawn pasta bake

INGREDIENTS

For 4 servings

• 590g pasta e.g. penne
• salt and olive oil to add to water to cook the pasta
• butter for the dish
• 300g cooked and peeled prawns
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 500ml double cream
• About 200g grated mozzarella cheese
• Large handful of fresh baby spinach leaves
• About 100g grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C

Grease a large baking dish with a little butter. Place the prawns in the dish

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, adding a little salt and olive oil and cook the pasta to al dente according to the pack instructions. 

Once the pasta is cooked, add the pasta, the spinach, the spices and the mozzarella to the prawns in the baking dish and stir to combine evenly. Pour the cream over the mix then sprinkle with the parmesan.

Bake for about 30 minutes until crisp, and golden.

Roasted Sardines

INGREDIENTS

• 250g fresh sardines
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• 1 tsp dry onion flakes
• ½ tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp dry oregano
• salt and pepper
  
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp lemon juice plus extra for serving
• 3 tbsp olive oil plus extra for the baking tray
  
• 2 tsp fresh parsley chopped

 

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220 C fan assisted.

 

In a large bowl mix the garlic, onion, paprika, oregano, mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and papper to taste. Add the sardines to the bowl and gently coat the sardines in the mixture.

 

Sprinkle a little olive oil in a baking tray and arrange the sardines skin side up in one layer. Add any remaining mixture onto the fish. Roast for 15-17 minutes..

 

Remove from the oven, arrange the sardines on a serving plate, sprinkle with the parsley and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

Serve with slices of toasted french baguette.