Recipes - Italy's Finest

I had this amazing combination of flavours on a pizza years ago and it has always stuck with me.  The salty anchovy, spicy pepperoni, creamy bocconcini and sweet fresh basil create a flavour explosion that will have you thanking Italy for their food genius! 

Ingredients

1 pizza base

1-2 tbs pizza sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella, grated

12-16 thin slices spicy pepperoni

12-16 bambini bocconcini

8-12 anchovy fillets

basil leaves, to serve

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 230°C.

Step 2 - Place pizza base on a lightly greased pizza tray. Spread pizza sauce over base and sprinkle mozzarella. Distribute pepperoni, boccincini and anchovies on top.  

Step 3 - Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until base is crisp. Top with basil leaves and serve with a simple, lightly dressed green salad.

Notes:

Amounts of pizza sauce and cheese can be increased or reduced, depending on how saucy or cheesy you like your pizza.

Recipes - Chorizo and Prawn Paella

Paella is known as being the national dish of Spain, however it is actually exclusively Valencian.  Mine is in no way traditional, just something I threw together after limited research that seemed to work pretty well. 

Ingredients

2 chorizo sausages, sliced

500g green prawns

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 spanish onion, diced

1 red capsicum, sliced

1 green capsicum, sliced

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground chilli powder

3 cups chicken stock

1 quantity roast capsicum dip

2 cups rice

fresh coriander and sliced red chilli to serve

Step 1 - Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.  When hot, add garlic, onion and chorizo.  Fry off until golden then add the sliced capsicum. Fry for 1-2 minutes, until just tender then add the paprika, cumin, corriander and chilli.  Stir constantly for about 1 minute until toasted and fragrant.  
Step 2 - Add rice and toss to coat, then add capsicum dip and chicken stock and season well with salt. Stir well, reduce heat to low and seal pan with a tight fitting lid.  Cook, without stirring, for 25-30 minutes.
Step 3 - With 15 minutes to go, lift lid and quickly distribute prawns over top of rice.  Work quickly as you do not want to lose too much steam.  Replace lid and continue cooking for reaming time.  After the 25-30 minutes, check rice is cooked and if necessary, add a little more water, replace lid, and check again after 5 minutes.  
Step 4 - To serve, sprinkle with fresh corriander and chilli. Place pan on a wooden board and place in the centre of the table.  Enjoy!

Recipes - Olive, Bocconcini and Prosciutto Bruschetta

I was shopping the other day and spotted a packed of mini panini. They looked perfect for bruschetta so I had to buy them and test them out.  It was one of my better ideas.  The only thing better is the combination of flavours I chose to top it with! 

Ingredients - makes 24

12 mini panini

12 thin slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise

24 green olives, pitted

24 baby bocconcini

1-2 cloves garlic

balsamic galze (optional)

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 230°C.

Step 2 - Halve panini and evenly distribute, cut side up, over a shallow tray. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a hot oven for 4-5 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and rub warm bread with a garlic clove.

Step 3 - Top panini halves with prosciutto, bocconcini and olives.  Drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired and serve.

Recipes - Beef Noodle Salad

Want a delicious flavoursome salad that's a bit different?  Look no further.  I love Asian flavours but am not overly experienced with Asian cooking so I loved the simplicity of this dish.  The dressing is a perfect example of the four key asian flavours; sweet, sour, salty and spicy. 

Ingredients

400g beef rump steak

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs ginger, finely grated

1 clove garlic, crushed

250g bean thread vermicelli noodles (glass noodles)

1 bunch baby bok choy, halved or quartered

1/2 cup coriander

1/4 cup Vietnamese mint

1/4 cup mint

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced (seeds and pith may be removed to reduce spiciness)

2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 tbs palm sugar, finely shaved 

1 tbs sesame seeds

Step 1 - Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic in a ceramic or glass bowl and whisk to combine.  Place beef in bowl and turn a few times to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning once.

Step 2 -  Drizzle a grill pan with a little olive oil and heat over high.  Grill beef for 2-5 minutes each side, depending on thickness of cut and how you like your beef cooked.  Remove from heat and set aside for five minutes to rest.

Step 3 - Bring a full kettle of water to the boil. Place boky choy and noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over.  Cover and sit for two minutes, then drain and return noodles and bok choy to the bowl. 

Step 4 - Lightly toast sesame seeds in a dry pan or under an overhead grill. Set aside.

Step 5 - Place chilli, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar in a small bowl and whisk until combined.  Pour over noodles.

Step 6 - To serve, slice beef into thin strips and add to noodles along with herbs.  Toss until combined and transfer to serving dishes.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Recipes - Works Burger

I just love a good burger and they can be so hard to come by.  Well, burgers are everywhere but GOOD burgers can be like a needle in a haystack.  I am a huge fan of the corner store, rustic, classic, good old fashion, slapped together, juice running down your arm, messy burger. The Works is probably one of my favourites as it has a little of everything and it's my go to burger when looking at a menu.  I hope you enjoy my take on the humble burger.  

Ingredients

300g beef mince
1 egg
1 1/2 tbs tomato relish (I cheated and used store bought)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

4 rashers short-cut bacon

2 pineapple rings (fresh or tinned)

1 onion, sliced

50g cheese, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

2 tbs beetroot pickle

30g lettuce

smokey bbq sauce

2 burger bun
salt and pepper, to season

      

Step 1 - Place mince, egg, relish and bread crumbs in a bowl.  Season well with salt and pepper and use your hands to combine.  Form two patties and refrigerate for about 10 minutes to firm.
Step 2 - Heat a good what of oil in a frying pan and cook onions on medium heat until golden.
Step 3 - Heat a grill pan and cook patties for about 3-4 minutes each side.  During the last few minutes, add pineapple and bacon to pan and cook for 1-2 minutes each side.  While still in the pan, place cheese slices on patties and top with bacon and pineapple.  The heat should melt the cheese.
Step 4 - To construct, halve rolls and toast if desired.  Lay lettuce on bottom of roll and top with beetroot relish and tomato.  Carefully transfer pattie with cheese, bacon and pineapple to burger.  Drizzle with smokey bbq sauce, top with onion and close with lid of bun.  Serve immediately.

How To - Joint a Rabbit

Jointing a rabbit, or any animal, is really daunting the first time you attempt to do it. It is however, something that is relatively easy to master.  It can be a little off putting when you're presented with a carcass that still has head and some organs intact, but really, this is where food comes from and we all know it, as much as sometimes we don't like to think about it too much.  

The first time you attempt to joint the rabbit, take your time with it.  Have a good look at it and become familiar with where the meat, fat and bones are located. Think about where you are going to cut before you pick up your knife and remember, it doesn't matter if you make mistakes or don't make clean cuts the first few times as practice makes perfect! If you want to cook with rabbit but do not want to joint it, ask your butcher to joint it when you buy it.  A good butcher will be happy to oblige and will not charge you for it! 

WARNING: This post contains, what some people might consider to be, graphic images.  If you are squeemish, please navigate to another page now.


What you'll need:

• A rabbit
• A wooden chopping board
• A sharp knife
• A sharp pair of kitchen shears/scissors
• A bowl to place the pieces of meat

Step 1 - Place the rabbit on the chopping board, take the knife and remove the head from the carcass.  Depending on what you are cooking you can either keep or discard the head.  For stews, keep the rabbit, brown it off with the other pieces and let it cook in the stew as it will impart a lot of flavour.  Discard before serving.  


Step 2 - Remove the offal.  Usually, the liver, heart and kidneys will be present.  The first two can be easily removed by hand.  The kidneys should be cut out with a knife, keeping the fat that surrounds them intact.  Offal can be discarded if or used at your discretion. 


Step 3 - Place the rabbit on it's back and starting from the lower end, cut up one side of the backbone until you are level with the top of the hind legs.  Cut around the hind leg, slicing through to the joint.  Pull the leg back towards the chopping board and cut through the joint, severing the leg from the carcass.  Repeat with the other hind leg. 


The rabbit I was using was quite large and had a lot of meat on it so I decided to cut the hind legs into two pieces.

Step 4 - Cut all the way along one side of the backbone, using the knife or shears, which ever you find easier. 

Step 5 - Turn the two carcass pieces over so the fleshy side is up and remove the fore legs.  Then, score the flesh in about 2-3 places, depending on the size of the rabbit.  Evenly place these score lines as they will be the places you cut through and you want to end up with 3-4 pieces of equal size.

And that's it!!  Here are the images, the order of which correspond with the instructions above.

Recipes - Stuffat tal Fenek

Stuffat tal Fenek, Rabbit Stew, may be Malta's nation dish.  As there is not a lot of land mass in Malta, and therefore not a lot of room for grazing animals, rabbit is a popular protein on the island.  In Australia, and many other western cultures, rabbit is not considered to be a popular meat to cook with.  Most people I've encountered do not even have the inclination to try it, thinking of rabbit as a pet not a source of food.  For me, I grew up eating rabbit stew and it has always one of my favourite things that my Nan prepares.  I felt so honoured when she gave me her recipe 5 years ago.  This is awesome.  Enjoy.

NB: Wild rabbits are available at select butchers, however, wild rabbit can be tough, with a gamey flavour.  Farmed rabbits have a much milder flavours, are usually more tender and are the best choice for cooking.  It can be difficult to get your hands on farmed rabbit but is well worth the effort.

Ingredients

1 rabbit, cut into 12-15 pieces
3/4 cup red wine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
3/4 tsp all spice
3/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
500g pork spare rib, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, finely diced
3 potatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tbs tomato paste 
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup beef stock
1.5 cups water
3/4 cup peas
1kg spaghetti, parmesan cheese and bread - to serve

Step 1 - Place rabbit pieces and offal in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine garlic, 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 tsp mixed spice, and a 1/4 tsp each of all spice, garam masala, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Combine well and pour over rabbit.  Cover with glad wrap and marinade for at least two hours, stirring every half an hour or so.
Step 2 - Heat a good whack of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan.  Add a single layer of pork spare rib pieces and fry for about a minute on each side.  Remove from pan and place on a large plate.  Fry off remaining pork spare ribs in as many batches as necessary.  Remove from pan and place on plate.

Step 3 - In small batches, fry rabbit pieces and offal in pan for about 1-3 minutes on each side, depending on the size and thickness of the piece, until well browned.  Set aside on the plate with the pork.  Reserve marinading liquid.
Step 4 - Throw onions into pan and cook until soft and translucent.  Add a little more oil if necessary.  Throw spices in the pan and cook well, stirring until spices are fragrant.  
Step 5 - Add tomato past and sugar, and cook, stirring, until tomato paste has darkened in colour significantly.  Remove from heat and pour in marinading liquid and remaining wine.  Stir until well combined then add potato, beef stock and water and return to heat.  Bring to boil, cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to low.   
Step 6 - Return rabbit and pork to the pan, season well with salt and pepper and slowly simmer for 2-3 hours, until sauce is thick and meat is falling off the bone.  In the last 5 minutes, add peas to the pot.
Step 7 - When ready to serve, cook spaghetti as per packet instructions.  Place spaghetti on serving plate, top with one or two pieces of rabbit and spoon over a generous amount of sauce.   Serve with parmesan cheese, fresh cracked black pepper and thick slices of crusty bread on the side.

Recipes - The Super Club

When I was a kid, I begged my parents to let me make a double-decker sandwich every day and every now and then they even let me do it.  I've always been fascinated by the double-decker sandwich, it just seems so incredibly decadent! The club sandwich is probably the most well know layered sandwich and my SUPER club just adds an extra amount of indulgence! 

Ingredients

1 small chicken breast or 3-4 chicken tenderloins

2 rashers short cut bacon

6 green prawns, peeled and deveined

1 egg

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 tbs aioli

1 tomato, sliced

15g lettuce

2 slices jarlsberg cheese

2 slices white bread

1 slice wholemeal bread

1 tsp butter

Step 1 - Drizzle a little olive oil in a grill pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Place chicken, bacon and prawns in the pan.  Cook prawns for 20-30 seconds each side, bacon for 1 minute each side and chicken for 2-3 minutes each side depending on thickness, until cooked through.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Step 2 - Place butter in a small teflon pan and heat over medium-low.  When butter has melted, gently crack egg into pan.  Hold the egg as close to the pan as possible and open the shell slowly and gently.  Cook for 1 minute, then carefully and gently flip the egg and cook on the other side for a further 30 seconds.

Step 3 - Spread each piece of white bread with 1/2 tbs of aioli.  Place one piece on a serving plate and top with lettuce, bacon and prawns.  Place wholemeal bread on top of prawns and layer tomato, cheese, avocado and chicken.  Place white slice, aioli side down to close sandwich.  Pop the egg on top and serve immediately.  

Recipes - Thai Beef Salad

I love Thai beef salad!  I could eat it every day and never get sick of it.  It's so fresh and vibrant and spicy and bursting with flavour.  Thai food, like most Asian cuisine, is all about balance; the key elements being salty, sweet, sour and spicy.   While the amount of chilli used can be altered to suit your taste, when making the dressing ensure you adjust the other flavours by the merest drop in between tasting.  

Ingredients

2 limes, juiced

1 1/2 tbs shaved palm sugar

2 tbs fish sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tbs ginger, finely grated

1 long red chillies (optional)

600g beef rump steak, trimmed of fat and sinew 

1 bunch mint, leaves removed

1 bunch coriander, leaves removed

1/2 bunch Thai basil, leaves removed

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, halved and sliced thinly

Step 1 - To make the dressing, place lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a bowl and whisk til combined.

Step 2 - Place the beef in a container or a new bowl, pour half the dressing over, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.  Set the remaining dressing aside.

Step 3 - Heat a grill pan or BBQ hot plate on high until it is very hot.  Reduce heat to medium and cook beef for 2-5 minutes each side, depending on thickness of beef and how you prefer your beef cooked.  Once cooked, set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Step 4 - While beef is resting, combine herbs, tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl.  Take the long red chilli and slice thinly on a diagonal. Place in bowl with salad and toss lightly with your fingers. Distribute between two serving dishes.  Slice beef thinly and lay on top of salad.  Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately. 

Notes:


To ensure this dish remains gluten free check that your soy sauce and fish sauce are gluten free.  Even for those who do not need to remove gluten from their diet, gluten free fish and soy sauces are as good if not better than the same products that contain gluten.  

Recipes - Brunġiel Mimli

This is my death row meal!  It has been my favourite dish for as long as I can remember and is something my Nan cooks often.  Even though I've been making it for over ten years, mine is never as good as hers and probably never will be, but it's pretty close to perfect.   The only bad thing about this is once you start, enough is never enough!


Brunġiel Mimli literally translates to 'Eggplant Stuffed'.  I prefer this made with Qarabali (marrow; which is a small eggplant shaped zucchini with light green skin), however, quarabali is difficult for me to source locally.

Ingredients
3 eggplant
1 kg pork and veal mince
6 rashers middle bacon, rinds removed
1 egg
2 1/2 cups tasty cheese, grated
1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped
4 brown onions, peeled
4 potatos, peeled
1/2 cup vegetable stock
half a lemon, juiced
salt and pepper, to season


Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180. Lightly spray a large baking dish with olive oil. 
Step 2 - Top and tail eggplant and cut in half length ways.  Scoop out centre, leaving a 1cm rim.  Reserve half of the scooped out eggplant and set aside.  Discard the rest.   
Step 3 - Sprinkle eggplant boats with salt and lemon juice and rub in to flesh.  Microwave for 3 minutes.  Remove from microwave and set aside.
Step 4 - Take the reserved eggplant that was scooped out from the middle and chop roughly.  Dice two of the onions and fry them with the roughly copped eggplant in a little oil over high heat until golden.  Set aside to cool.
Step 5 - Dice two of the bacon rashers and add to a large bowl along with mince, egg, 1 cup of cheese, parsley and fried onion and eggplant.  Season well with pepper and mix with clean hands until well combined.  
Step 6 - Slice the potato and remaining 2 brown onions into thick slices and layer over base of baking tray.  Season lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.  Pour stock into tray.
Step 7 - Pack each eggplant boat firmly with mince mixture.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese over the mince.  Cut each of the remaining 4 bacon rashers into thirds and lay two pieces over each eggplant.  Place filled eggplant boats into dish on top of potato and onion.  Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes - 2 hours.
Step 8 - To serve, place eggplant on plate with some potato and onion and spoon some broth onto plate.  Serve with thick slices of fresh bread.  

Recipes - Veggie-ful Bolognese

What is one thing kids can not have too much of?  Vegetables.  And what is one thing kids never get enough of? Vegetables.  My kids eat their veggies, usually without a fight, but I still struggle to get enough veggies in their diet.  So, I am always looking for ways to veggie-pack recipes and have discovered that there is a great utensil, that is a standard in all kitchens, that makes veggie-packing meals a lot easier.

The humble grater.  

Grating vegetables helps them breakdown faster, leaving no visible sign that they were ever there.  This trick works really well in tomato based sauces such as nachos, beef stew, beef stroganoff, my own Mexican Chicken recipe and pasta sauces such as this bolognese.  It can also be used when preparing soups, stews, casseroles and curries.  I like to aim for a minimum of five or six vegetables per dish.  Slow cooking on a low heat produces the best results.  

Ingredients

500g beef mince

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, finely diced

8 button mushrooms, peeled and finely diced

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchini, grated

4 celery stalks, finely diced

1 red capsicum, finely diced

1/2 butternut pumpkin, grated

2 x 400g tins diced tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

1 cup water

salt and pepper to season

Step 1 - Heat a good what of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat.  Fry garlic, onions and mushrooms for 1-2 minutes until cooked. Add beef and fry until browned.

Step 2 - Throw in carrot, zucchini, celery and capsicum and fry for another 2 minutes.  Add tomato paste and sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste is darker in colour and well cooked.

Step 3 - Reduce heat, add tin tomatoes and water.  Season well, cover with lid and slowly simmer for 3-5 hours.

Step 4 - With an hour to go, add pumpkin.  Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.  Cover with lid and slowly simmer until sauce is thick and vegetables have melted into the sauce.  If sauce looks like it is drying out, add a little more water. 

Step 5 - Cook pasta.

Step 6 - Mix pasta into sauce and serve w grated parmesan cheese.


Notes:


Mushrooms will not break down into sauce, however, will go undetected if diced very finely.