(Makes 4 stuffed halves) Legend has it that this dish acquired its name because it caused the Turkish Imam to faint through pure pleasure. Great served warm but some say best enjoyed at room temperature the next day, which makes it a perfect BBQ side dish, easily prepared in advance. Make a meal out of…
Category: Side Dish
Lamb Kofte
Lamb Kofte (Makes about 12 sausage sized kofte) Kofte go well with so many other ingredients so designing a menu plan is easy for a social gathering. You could marinate some feta in advance in jars, make an array of dips (humous, tzatziki, baba ganoush), serve it alongside Greek salads, tabouleh, olives, pestos and finally,…
Pork Larb in Lettuce Cups
I love this quick and simple recipe. It’s great as a canapé, main with sticky rice and green papaya salad or as part of a South-east Asian inspired banquet. I last made these with asian fish cakes and prawn toasts which all go well with sweet and sour dip and satay so everyone could mix…
Super-Spicy Daal with Eggs and Spinach
I really love this recipe. It is packed with loads of nutritious ingredients, it’s filling, it’s protein, it’s cheap and it makes enough to feed a small army (freezes well so don’t worry). Great to whip out if you come down with a sore throat and versatile too…. Serve as breakfast, brunch, as a side…
Simple and Delicious Marinated Fish Kebabs!
I made first made these this Christmas and have since made them twice already. The idea was to have a BBQ on Christmas day, so we made these, BBQ chicken skewers, satay chicken skewers, marinated prawns, calamari, Thai chicken balls and salads galore (all cooked on BBQ throughout the day to keep us going and…
Herby Salmon Fish Cakes
These tasty little morsels are great as a special/weekend breakfast, healthy lunch or wholesome starter. I make breadcrumbs out of any leftover white bread from the weekend and process with lemon zest, seasoning and whatever herbs I have at the time – these are perfect for this type of dish. As you’ll need to buy…
Spicy Noodle Salad with Tuna Toasties & Tobasco Tomatoes
Living so close to Victoria Street has given me a taste for Vietnamese, lots of mighty flavours and infinite ingredients to experiment with…… if you are nearby, check out ‘Weasels Garden Café’ it’s on Murray St, tucked away, always very quiet, the foods pretty good and the garden is like a slice from a tropical…
Herby Roast Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing
Back again to Daylesford for Ben’s birthday and a sneaky surprise stay in an old butcher’s… Back in Daylesford and our little country escape, I thought a nice warm vegetable salad would warm the cockles and also spare us more time for the finer things in life (monopoly and Prosecco in this case). This is…
Sweet Tomato and Basil Fritters with Tzatziki
A photo inspired this dish, actually an old man holding a plate of these with a beautiful backdrop, in Santorini. These would of course traditionally be made with the finest sun filled tomatoes so unless you live in the med, try and find the best quality you can as it will make such a difference!…
Beet Tartare and Avocado Spread
The only reason I stumbled across this recipe was the fact it mentioned ‘tartare’ which appealed in it’s resemblance to the common steak tartare – which I LOVE. I thought it was time to feature something a bit ‘healthy’ and bright on here and with such a low risk of bacterial infection, how could I…
No Knead Pizza Dough & 2 Very Simple Toppings
About a month ago we ordered takeout pizza from ‘Baby Pizza’, Church St, Richmond in Melbourne. Maybe because it was the night before our holiday or maybe it was the pizza but it sparked off a bit of a pizza phase for us and when I came across Jim Lahey’s no knead dough recipe, I…
Country Eggs and Slow Roast Tomatoes
We booked a weekend away in Daylesford, staying in a house with beautiful olive groves and a kitchen with the charm of an old farmhouse, all wood and utensils galore (which is what inspired the cooking on this trip). I brought Bolognese with us, straight out the freezer which was as usual devoured in 3…
Slow Roast Chicken with Sun burnt Broccoli and Maple Sprouts
There’s not much I love more than getting up on a Sunday to put something in the oven, then out for breakfast, pub in the afternoon and returning to a house smelling delicious and as if someone else has made it for you – something perfectly slow roasted, ready to take out the oven and…
Getting Exotic with Corn on the Cob
Every season brings with it great foods and corn has that oomph factor in the spring/summer (Sept-March in Australia). We usually eat this as a starter but have recently become more experimental with the sunny kernels. Some ideas to jazz up your cobs……. Spiced butter – I have a recipe in my post as follows,…
Mezza – Spiced Prawns, Coriander Chicken Wings and Fresh Oregano Salad
Who doesn’t love a leisurely banquet? Mezza is a tradition celebrated in Lebanon and neighbouring countries throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean. It is usually comprised of small dishes to be enjoyed as a main meal, or lead up to the main meal. I’ve always favoured a long laid-back lunch and a light dinner and…
Haloumi with Honey, Lemon and Thyme
A salty, mild cheese originating from Cyprus with a high melting point, which makes this perfect to fry. It would normally be pronounced (huh-loo-mee) but my Turkish friend Leyla would always tell me off, saying (hell-im), so pronunciation varies. I have seen this become more and more popular in the UK, having felt very new…
Zucchini Fritters with Sour Cream and Smoked Salmon
I had always fancied making breakfast fritters of some kind as I’m always partial to ordering them if on breakfast menus. Potato rosti are also a massive temptation, I remember one of the best meals I have ever eaten in Palma was lobster tortellini served on potato rosti – I’ll have to try and recreate…
Crunchy Polenta Onion Rings
Someone very dear to me told me this was the best onion ring recipe…ever. As usual there was a slight doubt in my mind as this person is well known for let’s say ‘exaggerating the truth’. For example, the revolving BT tower in London – she went here for dinner one night, got a little…
Dips – Humous and Baba ghanoush
I love both these Middle Eastern and Arabic dips which are beautiful as starters or as part of a main meal. They have saved me from supermarket excursions, served as a starter many times for friends/family, satisfied as a late night snack and always feel special even though they are so simple to make. Both…
Easy No Knead Flatbreads
When I say these are easy, quick and delicious I am telling no lie. You literally add the ingredients together, divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll out each piece to a bread the size of a side plate and griddle. Perfect for dinner party/BBQ or just to rustle up as a snack for yourself….
Sage Butter Spaetzle, Burnt Tomato Bake and Fennel Salad
A type of German egg noodle, literally translated to ‘little sparrow’ as the odd shapes were thought to resemble these little birds. I like this interpretation, imaginative – more alluring than ‘little sperm’ which I have also heard along the way. First time I tried this was in a little wooden restaurant in Dorset with…
English Breakfast Muffins
English because they are savoury muffins, rather than the sweet American variety. Well worth the little effort taken to rise 2 hours before you plan to eat – here’s how it could go for you….. 7am – Up to make the simple batter (15-20 minutes, including kneading) then back to bed for 1 hour whilst…
Supreme Butter Chicken with Herby Flatbreads
This recipe was inspired by good friends and their delectable (can’t help feeling like Hannibal when I say that word) curry we enjoyed over the weekend. I had never heard of adding saffron milk to rice and wanted to try this out for myself…I also came across the blog by Mimi, (below) and her butter…
The Perfect Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Slaw
Having read and tried my hand at many fried chicken recipes, this one stood out by having the best flavour, crunch and when mated with this particular coleslaw and the white rolls on my previous post – I have to say, what an absolute delight! It’s the kind of meal you talk about after, as…
Soft pull-apart rolls
I first made these as buns for fried chicken and they were so light, soft and fluffy that I have decided to stick with this recipe for all future fried chicken escapades. You could use these as burger buns but I am still in the mind-set that brioche works best with any burger other than…
Easter Chicken and Potatoes with Green Olive Tapenade
As Easter is fast approaching, I thought a really special roast chicken recipe would be apt, so here we go. The sweet, buttery tomatoes underneath the skin keep it lovely and moist, oozing out as you serve the chicken and the garlicky tomatoes that have been ‘incubated’ whilst it cooks are beautiful spooned over whatever…
Pulled Pork Monster Sliders
Or…Slow Roast Pork Shoulder Rolls I decided to make these after having particularly good pork sliders at ‘Little Creatures Brewery’ in Brunswick. If you get the chance to go, seriously order the fries – I think they could be the best fries ever. I often make a pork ragu, where the meat is cooked very…
Fennel, Garlic and Lemon Potatoes
The Delights of Fennel I am slightly infatuated with the aniseed flavour of fennel (almost as much as I am with Sambuca) but have only recently begun cooking with it. The love affair began when I realised fennel seeds went really well with roast vegetables, then I started adding the seeds to tomato sauces, BBQ…
Easy Yoghurt Flat-breads
These have never let me down, and I am by no means a bread maker – so that’s really saying something! I first made these to go with dips and then to accompany slow cooked lamb and coleslaw, and now I make these with most salads and pretty much anything. The only thing I ever…
Saffron Rice Pilaf and 2 Nifty Curries…
I have cooked many a curry in my time but find these two are good quick weeknight recipes using mostly store-cupboard ingredients, here is the spice list for all three dishes, Bay leaves Ground coriander or coriander seeds (to grind) Ground cumin Ground turmeric Garam masala Saffron threads As Winter drawers closer, I find this…
Zucchini Agrodolce
Zucchini still sounds very Aussie to me, but then courgette agrodolce doesn’t have the same ring to it. Agrodolce is a traditional Italian sweet and sour sauce, made up from ‘agro’(sour) and ‘dolce’ (sweet) – in this case vinegar and sugar. If you haven’t already tried this, please give it a go as it is…
The Travelling Pantry 