(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: Starter
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…
Smoky Sardines with Sweet Tomato Chutney
In Australia, sardines became a staple in our household as we used the BBQ more often than the oven. Really easy to gut yourself or just ask your fishmonger. Use a griddle pan if too cold or wet for a BBQ and leave to char to promote the smoky flavour. Sardines are relatively cheap and…
Thai Inspired Roasted Cauliflower Soup
I know the words Thai and cauliflower don’t normally go together, but why should the flavours suffer the same fate? When I attempted to google this, I was lead to a website ‘Cauliflower ear, the easiest way to pick up girls’ promoting Muay Thai fighting, as all girls apparently love scars of any kind? The…
Prawn Noodle Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing
This is a special post as it marks the 1000th subscriber to The Travelling Pantry – so thanks to everyone that has made it happen! It also represents the end of one journey and beginning of a new one (leaving Melbourne and moving back to the UK). I began the blog in order to document…
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…
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!…
Roasted Pumpkin Cappellacci with Crispy Sage Butter and Pancetta
Considering we eat pasta so often, it seems strange that we have never made it but I think part of the reason why is due to fear. Fear that it may be too hard or that I’ll just be plain rubbish at it. The other reason is because I think dried pasta can be so…
Baked Eggs in Tomato Sauce
I enjoyed this breakfast over the weekend but also felt slightly annoyed I hadn’t thought of this before, as it was so good. Perfect quick, simple breakfast but hearty enough to obliterate the worst of hangovers, great to feed a crowd, nurse a cold or flu and made from pantry staples too! – just add…
Croxetti with Walnuts and Lemon
For those who aren’t familiar with this odd looking pasta shape, it’s name is Croxetti and it is circular and stamped usually with an intricate pattern. It’s something I’ve only become familiar with recently and can’t resist an unexplored pasta variety! This is really very simple and absolutely delicious, I would recommend using a thick…
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….
Crab, mint and lemon spelt pasta
Joker/Comedian – ‘What did the crab pull at the disco?’ Receiver – ‘I don’t know’ (yawn) Joker/Comedian – ‘A mussel/muscle’…. This is the only joke I have remembered since being about 5 years old. I don’t think I even got it at first but for some reason, it has stayed with me. It’s not exactly…
Easy and Crispy Fried Gnocchi with Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, Mozzarella and Basil
Seriously, one of my favourite dishes, little effort required – maximum delight gained. To make this extra quick, use good quality shop bought gnocchi (but you will get a far better result making your own). When my mum came to stay recently I made a list of places to go and recipes I wanted to…
Fettuccine with Spiced Butter
I came across this recipe on the blog ‘101 Cookbooks’ – the healthy recipe journal, who I think was inspired by a version from Yotam Ottolenghi. I believe he uses fresh saffron tagliatelle – the recipe is in his book. http://www.101cookbooks.com/ I haven’t actually changed a thing apart from using fettuccine and adding more chilli…
Broccoli Orecchiette
Easter had left us feeling like beached whales and so I wanted to make something really simple, tasty and cheap for Easter Monday. Looking through books, I found this recipe crop up again and again and as it met all my specifications I decided to give it a whirl. You’ll probably have most of the…
Market Spaghetti
After a productive week, a bottle of well-deserved Prosecco turned into 2 less justified bottles, which lead onto my first experience at ‘Revolver’. Great fries, electronic music (not really our thing but good music anyway), vodka tonics and to top it all off – a burger I had prepared earlier from Ben’s ‘Hamburger Gourmet’ book….
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…
Smoked Trout and Coconut Salad
‘Hot sun beating down, making you sweat’ Yes Phil, this is how it was in Melbourne’s summer, all you want to eat are fresh salads and cold food. I remember making Bolognese with an ice lolly in my mouth and the very prudent nights, sleeping as far apart as possible so as to escape from…
Thyme Roast Tomatoes with Feta and Basil
This is one of the most simple breakfasts but so fresh and so punchy – it was tough taking the photos before devouring this tasty morsel. It’s probably wrong for me to call this a recipe, it’s more like a good flavour combination. Plates all too often get busy or confused but good ingredients can…
Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad by Stephanie Alexander
Recipe by Stephanie Alexander – My only tweak was adding some rice vermicelli at the end. Vietnamese was something new and exciting to me since moving to Melbourne and living in Richmond, Victoria Street is our ‘can’t be bothered to cook’ destination. I always fancy this on a hot day, after a few drinks in…
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