Cooked by my son, this pasta dish has a wonderful balance of flavours. Bring enough salted water to boil for a 500g (1 lb) packet of giant fusilli. Soak 2 tablespoons of dried sliced porcini mushrooms in a little boiling water. Meanwhile skin and dice a good quality aged chorizo and fry in a pan…… Continue reading giant fusilli with chorizo and mushrooms
chicken tagine
A wonderfully fragrant one-pot meal! In a tagine or a heavy saucepan, drizzle a little olive oil then place a layer of onion rings followed by a layer of carrot rounds. Now place the chicken pieces over these (I used drumsticks) and season with ¼ of a teaspoon of saffron, ½ a teaspoon of ground ginger, 2…… Continue reading chicken tagine
tres leches cake
Having eaten this cake in a restaurant my sister wanted to recreate it. Made with three kinds of milk as well as cream, it’s deliciously milky and has the consistency of a good trifle. Desserts made with milk are popular in all Hispanic countries and there are many versions of this cake. We used a recipe…… Continue reading tres leches cake
cauliflower velvet soup
Aptly named, the ‘velvet’ in the title lured me to try this Sylvana Franco recipe. Place a saucepan over medium heat adding 3 cups of milk, 2 roughly chopped cloves of garlic, the white part of a bunch of spring onions and a teaspoon each of cumin seed and ground turmeric. Wash and cut a whole cauliflower into…… Continue reading cauliflower velvet soup
Christmas 2011
I’ve already posted the pudding, but here’s the rest of our Christmas feast. We started with some garlic prawns (shrimps) cooked in a generous mixture of olive oil and butter and about as much garlic as we could stand. The garlic was slowly cooked in the oil and butter, the prawns added last and seasoned…… Continue reading Christmas 2011
beetroot, carrot and apple salad
This earthy sweet fresh salad not only looks festive but would complement turkey, ham, smoked salmon or just about anything you might serve on Christmas day. Peel and grate a large raw beetroot, 2-3 carrots and 2 firm apples. Add ¼ of a cup of lemon juice, a ¼ of a red onion (finely diced) and a generous amount…… Continue reading beetroot, carrot and apple salad
chocolate christmas pudding
Torn between a traditional pudding and something chocolate? Here’s a recipe which combines both and is truly scrumptious. It appears here after an early Christmas due to some requests for the recipe. There’s no need to age this pudding so there’s still time. Combine 250g (9 oz) of dried fruit mix (sultanas, raisins, currants, mixed peel and glacé…… Continue reading chocolate christmas pudding
lazy weekend breakfasts
Smoked salmon scrambled eggs with quick-fried tomatoes and spinach Fresh avocado on toast with lemon juice and black pepper Fried chorizo, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toasted sourdough with parsley garnish Huevos Mexicana (scrambled eggs with the colours of the Mexican flag – tomato, onion and green chilli) served with fresh tortillas and avocado, Homemade beans in…… Continue reading lazy weekend breakfasts
banana, cream cheese & walnut muffins
When bananas become over-ripe I peel and freeze them to use in ice cold smoothies. When defrosted, they’re still perfectly suitable for a recipe which requires mashed bananas. Cream 100g softened butter and 100g light cream cheese with ¾ of a cup of brown sugar. Add 2 large eggs (one at a time until just mixed), 3 mashed bananas and 1…… Continue reading banana, cream cheese & walnut muffins
grilled pork + coconut vegetables
These dishes, Vietnamese in style, both feature lemongrass. Marinated in a mixture of fresh lemongrass, fresh kaffir lime leaf and Vietnamese chilli paste these pork chops were cooked quickly under a hot grill and garnished with coriander. The vegetables are a sweet and mild contrast to the spicy pork chops. Fry diced shallots with finely diced…… Continue reading grilled pork + coconut vegetables
michelle picker cooks 