butternut ravioli

Filled with a sweet and savoury butternut filling, this pasta is enhanced with crisp sage, golden hazelnuts and butter. Cut the butternut pumpkin into large wedges and place in a baking dish with 1 finely diced red onion. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, a grating of fresh nutmeg and some dried chilli flakes to taste.…… Continue reading butternut ravioli

prawn omelette with fresh herbs

This thin omelette with prawn (shrimp) filling is an adaptation of a Vietnamese favourite. For the omelette whisk 4 eggs with some water, salt and a little rice flour. For the filling dice 225g (½ lb) of raw prawns and add a few cloves of finely diced garlic, a few sliced spring onions, some fish sauce and…… Continue reading prawn omelette with fresh herbs

almond, lemon and ricotta cake

Disregard my previous ricotta, lemon and almond cake. Here is a light cheesecake which perfectly balances the three flavours and is absolutely moreish. The recipe (slightly adapted here) comes from a pizzeria in the 30’s holiday town of Sabaudia and appears in Ruth Rogers’ and Rose Gray’s River Cafe Cook Book Two. Preheat your oven to 150ºC (300ºF) and grease and line…… Continue reading almond, lemon and ricotta cake

ceviche

This ceviche, in Mexican/American fusion style, was made with King Dory, a delicate flavoured fish with reasonably firm white flesh. Sole or Flounder could be substituted. Thinly slice 225gm (½ lb) of the fresh fish of your choice and place in a glass, ceramic or stainless bowl. Pour ¼ of a cup of fresh lime juice over the…… Continue reading ceviche

porchetta + brussels sprouts

Here’s some traditional Italian fare. For the Porchetta you will need a skin-on pork shoulder. Score the skin and fat all over pork. Season the meat well with 1 tablespoon of salt or more, plenty of freshly ground black pepper, crushed dry chilli flakes, some grated lemon zest, plenty of diced garlic and some fresh (if possible)…… Continue reading porchetta + brussels sprouts

classic vanilla slice

Those of you who grew up in Australia will know this slice with it’s thick, yellow, cream-free custard sandwiched between two layers of flaky pastry and topped with passionfruit icing. A glorious, messy treat! Preheat your oven to 200ºC (390ºF). Take 2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry and (on lined or greased baking sheets) bake for 10-15…… Continue reading classic vanilla slice

freekeh salad with lamb

Freekeh (or farik) is roasted green wheat which derives it’s name from being rubbed (farīkor) or threshed. The wheat is harvested when the grains are yellow and the seeds soft and is first sun-dried then carefully set on fire so only the straw and chaff burn. The high moisture content of the seeds prevents them from burning.…… Continue reading freekeh salad with lamb

ice cream terrine

I chose Asian flavours for this pastel creation, once again inspired by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. The advantages of this ice cream terrine are that it’s prepared ahead of time, easy to keep servings to an even size and it looks attractive too! The three flavours I made were guava and tamarind, salted coconut and kaffir lime leaf. For the guava and…… Continue reading ice cream terrine