Ingredients: 1 large eggpant (aubergine), 2 eggs, 250g parmesan cheese (finely grated), 1 cup breadcrumbs, 2 cups olive oil
Cut eggplant into 2 centimetre wide chips (about 5 centimetre length). Heat the oil in a frying pan on high heat. Combine the parmesan and breadcrumbs on a plate and set aside. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and coat each chip one by one in the egg wash, then coat with the parmesan and breadcrumb mix.
Set aside the chips and carefully fry in small batches until golden brown. Drain well on paper towels and store in a warm oven until all the eggplant chips have been fried.
Add the soya sauce, sake and miren in a bowl and stir until combined. Add in the salmon fillets and stir until the salmon is well coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Heat a frying pan over a high temperature. Drain the marinade liquid from the salmon and fry the fillets for one minute on each side.
Ingredients: 1kg lamb (cut into bite sized pieces), 1 cup fresh rosemary (lightly packed), 3 cloves garlic (crushed), 2 lemons (juiced), 1 cup olive oil.
Combine the olive oil, rosemary, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to combine well. Add in the lamb and stir until the lamb is well coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Heat a frying pan or wok over a high to moderate temperature. Drain the marinade liquid from the lamb and set aside. Adding in both lamb and marinade will cause the lamb to boil, not fry. Add the lamb to the pan, stir occasionally and cook for approximately 15 minutes. If the lamb sticks to the bottom of the pan, a small amount of marinade can be added.
Season to taste and serve on small plates with a wedge of lemon.
Ingredients: 2 chorizo sausages, 12 scallops, 2 potatoes, small tub of crème fraîche, 1 tablespoon olive oil. Peel and slice the potato into ½ centimetre slices. Also slice the chorizo into ½ centimetre slices.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate temperature and fry the potato slices until browned on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. Remove the potato slices and set aside on paper towels to remove any excess oil. Drain the oil from the frying pan and the chorizo. Cook the chorizo slices until well browned.
Remove the chorizo and also set aside on paper towels to remove any excess oil. Drain the oil from the frying pan, leaving a small amount to cook the scallops in. Raise to temperature to high and cook the scallops on both sides for 30 seconds
Once the scallops are cooked, arrange the stacks in the order of potato, chorizo then scallop. Spoon a small amount of crème fraîche on the top of the stack and serve on small plates.
Ingredients: 500g salmon fillets or any oily fish, 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste, 1 tablespoon fresh coriander (chopped), 1 tablespoon shallots (finely diced), 1 teaspoon corn flour, peanut oil for shallow frying.
Remove any bones from the salmon and mince lightly in a food processor. Combine the salmon, red curry paste, coriander and shallots in a bowl and mix well. Add the corn flour to bind the mixture if necessary.
Form the mixture into small balls and flatten out to shape the fish cakes. Heat the peanut oil in a frying pan over a high temperature. Carefully fry the fish cakes on both sides until golden brown. Remove the fish cakes from the oil, drain well on paper towels and store in a warm oven until all the fish cakes have been fried.
Ingredients: 250g fresh asparagus spears, 6 slices of Jamon (Prosciutto can be substituted).
Boil the asparagus in lightly salted water until they are soft and slightly flexible but can still snap. Remove, blanch under cool running water and drain well. Arrange the asparagus into small bunches and wrap tightly in the Jamon slices.
Place the asparagus / jamon bunches on a baking tray, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and grill under a moderate temperature for approximately 15 minutes or until the Jamon starts to crisp.
Season with pepper, garnish with grated parmesan cheese (optional) and serve the individual bunches on small plates.
Preserved lemons are widely used in Moroccan cooking but can also be used as interesting addition to many other cuisines.
Ingredients: 1kg lemons, 2 cups salt / rock salt, juice of 2 lemons, 2 dried bay leave, 1 teaspoon dried cloves, 1 large perserving jar.
Note: Most supermarket lemons have their skins coated with wax and are unsuitable for preserving.
Scrub the lemons clean, then cut each lemon into quarters ensuring that you don’t slice all the way through.
Over a large bowl, pack the cut openings of each lemon with salt and arrange in a large perserving jar. Add the bay leaves and cloves to the different layers. Once the jar is full, add the lemon juice and remaining salt (including any that spilt into the bowl). Fill the jar with boiling water.
Leave the jar opened for 30 minutes so that any air bubbles can escape. If you notice any air pockets that haven’t risen, gently tap the side of the bottle. Pour a thin layer of olive oil over the surface to cover, seal tightly and store at room temperature for one month prior to use. Invert the jar at least once a week.
Ingredients: 1kg pippies, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium onion (finely diced), 6 cloves garlic (crushed), 2 cups dry white wine, ½ cup vegetable stock, ½ cup parsley (lightly packed), 1 teaspoon plain flour.
Soak the pippies for 24 hours in fresh water to expel and remaining sand. Lightly scrub the shells clean if necessary.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a moderate temperature. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent. Add in the flour and stir well for two minutes. Add the wine and half of the parsley and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly and thickened.
Add the pippies to the sauce, stir and remove them as they open. It is important to discard and pippies that have not opened.
Add the remaining parsley to garnish and serve in small bowls.
Ingredients: 1kg chicken drumsticks (skinless), 1 medium onion (finely diced), 6 cloves garlic (crushed), 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 x 400g cans Roma tomatoes (diced), 1 cup chicken stock, ½ cup dry white wine, 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan (an oven proof sauce pan will save you time later) over a moderate temperature. Brown the chicken drumsticks and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is transparent. Add the paprika and stir briefly to roast the spice, then add the wine and simmer to reduce slightly. Lower the temperature, add the tomatoes and chicken stock and leave to simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and arrange the browned chicken drumsticks in the sauce. Cover and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the meat is falling off the bone.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve individually on small plates.
Ingredients: 1 litre base tomato sauce, 500g beef mince, 1 tablespoon fresh basil (lightly packed), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 cup red wine, grated parmesan for serving.
Form the mince into bite sized meatballs and set aside. Add the tomato sauce, basil, oregano and red wine in a saucepan and heat on a moderate temperature for approximately 15 minutes. Next add the meatballs and leave to cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the meatballs have cooked. Lower the temperature, add the baby spinach and leave to simmer until the spinach has wilted.
10 Vernon Terrace Teneriffe, Brisbane. Queensland The writing on the wall says it all “Semplice é Preferita” – Simple and Preferred. A feeling of sheer joy and anticipation flowed through me on first taste. Brisbane finally has an Italian restaurant that knows the meaning of simplicity. A glass of Italian Sangiovese and an entrée of carpaccio di manzo (thinly sliced raw beef with artichoke leaves and grana padano) set the scene for what was a memorable dining experience.
It’s times like this I wish I had a bigger stomach, and a bigger wallet.
The choices here are extensive – giant wood fired pizza that takes a healthy appetite to consume solo, delicately flavoured pasta such as the outstanding rigatoni con ragu di pancetta pomodorini e porcini (rigatoni with pancetta, cherry tomato and porcini mushrooms) or hearty fares such as galletto arrosto (partially boned whole roast spatchcock with sautéed greens). I’m getting hungry just writing about this!
Service is homely and welcoming with the staff more than happy to stop to chat with you. They don’t take reservations, so make sure you arrive early.
Entrées - $14-16, Mains - $16-26, Pizza - $16-18, Dessert - $8. Fully licensed with a wide range of local and imported wines.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Place the pork belly skin side down on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes. If you place the pork belly skin side up, the skin will dry and crisp. This dish is best served with soft tender skin.
Combine the crème fraîche, dijon mustard and demi glace in a small saucepan and simmer on very low heat. Leave the sauce to thicken and reduce while whisking occassionally.
Season to taste and serve over steamed or boiled asparagus.
I like a challenge. Ed Charles over at Tomato is holding a Post and EaTEverything WeekEnd Lame LeftoverS (Pete Wells) event to gather ideas and recipes that use what most people leave to waste or throw away. As simple as this sounds, I never let anything go to waste.
This is probably the closest that I get to leftovers… One 3 kilogram slab of prime pork belly, every piece cut, cooked and enjoyed.
The two main dishes that the pork belly is intended for are Porketta (Italian Pork Roast) and Roasted Pork Belly with Asparagus and Mustard Sauce. However, there will be a few pieces left over once I trim the belly for the pieces I need.
Let’s start trimming. First cut off two strips approximately 5 centimetres wide. Halving these should give you four perfect sized pieces for the Roasted Pork Belly with Asparagus and Mustard Sauce. (Recipe)
The Porketta is going to be a rolled roast so we better fillet off the ribs. Leftovers! Carefully trim away the ribs ensuring that you don’t leave too much meat on the bones.
Time for a snack – Chinese Pork Ribs
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon char siu sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine or sherry.
Marinade the ribs for one hour then grill or roast until cooked. Serve and enjoy.
Now back to the Porketta. Roll the meat to check the skin overlap - you don’t want any skin folded into the centre of the rolled roast. At this stage you will need to remove part of the skin by scoring and gently peeling or cutting away the excess skin. When rolled again you should have a nice meaty piece in the centre that’s perfectly surrounded by skin. What about the piece of skin? Leftovers!
Time for another snack – Pork Crackle
I’m sure everyone know how to cook this one – score the skin, lightly oil and salt then grill until crispy.
Back to the Porketta. There are many ways to cook Porketta, but this is one simple way that I enjoy.
Ingredients: 1 cup loosely packed rosemary, 12 black peppercorns, 3 cloves garlic, 125ml olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed. Lay the pork belly skin side down and spread a thin layer of the paste onto the meat. Gently rub into the meat, then roll and tie the pork belly with some cooking string.
Place into a roasting pan, cover and cook for approximately 2 hours.
So here it is - one 3 kg slab of pork belly, four dishes and no waste.
Heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan on a moderate heat. Once the sauce has heated, lower the temperature and add the calamari, prawns, scallops, anchovy and basil.
Leave to simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the seafood has cooked.
Let’s just call this dish “Beef and Bean Curry”….. (Bovine Bits and Ladies Fingers was my first choice for a title)
Dishes using the not so glamorous cuts are usually met with a grimace and immediate dismissal. Why? Society today has forgotten how to eat and certainly forgotten how to cook. Cooking offal once came out of necessity – nothing was wasted and prime cuts were only for the rich and royalty.
Have times changed? Maybe, but now people would rather cook with low meat content, high fat products such as “budget” mince and sausages. You can keep your sausages – at least I know which part of the animal my offal came from.
What I really enjoy about cooking and eating offal is the flavour and the texture. The lip-sticking qualities of the beef cheeks and the okra make the mouth-feel of this dish unique yet addictive.
I would love to share this recipe with you, but this is one of my secret family recipes that has been handed down from generation to generation. Just a little hint though - Beef cheeks, okra, onion, garlic, ginger, paprika and tumeric..... If you desperately want to know, you can always drop me anemail.
Ingredients:
