Category Archives: Party Food

Pear, zucchini & pistachio nut salad

August 14, 2013 7:55 pm / Leave a Comment /

 

Pear, zuchinni & pistachio nut salad

I had a delicious salad like this at The Grounds in Alexandria in January this year.  Yes, it was summer then and I am not sure if they still have it on their menu but it brings a little bit of summer back to me whenever I make it – even in winter!  This recipe is my version.

It is fresh, light and delicious and works really well in a meal with some grilled or barbequed meat, fish or chicken.  It would be perfect served as an entrée.

I am going to cut the oil down in this recipe for the Healthy eating program this week so you can adjust this to your liking.  It does need the oil but I actually prefer to mix the dressing as is and drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on serving.  It is best served at room temperature and can only be made immediately before serving.

Ingredients:  Serves 4 as an entrée

2 large zucchini washed and sliced lengthwise with a mandolin
1 large very green and crunchy pear sliced the same as zucchini
¼ cup roasted, shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
¼ cup chopped mint
¼ cup chopped parsley
handful of baby rocket
Juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt and black pepper
100g Persian or good Danish fetta crumbled

Method:

  1. Slice the zucchini and pear into a large bowl.
  2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing.
  3. Place the sliced zucchini, pear, mint & parsley in a large bowl and toss with about half of the dressing.  Try not to break the lovely thin slices (you will need to split them up a bit as they will stick together)  Retain a little dressing for the top.  Add a touch more salt.
  4. Put the rocket onto the base of your serving plate.  Pile the salad mix as high as you can in the middle, layering with some nuts, pepper and a bit more dressing as you go.
  5. Top with crumbled fetta, extra black pepper and extra mint to garnish.  Pour over any remaining dressing and a little extra virgin olive oil.

This is a stunning dish!  Enjoy….

Posted in: Dinner parties, Entrees, Gluten free, Healthy eating, Party Food, Salads, Vegetarian

Spinach & ricotta cannelloni with zucchini

August 8, 2013 8:31 pm / Leave a Comment /

Spinach & ricotta cannelloni with zuchinni

This is a quick, low-fat version I haven’t made for ages.  It has a little twist on the traditional recipe by layering the cannelloni on grilled zucchini and the addition of zaatar which I thought would go well in the sauce for a change.  I am trying to stay off the red meat and fat this week but feel like some hot comfort food as it has turned really cold in Sydney today.  Still trying to do the Healthy eating program and we have a dinner out tomorrow night so that won’t be a low-fat meal……

There are a couple of options with this dish.  If you want to keep the fat down then just top with some grated parmesan cheese over the tomato sauce as I have done.  Other option is to make a light béchamel sauce as I did in the Greek moussaka.  Season it well but I would probably remove the grated nutmeg which really makes the sauce more Greek than Italian.  Add 125g of grated tasty cheese and 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan instead of all parmesan and the breadcrumbs.

Ingredients:  Serves 2-4 (about 12 cannelloni tubes)

1 large bunch spinach, washed and stems removed
250g light ricotta
1 egg
salt and pepper
pinch nutmeg
2 cups tomato pasta sauce or more depending on the size of your dish
salt and pepper for tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese to top or see above for béchamel
Half a 250g packet of cannelloni shells
2-3 zucchini thinly sliced lengthwise and grilled until soft see here
1-2 tsp zaatar to flavour

Method:

  1. Grease a small baking dish well.
  2. Cook spinach in a large pot with a knob of butter.  Cover until it wilts down.  Pile into a sieve to cool then press out any liquid.
  3. Layer the grilled zucchini over the bottom.  Season and sprinkle with a little salt and zaatar.
  4. Pour enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.  It needs to cover enough so soak into the pasta shells.
  5. Mix cooled spinach with beaten egg, ricotta, salt, pepper & nutmeg
  6. Stuff cannelloni shells and lay into dish over the sauce.  This helps soften the pasta, you need to be generous with the sauce.
  7. Pour over remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with more zaatar.
  8. Top with grated cheese or béchamel to your liking.
  9. Bake at 160°C Fan Forced for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

You can also layer this with grilled eggplant if you prefer.  The zucchini makes this a more substantial dish and the touch of zaatar is a twist on an old favourite.  Serve with a tossed salad and crusty bread.

 

 

Posted in: Healthy eating, Main Courses, Party Food, Pasta, Vegetarian

Spicy roast vegetable salad

July 31, 2013 9:51 am / Leave a Comment /

Spicy roast vegetable salad

When I downsized from the family home to a 2 bedroom apartment most of my stuff had to go.  I had a huge garage sale with a neighbour, about 50 trips to Vinnies, I gave lots of furniture away and some things went to storage in Victoria.  They’re still there 4 years later!  Most of the books and magazines had to go except a few favourite editions of old mags.  Being a cookbook tragic I did manage to keep most of my massive collection of cookbooks (or the ones I wanted to keep anyway).

I seem to have also kept a couple of really old Gourmet magazines.  You know, the ones that had a certain picture on the front that you liked and had recipes in them that were used frequently.  I just found one in the garage in a box I hadn’t unpacked yet from my move last year.  It’s an October 1994 edition of Gourmet with my favourite recipe for Spicy roast vegetable salad.

This is the best salad ever.  I know this recipe off by heart as I have cooked it so often but I always change the vegetables around a bit and when I am watching my fat intake I will reduce the oil to just a little (as I have done this week but I must admit it is nicer with more oil!)   Just use whatever you have but obviously root vegetables are preferable.  It is really delicious on its own with cous cous so the dressing seeps in or the flavours go really well with lamb.  You could try roast lamb, a lamb fillet dusted in Cumin or my Sumac lamb in the combi steamer would be amazing.  Make a heap of the spice mix and keep it in a little jar so it’s quick to make it again.  If you are making it as a vegetarian dish then serve with a spoonful of hommus or gorgeous golden haloumi.  This recipe could actually turn me vegetarian and that’s saying something….

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8 but I always made more vegetables than this quantity.

3 baby eggplant, halved lengthwise or 1 large, sliced
2 red capsicums quartered and seeded
3 zucchini cut lenghways
1 bulb of garlic, cloves separated
2 red onions, quartered or halved depending on size
1 medium  kumara cut into 1.5cm slices
4 roma tomatoes, halved or punnet large cherry tomatoes
1/4 butternut pumpkin cut into chunks
Parsnips are great but need a bit of oil
¼ to ½ cup olive oil

Spice mix:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoon red chilli flakes

Dressing:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)

Method:

  1. Mix the spices together and store in a jar.  Remember to make a larger quantity.
  2. Cut all the vegetables into a similar size
  3. Toss the vegetables in the oil except for the tomatoes.
  4. Sprinkle with the spice mix.  Don’t use all of it, just enough to flavour to your liking.
  5. Roast @ 200°C Fan Forced for 30-45 minutes until cooked.
  6. Put tomatoes in about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
  7. Arrange on a large platter.
  8. Put roasting juices into a pan and add vinegar.
  9. Boil to reduce a little then add ketjap manis.
  10. Pour over vegetables.
  11. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you are serving at room temperature add fresh rocket leaves before the dressing.  Everyone will love this dish, it is a real crowd pleaser.

See the left overs converted into a quick Frittata which was delicious here

 

Posted in: Main Courses, Party Food, Vegetarian

Greek Moussaka

July 27, 2013 10:21 am / Leave a Comment /

This is my ‘lighter’ version of the traditional Greek moussaka.   It still has a Béchamel type sauce but I have lowered the fat where possible.Greek moussaka

Living in Melbourne for many years we loved the local Greek food.   Just about every Friday night we would go to a little crack-in-the-wall Greek restaurant in Richmond called Solona.  I think it is still there!  Living in Sydney now we have been back a few times over the years and it is fondly remembered by my children as having the best dips and Greek salad.  What a great, healthy thing to have your children grow up loving so much.  I have been very lucky….

It always ignites the Sydney versus Melbourne debate when you write about things like this. Apparently, Melbourne is home to one of the largest Greek-speaking populations outside of Greece. More than half of Australia’s Greeks live in Melbourne – the capital of the state of Victoria – making them the third-largest ethnic group, and one of the oldest, most established ethnic communities.  I think Melbourne does excellent Greek.   I have had some good Greek here too, especially the food and recipes from Peter Conistis where I was lucky enough to eat quite a few times at his previous restaurants and did a couple of his cooking classes in the past.  I haven’t yet been to his new restaurant.  This is Greek at another level.

We left Melbourne at the end of 1988 in the middle of the first real estate property boom in Sydney.  Does anyone remember those days when you really had something to complain about when the banks were charging 17% interest on your mortgage?  I missed our regular Greek restaurant back in those days and started to cook my own Greek food from this really old-style recipe book that we had.  “The Food of Greece” by Vilma Chantiles which was written in 1979 for the American market.  This book also inspired my famous Baklava which I did for New Year’s Eve this year.

I love Greek food but it is too oily for us these days.  Especially considering I am on the Healthy eating program.  I discovered that my Lamington article has won us a seat in the Jacobs Creek “Australia’s Longest Reserve Table”.  http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/jacobscreek/competition/  I need to bring a main course to share and it’s just got to be this recipe.  I need to take it to the lunch in a Take-Away type container so that is why is has been baked in foil.  My children love this as they remember eating it in Melbourne and as they were growing up.

Ingredients:  Serves 6

2 eggplant sliced, salted, rinsed and dried
olive oil spray
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of olive oil
600g lean minced beef or lamb (lamb is usually higher in fat but is traditionally used)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 x470g tin of chopped tomatoes
1-2 tsp dried Greek oregano
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt & Pepper
chopped fresh parsley or fresh thyme

Sauce ingredients:

60g butter
1/2 cup of plain flour
2 cups light milk
Lots of freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten

1 cup grated parmesan cheese mixed with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Method:

  1. Grease a shallow baking dish.
  2. Spray the eggplant slices with olive oil and char-grill on a cast iron plate.  If you don’t have a plate then you could Fan Grill them in the oven @ 200° turning until golden.  Don’t pan fry them, it soaks up too much oil as eggplant is like a sponge…
  3. Lay the eggplant into the bottom of the dish and set aside.
  4. Sprinkle over half of the cheese mixture
  5. For the meat sauce:  Sauté chopped onion & garlic in the oil until soft.
  6. Increase the heat, add and brown the meat.
  7. Add the wine and bring to a boil
  8. Now stir in the chopped tomatoes, Greek oregano and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated
  9. You may need a tsp of tomato paste depending on the quality of the tomatoes.
  10. Taste and adjust seasoning and add chopped parsley or thyme.
  11. Pour over eggplant and set aside to cool.
  12. For the white sauce:   Melt the butter, add the flour and stir until the flour is cooked for about 2 minutes.
  13. Whisk in milk and beat well so that it doesn’t go lumpy
  14. Reduce heat and cook another minute.
  15. Add nutmeg and taste for seasoning.  The nutmeg is what makes this Greek so be sure you can taste it!
  16. Remove from heat, add beaten egg and mix well
  17. Pour over meat, top with the rest of the cheese mixture and bake @ 160° Fan Forced for about 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with a green or Greek salad 🙂

 

 

 

Posted in: Main Courses, Party Food

Baby Smoked Salmon & Dill Quiches

July 17, 2013 10:52 am / Leave a Comment /

My daughter got into the French thing when she was at High School.  She started French lessons in Year 7 and it grew from there.  She particularly loves the whole ‘French lifestyle’.   The language, art and history of course, the food even more, the architecture, the movies and not to mention the fashion.  She has achieved great things towards her dream of living the French lifestyle.

She has gone from the High School International exchange student, to the University exchange student then to the fully fluent French speaking lawyer, living in Paris in the company apartment.  We were lucky to have a few trips together in the 4 years she lived overseas, including two wonderful trips to Paris together as well as a few days in Rouen last year.  I don’t mind ‘the French lifestyle’ either…

For Bastille Day I decided to use all ‘the French things’ that she had given to me as gifts over those years.  Why don’t we just use all our precious things?  There is no point saving them just to look at is there?  I decided to use her first gift from France for our baby quiches.  This is the plate that she gave me when she returned from her first High School exchange to Milly-la-Forêt.  ‘Milly’ as it was affectionately called was a little village about an hour South of Paris.  She went for about 6 weeks in December, so she was with the family for the Christmas holidays.  It was a wonderful time, the family were lovely and her French improved tremendously!  As is common in some French villages the market square still exists.  You can see it here in this picture.  It was so nice to use this plate for the first time.  I am not keeping anything ‘for special’ anymore 🙂

Aviary Photo_130184953680520253

 

Smoked salmon & dill quiches

I used some puff pastry for these that I had on hand.  Shortcrust is better as it doesn’t shrink down so much and you can bake them blind.

For the filling just mix in a jug 3 eggs, 1/2 cup light cream, chopped dill, tiny bit of salt and pepper and pour into pastry cases.

Top with pieces of thinly sliced smoked salmon.

Bake @ 180°C for about 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

Garnish with extra dill and serve.

Posted in: Baking, Entrees, Party Food

Potato Gratin

July 15, 2013 5:31 pm / Leave a Comment /

I have this old book from 2BL 702 Radio called “Great Weekends”, published in 1993 with recipes from Maureen Simpson, gardens with Valerie Swane and Tom Ballantyne on holiday.  It was the first book that encouraged me to think in the seasons, and it helped me understand Menu Planning.  I see Maureen is still doing cooking for 702 ABC Sydney as it is called these days.

It contains lots of recipes that I use regularly, including this Potato Gratin that I cooked for Bastille Day.  I hope to eventually work my way through all my old recipes and convert them to being cooked in the Steam Oven or Combi Steam Oven where appropriate but this one is just baked in your traditional oven.  It went really well with the Beef in Red Wine that we had and it’s something that my family has always enjoyed.

When I was cooking for Smeg quite a few of the other Home Economists would do a ‘Potato Bake’, particularly for say a Trade Night or event in the showroom.  It was always heaps of layered potato that we struggled to get cooked on time.  This recipe is better as it’s the boiling of the potatoes in the cream and milk for that short time that makes all the difference.  Try this recipe, your family will love it just as mine do.

Potato gratin

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1kg potatoes, peeled  (Don’t soak in water, you need the starch from the potatoes to thicken the dish)
1¾ cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
freshly milled black pepper
2 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Method:

  1. Peel the potatoes without soaking in water as above and cut into the thickness of a $2 coin.
  2. Put into a large pot with the milk, cream and garlic and bring to boil on a medium heat.
  3. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for exactly 5 minutes, stirring often so it will not catch.
  4. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and pour into a well greased, shallow oven proof dish.
  5. Sprinkle with parmesan and drizzle over a bit more melted butter,
  6. Bake @ 180°C Fan Forced for about an hour until the potatoes are soft and creamy and it’s brown on the top.

Delicious served with plain roast chicken, roast beef or for any casual entertaining.

Posted in: Party Food, Side dishes, Traditional Ovens, Vegetarian

The ‘Proper Lamington’

July 13, 2013 12:07 pm / 6 Comments /

Just read Jill Dupleix’s ‘Lure of the Lamington’ and enjoyed the article so much I decided to do my little bit for the humble Lamington too and post the ‘Proper Lamington’ recipe which my mother gave me.

When we were kids growing up in Ballarat, Victoria there was always the ‘proper lamington’ and the ‘others’.  The ‘others’ had, let’s call it a ‘covering’ that was not a real lamington!  In fact it was only chocolate flavoured icing.  Yes icing, too sugary and not the proper stuff at all!  Icing just doesn’t cut it for a lamington in my opinion.  Our ‘covering’ was better, it was the ‘proper‘ one and we are sticking to that story!  No it’s not Callebaut chocolate, or to be honest anything like the other recipes I have found or the cafes are serving, but an unusual mix of pretty low cost ingredients boiled up on the stove, left to cool and then runny enough so that the sponge can really soak it in and the coconut can really stick to it so you have quite a thick covering.  I remember as a child my mother even having to re-heat the mixture when it got too thick.  Now that’s a proper lamington!

We use to ask people how they made their lamingtons.  As soon as they told us it was chocolate icing then we didn’t want one.  We did find a few people who knew this secret recipe but they were few and far between.  It seemed to come from some old, secret Ballarat tradition that has been handed down through the generations.  I guess they must have had lots of stale sponge lying around in Ballarat in the old days because it is definitely a recipe that lends itself to covering up these faults.  I can’t find anyone in Sydney (or online) who has ever heard of this type of lamington.  Maybe it was just a local concept, but nevertheless we loved it.  Now we have things like blogs we can all share and enjoy these secrets together.
imageMy son celebrated his 25th birthday in May this year and as he hadn’t had a 21st because he was living in Canberra he wanted this to be a very special Quarter Century party.  To celebrate such an occasion you have to have a cake, right?  His special request for his ‘cake’ was a huge tower of lamingtons!  Yes, I am not joking.  This is a picture (sorry it’s only one from my phone) of his special cake.  Everyone loved it and told me I made the Best Lamingtons!

Proper Lamington Icing: 

Enough for about 6-8 Lamingtons

Ingredients:

150g Pure Icing Sugar, sifted
2 heaped tablespoons good quality cocoa, sifted
2 tablespoons of jam (plum or apricot)
250ml water
40g Butter, cut into small pieces

Method:

  1. Melt butter in the water in a wide saucepan or deep frying pan.  This is easier later for access when you are dipping.
  2. Add jam and stir over low heat until it has dissolved.  Carefully add cocoa and icing sugar and just bring to the boil.  Taste it, you might want to add a little more cocoa depending on the quality you have used.
  3. It will be quite thin, my mother said you could thicken it with a little cornflour mixed with water but I haven’t ever done that.  If you do make sure you cook out the cornflour for a minute or two.
  4. It will thicken up as you are dipping but be quick so it doesn’t soak too much into the sponge.
  5. Roll in ordinary desiccated coconut, it doesn’t work with the longer shredded coconut.

We also love them sandwiched together with strawberry jam and cream, Yum 🙂

Don’t forget National Lamington Day, July 21st – enjoy!

Posted in: Baking, Party Food