pumpkin chickpea soup

1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1L veg stock
1kg chopped pumpkin
1 tin chickpeas

Serve hot or chilled with cream.

Peanut butter, tahini & honey biscuits

For a dozen:

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp (scant) sea salt

1/2 cup peanut butter

40ml tahini

40ml olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

Oven at 180C. 

Stir dry together. Mix wet together & pour over dry. Stir till just combined. Make balls (small ice cream scoop) and press with a fork.

Bake 10 minutes, turning try around halfway through.

Tuscan lemon chicken

6 chicken thighs (bone in)

3 cloves garlic sliced

1 very large lemon, sliced (or two medium)

6 x 1.5" rosemary sprigs

Lots of O oil

Torn stale bread (used pana di casa)

Oven at 200C.

Arrange all ingredients except bread in baking dish, salt and roast for 30 minutes.

Roll torn bread in juices and bake another 20 mins.

Served with green beans.

Basic (everyday) banana bread

For 6 big muffins:

3 ripe bananas
100g butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
220g almond meal

Baked at 160C for 35 or 40 minutes(?)

Spiced coconut rice

1/2 cup basmati rice

270ml coconut milk

Seeds from 1/2 cardamom pod

1/8 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp black mustard seeds

Put ingredients not saucepan over high heat, bring to boil stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover & cook about 15 or 20 till rice is soft. (May need to stir after 10.)

Orange sesame muesli

Ingredients:
250g quinoa flakes
90g unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
35g cashews, roughly chopped
35g whole raw almonds, roughly chopped
35g pumpkin (pepita) seeds
30g sunflower seeds
20g sesame seeds

40ml virgin coconut oil
30ml un-hulled tahini
30ml brown rice syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
the finely grated zest of 1 orange
(1/2 tsp. fine sea salt)

100g natural raisins or sultanas
85g dried cranberries
45g dried apple slices, roughly chopped
40g pitted dried dates, roughly chopped

Oven at 180C. Stir mixed wet ingredients through dry. Spread on baking tray & toast 30 minutes, stirring every 10. Allow to cool then stir in fruit.

Jeff's BBQ pork belly

Stabbed worked belly a whole lot. Stuffed holes with chopped rosemary & thyme. Rubbed with sea salt. Sit at room temp covered with paper towels to absorb any moisture. Rub the bottom with oil & place on a BBQ with lid down on low. After approx an hour, when fat is bubbling out the top, turn heat to high and flip to crackle.

Served with apple & green beans.

Roast pork belly

For 2:
500g pork belly
Fennel seeds

1/2 radicchio (2 quarters)
Balsamic glaze

2 Granny Smiths
4 cloves
Dash of vanilla

Pork belly - oven at highest setting. Slice skin, rub with oil, fennel seeds & salt. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduces to 160C, continue 45 minutes. Rest for 10.

Slice apples. Cook with dash of water, cloves & vanilla with lid on till soft.

Oil radicchio, bbq for a few minutes each side. Drizzle with balsamic.

Roast lamb racks with peperonata

2 racks of lamb, each with 8 bones

sea salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch thyme

1/2 garlic bulb, horizontally cut in half, skin left on

For the peperonata (fried peppers or capsicum)

2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, cut into 1cm slices

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp chopped oregano

2 tsp salted baby capers, rinsed well

2 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, cut into 1cm strips

1 yellow capsicum, cut into 1cm strips

200g tinned cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup de-seeded Ligurian olives

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 90°C. Trim fat from the lamb and season with salt.

For the lamb, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Gently fry the racks until golden brown all over.

Remove from pan and place on a bed of thyme along with the unpeeled garlic cloves in a baking tray. Put in oven for one hour, or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 55°C.

Remove from oven and allow to rest somewhere warm for 10 minutes. Check garlic and, if needed, return to the oven and continue to cook until very soft.

For the peperonata, heat 2½ tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a low flame. Add onion, garlic and oregano, and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is soft.

Add capers and anchovy fillets and stir over heat for 2 minutes. Add capsicums and cherry tomatoes and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, until capsicum strips are soft and tender. Add olives, vinegar and sugar and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Cut each rack into portions and serve with a large spoonful of the peperonata and slow-cooked garlic.

Tip: You can make peperonata from scratch by blackening whole capsicums on the stove top, then putting them in a bowl and covering with plastic wrap. When cool, they should have steamed to a soft texture. Peel and slice them, then make the sauce without the peppers and fold them through at the end. The result is concentrated flavour and a slight smokiness.

Bloody Mary sauce (for burgers)

For 4 burgers:

1 large red onion

1 red capsicum

1 tsp paprika

200ml tomato juice

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp tobacco

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper

Soften in frying pan

Shepherds' pie

Brown:

1 onion

1 carrot

1 clove garlic

500g mince lamb

Sprig rosemary

Spring oregano

2 Tbsp soy

2 Tbsp balsamic

400g tinned tomato

Topping:

Microwave 1/2 head caulk till soft.

Blitz with knob of butter & pinch of salt or some grated Parmesan till creamy.

Oven to 180C. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling hot. Serve with a green salad.

Smoked chicken & blue cheese salad

For 4 people

Dressing:

100g soft blue cheese (like Gorgonzola)

100g sour cream

1/2 scant tsp caster sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp water

Salad:

1/2 large iceburg lettuce, cut in wedges

Bunch tarragon leaves

200g red globe grapes, halved

Small Granny Smith sliced & tossed in

Juice of 1/2 lemon

400g smoked chicken breast, shredded

EVO oil, salt & pepper to finish

Cheesecakelets

Per person:

1 egg

2 tsp sugar

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1 (20ml) Tbsp flour

To serve pp:

1/2 cup strawberries

1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp sugar

If using get strawberries mixed first.

Chipotle butternut & silverbeet enchilada casserole

6 serves:

1 medium butternut pumpkin, 1 inch dice & roasted with oil & salt

5 large silverbeet leaves, sliced

1 can black beans

6 tortillas, halved

Block of cheddar

1 brown onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

2 tinned chipotles in adobo sauce

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp sugar

800g tin tomato

Oven to 220C fan.

Spread some sauce in lasagna dish & layer with 3 tortilla halves. Top with half the silverbeet, pumpkin, bean mixture. Sprinkle with cheese & spread with some sauce. Layer with 4 tortilla halves & then remaining silverbeet. Top with 5 tortilla halves, remaining sauce & cheese. Bake 20 minutes then turn off fan (use pizza setting) for another 10.

Spinach, white bean & taleggio pizza

Serves 2 or 4 as a starter

450g pizza dough (used 1/3 HFW's recipe)
2 to 4 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup cannellini beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
100g to 150g Taleggio cheese
Parmesan cheese
4 handfuls fresh spinach or baby spinach
 
Preheat the oven to 250°C. Place a baking sheet on the rack to heat with the oven. Heat the oven for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Roll out the dough and transfer it to baking paper. Spread a couple teaspoons of olive oil over the dough, then evenly scatter the white beans and garlic over top. Slice or pinch off pieces of the Taleggio and scatter them over the pizza, then grate a little Parmesan over the pizza.

Toss the spinach in a large bowl with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside. Gently shuffle the pizza onto the baking sheet. Gently mound the spinach leaves in the centre of the pizza. Close the oven and cook for 10 or 15 minutes, until the crust is brown on the edges and the spinach is wilted.

Could try with cauliflower base?

Roast cinnamon pumpkin

4 serves:
1/2 jap pumpkin
100ml O oil
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup plain yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 red chili, sliced
Coriander leaves

Heat oven to 200C.

Cut pumpkin into moons & toss with oil, cinnamon & salt. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until soft.

Drizzle with yoghurt, sprinkle with pine nuts, chili, coriander and finish with lemon juice.

White beans with lemon, spinach & hazelnuts.

2 people:

2 tins cannelinni beans

Zest of 1 lemon, juice of half

2 big handfuls baby spinach

3 Tbsp sour cream

2 handfuls hazelnuts

Toast hazelnuts at 180 (about 10 minutes).

Put beans, lemon & spinach in saucepan over low heat. Stir to heat through & wilt spinach. Stir in sour cream, salt & lots of pepper. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

BBQ carrot salad

ENOUGH FOR 4

1 bunch baby carrots

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (caramelised even better)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp EVO oil

4 handfuls mixed salad leaves

100g fresh goats cheese (or cottage)

1. Heat BBQ.

2. Meanwhile trim and discard carrot tops. Halve carrots lengthwise.

3. Rub with a little oil.

4. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until carrots are a little burned and charred in places.

5. Meanwhile, combine balsamic, soy and 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

6. Turn the carrots and cook for another minute or until cooked to your liking.

7. Scatter leaves over a serving platter. Top with hot carrots, drizzle with dressing and finish with little chunks of the cheese

Chipotle chicken

400g chicken breast, diced

1 red onion, diced

1/2 tsp cumin

400g tin tomato

Pinch brown sugar

1 Tbsp chipotle in adobe

Salt

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and quickly fry your chicken pieces until they turn golden. Set aside.

In the same pan, add another small splash of olive oil and fry your onion until it softens.

Add your tomatoes, cumin, sugar and chipotle and simmer for around 15 - 25 minutes until the tomato sauce starts to thicken around the edges of the pan.

Add the chicken back into the sauce and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Give the chicken a good spritz of lime juice. This freshens things up and amplifies the flavours.

Quick rissoles

450g beef mince
2 spring onions
1 garlic clove
Sprinkle smoked salt
Tbsp mirin
1 egg
handful of panko