From Basic to Fancy

 

To Make an Omelette

• Not just a quick meal but also an addition to salads and fried rice
• Prepare your filling , cooking any food that needs prior cooking
• Beat eggs in a bowl until fluffy – 2 eggs per person is a good ratio
• Heat a small pan adding a little butter or oil – slow to medium heat
• Pour egg mixture into the pan – gently pulling away from the sides tipping the pan slightly to allow the uncooked mixture to spread
• Sprinkle your filling over 1/2 of the omelette and gently flip the other side to cover the filling
• Heat a little long to cook the filling and then gently slide onto plate

Filling suggestions

Sliced mushrooms previously cooked in a little butter – sprinkled with feta or Parmesan

Grated cheese and chives

Smoked salmon, dill and capers

Fresh herbs

Diced tomato, ham or cooked bacon and spring onions

Crab meat and spring onions

Asian style

• Mix a little grated ginger and 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce into egg mixture
• Sprinkle over a generous handful of bean sprouts, finely sliced chilli, and cooked mushroom
• When serving pour over a little oyster sauce and sprinkle with spring onions

Souffle Omelette

• Make it all a little fancy by first separating the eggs, whisking the whites to form a stiff peak
• Fold egg white gently into beaten egg yolks
• Cook in pan – don’t touch it but watch the cooking temperature
• When setting and browning on the bottom place filling on omelette and fold in half
• Sweet or savoury this can be a real treat

Frittata Mix

Similar to cooking an Omelette but cooking in the oven instead and usually served as shared dish

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• Herbs, vegetables or meats of your choice
• Also a great way to use leftover vegetable, pasta and meats
• Pour into oven proof dish or use oven proof pan
• Sprinkle with 1 cup grated Parmesan or cheese of your choice
• Cook in moderate oven for 25 minutes

Who could ever deny that one of the most fragile gifts that nature offers is a strong and essential element in the cooking chain.

 

From the most simple boiled, to the tossed omelette to the sophisticated souffle eggs give the cook the binding, the rise and the lift. Eggs are the basis of many creations, culturally taking on different tastes and traditional cooking methods.

To Boil and Egg

Accurate timing is essential and can vary depending on the size of the egg.

But as a guide:

• 3-5 minutes for soft boil
• 6 1/2 to 7 /1/2 for medium
• 10 – 12 for hard boiled

Bring saucepan of water to the boil, slowly lower in eggs using a long handled spoon. This will allow the egg to expand without cracking

To Poach an Egg

The fresher the egg the better it keeps together when poaching

• Fill a pan with 5-10 cm of water, and bring to a simmer
• Crack egg gently into a bowl and gently tip into the water
• Egg should just gently move in the water to the preferred consistency

To Scramble Eggs

Secret is to cook at a low temperature

• Crack eggs into a bowl – usually 2 per person
• Gently stir until just broken up
• Heat a little butter in a pan pour in eggs and gently stir until creamy and thick

Lettuce can be as fancy or as boring as you want it to be. Summer is on the way and salads occupy most of our plate space, so lets put a few delicious slants on that idea.

• San Choy Bow – delicious and crunchy with Carrot, ginger and chilli quick pickle

Use a lettuce that is crisp and will hold a shape so that you can fill with mince

Cook 500 grams of chicken or pork mince in a wok, with 1 finely chopped onion, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Stir together until cooked – put aside.

Grate 1 carrot, 2 cm knob ginger grated, 1 chilli chopped. Place in glass jar and pour over heated sushi vinegar – cool.

Fill the lettuce cups with the mince, top with quick carrot pickle

• Braised Cos Lettuce with mint and peas

Heat a little butter in the pan, add finely chopped onion and saute, cut cos into wedges and place on top of the onion (leaving the base on the lettuce so it stays together), pour in 2 cups of peas & 4 tablespoons water or chicken stock, lid on and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve topped with Greek style yoghurt and generous amount of mint leaves.

• Anchovy and Caper Dressing

Process together – 6 anchovy fillets, 2 tablespoons capers, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup basil leaves, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, juice 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 cup olive oil.

This is a delicious dressing – great tossed through salad greens or drizzled over thick tomato slices with bocconcini cheese

It stores well in the refrigerator but remember it has anchovies so it won’t store forever.

One of my favorite puddings when I was a kid. Sago or frogs eyes as we called them were usually cooked with either lemon or tinned pineapple. I change that now and cook with coconut milk as I love the flavour of coconut and enjoy that creamy texture. Like creamy rice these are great for breakfast along with fruit or granola and can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for quick breakfast or an addition to the lunch box.

Sago Pudding

• Soak 3/4 cup sago in a bowl with 1 cup water for 15 minutes as this fastens the cooking time
• Place 2 cups of coconut milk in a saucepan and add the sago – simmer for 10 minutes until sago is transparent
• You can sweeten with honey, sugar or maple syrup
• Layer in a glass with diced fresh fruit, stewed fruit and granola
• You can use water instead of milk, add grated pineapple, or frozen berries or lemon juice and sugar or honey

Creamy Rice

• Place 3 tablespoons short or medium grain rice in a saucepan with 2 1/2 cups milk
• Cook over low heat until grains are soft , stirring frequently for 30 minutes
• Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla towards the end – pour into bowl to cool and thicken
• The flavours can change by cooking Kheer – Indian style rice using Basmati rice and coconut milk along with raisins, pistachio nuts, cardamon and rose water
• Or Thai style by replacing with coconut milk and adding nutmeg and cinnamon

Bircher Muesli

Easy breakfast made ahead of time

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups apple or orange juice
• 400 gram Greek style yoghurt
• 1 cup chopped dried fruit
• 1 cup milk (of your choice)
• 2 apples grated
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut

Mix oats, juice and yoghurt in glass bowl and cover, refrigerate overnight

Mix in remaining ingredients and serve

If only using a portion of this recipe take out amount of oats needed plus portion of other ingredients

Store oats in refrigerator and other ingredients in sealed jar

Granola

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups puffed rice
• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup of seeds – pumpkin
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 200 ml honey – gently heated

Stir honey through the ingredients and bake in a slow oven for 30 mins until golden

When cooked – cool and add dried fruits, cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots, goyi berries, dehydrated berries and store in a sealed jar.

One of the easiest things to create are pancakes or fritters

You can make your batter ahead of time and this only makes the end result even better.

Great Breakfast for children to make and the combinations are endless.

Our Two Old Duck recipe – the basic is as follows

1. 1 cup milk
2. 1 cup SR flour
3. 1 egg

Mix together – let sit for 10 minutes

Or change it around a little

1. Add 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to the milk for buttermilk
2. Change the flour
3. Add ricotta cheese for a fluffy finish
4. Change the milk

Our combinations

• Corn of the cob with chilli and coriander
• Grated apple with cinnamon and nutmey
• Mashed banana and honey
• Grated zucchini, haloumi and peas
• Grated pumpkin and feta cheese
• Plain topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, onion and capers
• Ricotta cheese and berries

 

 

 

 

Lamb Meatballs

500 gram minced lamb

1/4 cup mint, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons preserved lemon, finely chopped

1/3 cup crumbs to bind (can use sesame seeds)

1 egg

Seasoning to your taste

Combine, roll into shape, refrigerate until ready to BBQ

Beef Meatballs

Basic Beef

500 gram beef mince

1 clove garlic crushed

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 onion grated or finely chopped

1/3 cup parsley finely chopped

1/3 cup crumbs

1 egg

seasoning to taste

Pork and Beef

250 gram beef mince

250 gram pork mince

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 onion grated or finely chopped

2 tablespoons capers finely chopped

1/3 cup crumbs

1 egg

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

seasoning to taste

Combine, roll into shape, refrigerate until ready to BBQ

Chicken Meatballs

 

Asian Style Chicken

500 grams chicken mince

4 spring onions finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1-2 chillies – your choice – finely chopped

1/4 cup coriander finely chopped

lime zest or kaffir lime leaves finely chopped

1/3 cup crumbs or sesame seeds

1 egg – sometimes I use the white only as the mince is quite moist

Combine, roll into shape, refrigerate until ready for the BBQ

 

 

Coleslaw to suit

Coleslaw come in all shapes and tasted

Its just a matter of playing with the flavours and textures

Try these combinations

• Cabbage finely shredded, walnuts toasted and chopped, grated carrot, capsicum with a 1/4 Greek style yoghurt and 1/4 mayonnaise dressing
• Cabbage finely shredded, grated apple, finely shredded fennel, chopped orange, spring onions with 1/3 cups vinegar, 1/3 cup orange juice and 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 Chinese cabbage finely shredded, grated carrot, 1/2 cup mint leaves, 1/2 cup coriander leaves, 1 chilli finely chopped, 1/4 cup peanuts roasted and chopped with 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 clove garlic crushed, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons peanut oil, 2 tablespoons fish sauce (reduce if you want)

If I were cooking with the lunchbox in mind I would put aside some salad undressed and pour dressing over when packing your lunch box. Sometimes it just too soggy if left overnight