Book Review – Eat Up New Zealand, The Bach Edition
Words Vicki Ravlich-Horan Peter Gordon describes Al Brown’s book Eat Up New Zealand – The Bach Edition as “a gem of a cookbook, full of childhood memories and insights into our culinary future”. I have to agree with Peter that it is a cookbook full of nostalgic recipes. It is, in fact, these recipes (cinnamon […]
Tomato Toast with a Rustic Sicilian Sauce
Words and image Kathy Paterson Resplendent basil plants mirror summer and a couple of large handfuls will be enough to make the ever-so-popular basil pesto. However, give me a perfectly ripe tomato, a full-flavoured, grassy extra virgin olive oil, and a few basil leaves and I’m very happy. For a quick, satisfying dinner, add some […]
Smoked Chicken, Cream Cheese and Apricot Filo Pie
Recipe Vicki Ravlich-Horan, Images Ashlee DeCaires Filo pastry can be a lot of fluffing around only for it to all crumble down your front when you eat it. After years of making filo parcels in the café, I had come to the conclusion, why bother? That was until I saw this innovative way of using […]
Red Kitchen, still the hottest place in Te Awamutu
Words Denise Irvine, Images Ashlee DeCaires Ryan and Alex Burke may have felt the weight of hospitality history when they bought Red Kitchen Café & Store in Te Awamutu in June. It is a local institution, on the sunny side of Mahoe Street, spacious and friendly, the place where you’re guaranteed good coffee and food […]
Tofu, Shiitake + Rice Cake Skewers with Gochujang Sauce
Words and images by Emma Galloway Veggie skewers can all too often be a lacklustre combination of vegetables, charred and then served as is. But with a little bit of love, they can be flavour-packed meals in their own right. I’ve given oven and frying pan options for cooking, but they can also be popped […]
Prawns with Lemon Caper Butter
Words and images Fiona Hugues Nothing screams summer quite like a bright orange prawn, and this recipe is super simple, easy to knock up, and delicious to boot. Just add bread to sop up all the buttery juices. 6–10 large whole prawns, raw, or precooked if you’re short of time 100g butter 2 tbsp capers […]
Balsamic Vinegar
Words Vicki Ravlich-Horan, Images Ashlee DeCaires Growing up I think there were only two types of vinegar in my parents’ pantry, malt and white. In comparison, my pantry contains a whole shelf of vinegars – white wine, red wine, chardonnay, sherry, rice, Chinese black vinegar… OK, so my pantry may not be a good example, […]
Simply Divine
Words Denise Irvine, Images Ashlee DeCaires Barb Cook loves to cook; she does slow braises, soups and roasted meats in winter, and loads up the barbecue grill with great ingredients in summer. When Cambridge’s well-known Simply Divine Kitchen store came on the market three-and-a-half years ago, Barb was tempted by the opportunity to work with […]
Baked Aubergines with Salsa Verde
Words and images by Fiona Hugues Sometimes all you need is a hero vegetable prepared deliciously to wow your guests. These small aubergines grilled until soft are fabulous on their own as a light lunch or as a side to grilled meats. Just add some leafy greens on the side. 3–4 small aubergines, halved Extra […]
Caponata
Serve it with pasta, on its own, or as part of a charcuterie board; in Sicily caponata goes with everything. I think breakfast time was the only time we weren’t served this sweet and sour eggplant dish. Every restaurant and nona has their own recipe, resulting in different degrees of sweetness. After asking almost everyone […]