Frankies Mash and a Decent Steak
When I was a gawky teen with too many sports and art projects on the go, my mum Frankie would knock up this cure all dinner to sort out my stamina woes. Presumably a recipe handed down to her from Scots relatives, it’s a basic concoction of boiled parsnips, carrots and a few spuds all […]
Confit Parsnip on Romesco
Until recently I’ve never really rated confit anything, the thought of all that oil back when I was fancy-free made me cringe. However, this old French way of preserving food has a magical effect on many things and in this instance turns seemingly dreary parsnips into melt in your mouth deliciousness. Served with punchy Romesco […]
Satay Roast Cauliflower
I love this satay sauce and often slather it over a whole chicken before roasting, so I knew it would work for cauliflower too. It’s a quick and easy way to make a warming curry-like meal, where you can alter the heat levels to suit by the curry paste you use. This dish is also […]
A Life Without Onions
Julia Child once said, “It is hard to imagine a civilisation without onions.” As I write this, onions are sprawled over the streets of Pukekohe after approximately 10 tonnes were washed away in the Auckland Anniversary weekend storm. But while you stew in a panic of how you’ll survive if there’s an onion shortage, I’m […]
Pumpkin Fritters with Cheese Barn Halloumi and Uncle Dunkle’s Honey BBQ Drizzle
4 cups grated pumpkin (about an 800g wedge) 2 spring onions, finely sliced 2 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped 2 eggs, whisked ½ cup milk 1 cup flour 1 tsp salt ½ tsp freshly ground pepper 1 tbsp Cathedral Cove Macadamias Orchard Honey, melted slightly ¼ cup Uncle Dunkle’s Woodfired Chilli BBQ Sauce, chipotle style 200g […]
Mushroom Korma
A little secret to making more authentic homemade curries is to blitz your onion, garlic and ginger first, then cook slowly to form the base of your sauce before doing anything else. Don’t be put off by the long list of spices this recipe calls for – my hot tip is to measure them out […]
Marinated Mushroom Tart
This tart is a little bit special and a really lovely way to enjoy antipasto ingredients as a meal. A flaky pastry base is topped with caramelised onion and mustard cashew cream, then baked until golden. This is the blank canvas, ready to have all the good stuff stacked on top. Marinated mushrooms are a […]
Vineyard Chicken
Here’s me being a scintillating tart again, adding spark to my two decades plus marriage by adding fruit to our roast dinners. I love apples with pork and chook dishes, but getting grapes in there is something superior, especially at this time of year when the weather is cooling and flavours become more sunburnt, robust […]
Warm Grapes & Leaves
It’s well known amongst my friends and followers that my darling consort doesn’t like fruit in his salads. I’ve had such delight testing these recipes, my wicked fruit eating ways being legitimised rather than seen as devious ploys to sway him. This salad of sorts I created on a whim, all my favourite flavours – […]
GRILLED COS WALDORF SALAD
The Waldorf salad is named for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City where it was created to feed attendees at a swanky charity ball. These days it’s more associated with dingy motel buffets inside rather rank musty dining rooms, completely edible, but demoted to a rather lack lustre sloppy side dish. I have put […]