Plum Sauce
Plum sauce is good with chinese food, lamb and burgers. It can be added to a casserole, used as a marinade for meat or as a dip for cooked prawns.
Makes 2 litres.
Preparation time 30 mins, plus cooking.
Ingrediants
1.5kg plums
5 whole cloves
1 tspn whole allspice
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 tspn black peppercorns
500g brown sugar
2 tspns salt
2 tspns finely grated ginger
3 cups good quality white wine vinegar
Muslin, sterilised by boiling in water for 5 mins
Method
Halve plums, and remove stones reserving half the stones.
using a kitchen hammer or the flat end of a knife crack the reserved stones and place in a piece of the sterilsed muslin, tie securely.
Place spices in another piece of muslin and tie securely.
Place plums, ginger, salt, sugar and vinegar into a large saucepan with the muslin bags.
Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved,. Increase heat and boil for approximately 15-20mins until plums have collapsed.
Remove muslin bags squeezing juices out of the bags into the pan, discard bags.
Puree sauce in a food processor, or bamix and return to a cleaned pan.
Boil pureed sauce until thick enough to be still pourable, it will thicken further once cooled.
Pour sauce into sterlised jars and seal.
Leave for at least 7 days before using, sauce will keep for 9 months.
Bean, Orange and Hazelnut Salad
Preparation time 15 minutes
Serves 6
A versatile salad with a delicious combination of citrus, nuts and beans.
Ingredients
400g round beans, topped and tailed
400g snow peas, topped, tailed and destringed
70 hazelnuts, unskinned
1 orange zested into long thin strips
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
3 tbspn olive oil
2 tbspn macadamia oil (or other nut oil)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Place hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then rub in a tea towel until most of skin removed. Chop roughly.
Bring large pot of unsalted water to the boil. Boil round beans for 3 minutes then add snow peas and boil another minute until just tender.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Serve with grilled or roasted meats.
Peach Salsa
Preparation time 10 mins, plus resting
This salsa is great with cold Christmas ham, or with prawns or barbequed or grilled fish. Experiment with different flavours and herbs, swap the mint for basil, or add two tomatoes such as rosa bruno chopped into 2cm cubes.
Ingredients
3 cups yellow peaches, chopped into 2cm cubes (approx 6 peaches)
1/2 red onion finely diced
Juice of one lime
2 tspn finely diced long red chilli, seeds removed
½ tsp brown sugar
2 1/2 tbspns cider vinegar, we suggest Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (stocked at Wiffens)
2 tbspns finely chopped mint
1 tspn finely grated ginger
large pinch salt
Method
Mix all ingrediants together gently, leave for flavours to develop for at least 20 mins at room temperature and up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. After resting taste and adjust seasoning.
Pineapple and Lime Salsa
Preparation time 10 mins.
Serves 4.
We are so lucky in Australia to have great tasting pineapples for much of the year. As different areas have different pineapple seasons. This tropical salsa is delicious with bbqued prawns, pork or a thick meaty fish steak such as marlin. Please play around with the ingrediants to this salsa.
Ingrediants
2 cups of diced pineapple (ask your greengrocer for help choosing a tasty pineapple
1 long red chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
1/4 red onion finely diced
1/4 tspn grated ginger
1 tbspn fresh lime juice
1 tbspn brown sugar
1 tbpsn fresh mint finely chopped
1 tbpsn fresh coriander finely chopped
Method
Fry pineapple in a hot dry non stick pan until lightly caramalised.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and taste for balance. Adjust with lime juice, and sugar if necessary.
Roasted Capsicums
Preparation time 5 mins, plus cooking time.
This is a basic recipe for roast capsicums. You can also cut the capsicum into halves flatten a little and grill for a similar result. Roast capsicums can be marinated in olive oil, garlic and rosemary and eaten as antipasto. Roast capsicums marinated in olive oil, leaving out the garlic which becomes rancid, last up to a week in the refrigerator. Roast capsicum make a delicious and simple pasta dish just add goats cheese, ricotta, feta or parmesan, anchovies, and or capers and herbs. They also make a great addition to a sandwhich or pizza topping.
Ingrediants
3 red, orange or yellow capsicums or a mixture.
Method
Preheat oven to 200 C.
Wash capsicums and place in a greased baking dish.
Bake for 15 mins or as long as it takes for one side to blacken then turn over.
Bake until both sides are blistered and blackened.
Remove from oven and allow to become cool enough to handle. They are easier to peel if they are still warm.
Remove skin, centre of capsicums and the seeds.
Do not wash as the capsicums will lose flavour.
Roast Asparagus
Preparation time 5 mins, plus cooking.
Serves 4.
Roast asparagus is delicious. This is a basic dish which can have endless variations. Add roasted or raw nuts to the roasted asparagus, fresh herbs, orange or lemon zest, cheese – goats, feta or parmesan. Serve with roasted or grilled meats.
Ingrediants
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1/2 handful of chopped almonds
1/4 tspn orange finely zested
Olive oil for drizzling
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Preheat your oven to 200C.
Snap the asparagus and discard the bottom of the stem, where the stem naturally breaks is where the woodiness ends.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and toss, coating each spear well.
Roast until the asparagus are tender and the skin begins to shrivel slightly and brown, approximately 10 mins.
Add zest, plate and scatter nuts over.
Broad Beans with Pancetta and Shallots
Preparation time 15 mins.
Serves 4.
Serve with roasted or grilled meat.
Ingredients
400g/14oz broad beans, double podded
4 tbsp olive oil
150g/5oz pancetta or bacon, finely diced
4 shallots, finely chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method
Remove the tough outer skins of the broad beans.
In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the pancetta and shallots .until the shallots are soft and the pancetta golden-brown. Add the prepared beans and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Green Mango Relish
Preparation 10 mins
Serves 6
This relish is delicious with fish.
Ingredients
2 green cooking mangoes peeled and finely grated
1 tablespoon Fish sauce
1 tablespoon Lime juice
1 tablespoon Palm Sugar or white castor sugar
1 tablespoon finely diced red onions
1 birds eye chilli
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon chopped Coriander
Method
Mix all ingredients and leave to rest approximately 20 mins before serving.
Cucumber and Poppyseed Salad
Preparation time 10 mins.
Serves 6.
This is a light and interesting salad. Serve with grilled fish or chicken.
Ingrediants
3 Lebanese cucumbers, halved and deseeded
1 long red chillis, deseeded and thinly sliced
3 tbspn roughly chopped coriander
60ml white wine vinegar
125ml mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil
2 tbspns poppy seeds
2 tbspns caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
Method
1 long red chillis, deseeded and thinly sliced
3 tbspn roughly chopped coriander
60ml white wine vinegar
125ml mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil
2 tbspns poppy seeds
2 tbspns caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
Method
Chop off the ends of the cucumbers and slice at an angle
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste.
Mango Salsa
Serves 4
Preparation time 10 mins, plus 20 mins resting.
This is a really versatile salsa that is great with prawns, either cold or hot, or with steamed or stirfry chicken for a light summer meal. You can mix it through a chicken salad using a robust lettuce such a Cos or Iceberg and keeping the other flavours simple maybe just including some coriander and cucumber. It has lots of flavour but is very healthy and low in fat.
Ingredients
1 ripe mango diced, preferably Kensington Pride
½ Red Onion finely diced
1/2 Small Red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
¼ cup fresh Mint leaf finely chopped
2 tablespoons Lime juice
1 tspn Sugar, preferably palm sugar but alternatively brown sugar
Method
Combine all ingredients and allow to stand for at least 20 mins before using and up to a few hours before serving.
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