Fresh Ondule pasta with tuna, lemon and ricotta.

This was such a treat. I got the pasta fresh at an Italian Deli in Leederville, Western Australia called the Re Store. It is a type of long ribbon pasta however the edges are crinkled enabling it to hold onto the sauce wonderously.

For this I made my own ricotta cheese (recipe to come) which just sent an already lovely dish over the top. It also can be assembled from just what you have lying around in the pantry.

Ingredients:
~1 cup cooked (al dente) Ondule pasta (or equivalent)
~1 large clove of garlic, finely diced
~90g tin of tuna in olive oil, drained
~1/2 cup fresh ricotta
~1/4 cup peas (preferably fresh but use frozen if fresh unavailable)
~juice of half a lemon
~1 teaspoon capers
~big handful of shredded basil
~grated fresh parmigiana reggiano, to serve

Method:
In a sautee pan, gently fry the onion in a good slurp of olive oil (around 2 tablespoons) on gentle heat, until transparent. Add the tuna and peas, and cook until the peas are just turning bright green. Add the pasta, lemon, capers and ricotta and gently fold through all ingredients, being careful not to “cream” the ricotta too much. Season with salt and pepper. Once warmed through (1-2 mins) remove from the heat, fold through the basil and serve immediately.

Serves 1 as a main course, 2 as a starter. Calories: approxmately 400 in a main course serve.

This wonderful dish would work so well with either a lighter red or a full-bodied white wine. Sinclair wines in Manjimup, Western Australia produce fabulous wines and their Sauvingion Blanc would be perfect with this meal.

Indian prawn curry

Great meal; quick to prepare.

Ingredients
~10-12 large prawns, shelled and deveined
~1 large clove garlic, finely diced
~1cm ginger, finely minced
~1 teaspoon ground cumin
~1 teaspoon ground coriander
~1 teaspoon garam marsala
~1 tablespoon chutney
~2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
~handful of baby spinach leaves, washed
~200mL natural yoghurt
~100mL reduced fat cream (cooking friendly type)
~1/4 cup cashews, coarsely ground
~fresh chopped coriander

Method:

In a sautee pan, gently fry the garlic in a little oil until just transparent. Add the ginger and other dried spices and stir until the spices become fragrent (1-2 mins). Add the yoghurt and chutney and stir to comine. Season with salt, to taste. Add the prawns, cream and tomatoes and cook for 2 mins over medium heat. Add the spinach and cashews and stir for a further minute or so. Once the spinach has wilted, stir in the coriander and serve immediately.

Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

Serves 2 as a main course; 4 as a starter. Approximately calories per main course serving: 400, which includes a small (1/3 cup) serve of jasmine rice.

Absolutely delicious with red or white wine, or beer.

fish choo-chee

choo-chee is a style of thai curry similar to red curry but milder and sweeter. It works especially well with fish or prawns and this dish is simply a wonder.

Ingredients:
~8 green beans, sliced into 3cm lengths
~200g firm white fish fillets (I used shark)
~1/4 red onion, sliced along the natural grain
~1 teaspoon red curry paste
~1/2 teaspoon yellow curry paste
~160mL coconut milk
~2 kaffir lime leaves
~2 teaspoons sugar
~2 teaspoons fish sauce
~squeeze lime juice

Method:
Blanch the beans in boiling water for 2-3 mins, then drain well.

In a frying pan, fry the fish over high heat, around 1 min on each side just to brown the fish off. Set aside. In the same pan, fry the onion over medium heat until just wilted. Add the curry pastes and fry off for 30 sec. Add the coconut milk and other ingredients. Bring to the boil and taste for flavour. If desired, add more lime or more sugar.

When sauce tastes as desired, add fish back in and stir through. Add the beans and cook for 2-3 mins, stirring to incorporate all the ingredients.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice.

Serves 1 as a main or 2 as an entree. Absolutely lovely. Calories – approximately 400 per serve.

lunchbox mini quiches

These are delicious, easy to make little morcels. A couple of these with a salad is a beautiful lunch, or you could serve them as finger food at a party.

I use bread instead of pastry in order to keep both the cost and the calorie content of the quiches down. I also used wholemeal bread for added health-value.

This recipe made 9 quiches but could so easily be scaled up. The overall time from start to finish was under 30 mins so they are really an easy lunchbox treat.

Ingredients:
~1 loaf of generic sandwich bread (I used wholemeal)
~2 large free range eggs
~1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
~1/4 cup corn kernals
~1 rasher bacon, finely sliced
~1/2 red onion, finely sliced
~splash of skim milk

Method:

Cut the crusts off the bread slices using a small bowl or large glass as a cookie cutter (search to find one that is the appropriate size). Roll the circular cut-out with a rolling pin (or I used an empty bottle of wine). Press into the bottom of a muffin tin. Repeat with another 8-9 slices of bread. Place a heaped teaspoon or so of bacon slices, and a teaspoon of onion slices, into each bread case. Bake cases + bacon and onion at ~150 degrees C for 10-15 mins or until the bread is just browning and the bacon has just begun to sizzle.

In a seperate bowl, whisk the eggs until combined and add a splash (~1/4 cup) of skim milk. Season with pepper and whisk in corn and eggs. Spoon egg mixture into bread cases over the bacon and onion. Fill cases to the brim. Once full, return cases to the oven and cook at 180 degrees C for 10 mins or until quiches have puffed up. Turn oven off and allow quiches to cool in the oven.

This recipe makes 10 beautiful mini quiches. Approximately calories per quiche = 100. Enjoy warm or cold.

greek rissoles with feta, olives and parsley

Lovely rissole recipe which would equally work for burgers or meatballs that could then be served with pasta.

As with all mince recipes, get the leanest, best mince possible. Lamb mince would be a wonderful substitute for beef.

Ingredients:
~200g beef mince
~1/4 large brown onion, finely diced (or grated)
~1 large clove garlic, finely diced
~1/4 cup flat leaved Italian parsley, chopped
~50-80g reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled
~8-10 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
~1/2 cup breadcrumbs
~1 egg

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Form mixture into large round balls and flatten to form rissoles. Fry or barbecue rissoles over medium-high heat for ~3-5 minutes on each size, depending on the size.

Serve immediately. I served these with a mixed salad (as pictured). Makes approximately 4-5 rissoles. Calories per rissole – approximately 180.

Korean Style Pork

I was inspired to make this dish from watching re-runs of season 2 of Top Chef, specifically the second episode of the season where they cater the Asian themed event for 1000 people. Team Korea make a braised pork dish that looked delicious and I was inspired to try and re-create it.

Ingredients:
~100g pork fillet, sliced thickly
~1 clove garlic, finely diced
~1 teaspoon curry powder
~1/2 teaspoon paprika
~cracked black pepper and sea salt

~1 green apple, grated
~1 green pear, grated
~1/2 onion (brown or purple), grated
~1/2 cup apple juice
~1/4 cup chicken stock
~2 cloves garlic, finely diced
~1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
~2 teaspoons brown sugar

Method:
Combine the garlic with the dry ingredients. Rub the sliced pork pieces in the spice mix and set aside. Leave for 1 hour minimum.
In a saute pan, fry the apple, pear and onion in oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, apple juice, stock and sugar. Simmer until sauce has reduced slightly and pear/onion mix is thick and flavourful – approximately 30 mins. Season with salt and pepper to taste and retain on low heat. In a frying pan, fry the pork over high heat in oil until browned – 1-2 mins. Remove from heat and add to the pear mixture, folding the pork through the apple/pear to combine the flavours. Cook for 5 mins over medium heat and serve immediately.

This absolutely delicious meal serves 2 as a main course. Serve over steamed white rice.

Steak with creamy leeks and butter beans

This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, but modified to make it more user friendly. The results are lovely and would translate so well to a summer BBQ/dinner party, where you could cook up a whole fillet of beef and slice it for each serving. Classy and lovely.

Ingredients:
~150g steak (I used the loin, but any decent cut of steak would do)
~1 large clove garlic, finely diced
~12cm length of leek (the white part), finely sliced
~1/2 cup butter beans, drained and rinsed
~1/4 cup white wine
~1/4 cup of milk (or cream if wanting a richer meal)
~fresh ground nutmeg
~sea salt and fresh pepper
~chopped fresh italian parsely

Method:
In a saucepan, gently wilt the garlic and leek in a good sploosh of extra virgin olive oil. Once tender, add the beans, milk and white wine and simmer over medium heat for ~10 mins or until the mixture has softened. If the liquid runs out, add a little water, more white wine, or more olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and keep over low heat to retain warmth. Sprinkle over the parsely.

In a grill pan, fry the steak over very high heat until cooked to the desired state. Flip to cook the second side. Once the second side has been cooked to ~1 min before perfect cooking time, remove to a board and slice. Cover with alfoil for 1 min or until meat has been appropriately rested.

Serve sliced steak over the bean and leek mixture and eat immediately.

I served this over a bed of wilted spinach which was lovely.

Serves 1 as a main course. Calories (based on a 100g piece of steak using skim milk) are approximately 380.

Serve this with a bold wine. A recent joy of mine has been the limited release Richmond Grove 2002 shiraz. This wine is well priced (considering the quality) at $22 and is available in selected bottle shops now.

Balsamic glazed salmon with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and cauliflower mash

Delicious and oh-so easy.

The mash can be made ahead of time and then reheated in the microwave. If you wanted to make the mash extra special, add some cream and parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:
~1/4 cauliflower, stems removed and cut into chunks
~80-100g atlantic salmon fillet
~10 cherry tomoatoes, halved
~1 clove garlic, finely diced
~2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
~1 tablespoon lime (or lemon) juice
~2 tablespoons brown sugar
~1/2 zucchini, cut into chunks

Method:
For the mash: boil the cauliflower in boiling water until very soft (10-15 mins). Drain well. Mash with a potato masher and season to taste. Set to one side.

For the fish: combine the salmon with the tomatoes, balsamic, garlic, sugar and juice in a container. Toss to coat. Marinate for 30 mins to 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Heat an oven to 150 degrees C. Place the zucchini on one side of a roasting pan and toss with olive oil and pepper. On the other side of the pan, place the fish and cherry tomatoes. Do not coat with the excess marinade at this stage.

Roast for 5-6 mins. Remove from the oven, turn the fish and toss the veges. Now, ladle the marinade over the fish and the tomatoes. Return to the oven a further 2 mins.

Serve the tomatoes and reduced vinegar as a sauce for the fish, with zucchini and mash on the side. Serves 1 as a main course. Calories: approximately 300.

This dish is rich yet flavourful. Serve it with a full-bodied red wine. A recent delight that has caught my fancy is the Richmond Grove limited edition 2002 Shiraz. A real beauty at approximately $20 per bottle.

Moroccan-style chicken with almonds

My first attempt at cooking with Moroccan flavours. No idea how authentic this is, hence the name “Moroccan-style”. This is rich with flavour and colour and the almonds give a lovely crunchy texture to the soft eggplant.

Ingredients:
~1/4 cup flaked almonds
~100g free range chicken breast, sliced
~1/3 medium sized eggplant, diced
~1/2 brown onion, finely diced
~1 clove garlic, finely diced
~1/2 cup tinned diced tomatoes
~2 teaspoons sweet paprika
~1 teaspoon ground turmeric
~1 teaspoon ground cumin
~1 tablespoon chutney (I used beetroot chutney)
~fresh coriander, to serve

Method:
First, toast the almonds until just brown and crunchy. Set to one side. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken for 2-3 mins or until just browned. Remove and set aside. Heat more oil and fry the eggplant, allowing all sides to brown and the pieces to become soft, approximately 10 mins. Remove and set aside. Gently fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes, spices and chutney. Season with salt, to taste. Return the eggplant and chicken to the sauce and cook a further 2 mins. The sauce should be thick and rich in colour.

Serve immediately with couscous. Top with fresh coriander leaves and toasted almonds.

Serves 1. Calories in this dish are approximately 400, not including the couscous.

ginger fish stir fry

Oh I just adore fish, and I love ginger. So this seemed like a natural combination.

I used shark in this dish, which, to be honest, was a little lacking in flavour for my liking. The dish still tasted great, but I’m not sure how much of that can be credited to the fish! So ask your fishmonger for a firm, white fleshed fillet that suits Asian flavours and you won’t go wrong.

The pak choy in this dish could be easily substituted for any other green leafy veg: eg broccolini or spinach. Just adjust the cooking times as necessary.

Ingredients:
~150g firm white fleshed fish fillets, sliced into strips
~1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
~1 clove garlic, finely diced
~1 bunch pak choy
~2 tablespoons chicken stock
~1 tablespoon soy sauce
~1 teaspoon sugar

Method:
Steam the pak choy (or other greens) till just barely softened. Remove and set to one side. In a wok or sautee pan, warm 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil plus 1 teaspoon of sesame oil until smoking hot. Add the garlic, ginger and fish and quickly stir-fry, ensuring all of the sides of the fish are browned. After approximately 1 min, remove from the heat. Add the stock, soy sauce and sugar and stir to combine. Add the vegetables and stir again. Return the pan to the heat and stir for a further 20 seconds to warm the dish through.

Serve immediately over steamed white rice.

Serves 1 as a main course; 2 as a starter. Calories in this dish are approximately 300 per main course serve, which includes 1/2 cup of steamed white rice.

This fabulously healthy yet flavourful dish deserves a wonderful wine to accompany it. If you prepare this dish in the summer then a white wine would be amazing with it. But in light of it being winter here right now, I wanted something red, so I went with a Pinot Noir – The Innocent Bystander 2005 release, which made a lovely accompanyment to this meal.

Enjoy!