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CHICKEN TETRAZINI

by Denise Kretschmann

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked diced chicken

1 cup grated cheese, plus a cup or so for the top of casserole

1 can evaporated milk

1 chicken stock cube

1 cup warm water (dissolve stock cube)

1 onion (diced)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

½ packet cooked spiral pasta

If desired you can add cooked vegetables to the cooked mixture (peas, corn, carrot, cauliflower or broccoli)

METHOD

1. Cook pasta, rinse, drain and place in bottom of casserole dish.

2. Sauté onion in butter in a large saucepan. (I use a wooden spoon)

3. Mix in flour to make a paste.

4. Slowly add evaporated milk, stirring well to avoid lumps.

5. Add remaining ingredients.

6. On low heat cook until mixture has thickened, poor over top of pasta, top with grated cheese and brown in oven.

This recipe used to get me an early mark with my boss when I was in my 20’s and worked on a farm. A good trick if I wanted to head off for the weekend, as it was his favourite.

UPSIDE-DOWN TOMATO AND BASIL PIE

by Meridee Cuthill

INGREDIENTS

1 x 800g can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups (225g) SR flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard powder

100g parmesan, freshly grated

50g good cheddar, finely grated

125g cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

2 eggs

⅓ cup (80ml) milk

A couple of shakes of Tabasco sauce

6-8 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced (Roma tomatoes are ideal)

⅓ cup finely shredded basil leaves

Tiny basil leaves, to garnish

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Butter a 26cm x 6cm round ovenproof dish (I use a Pyrex dish) and line the base with buttered baking paper. Set it aside.

2. Pour the canned tomatoes into a sieve over a bowl and leave them to drain. Give them a stir occasionally to make sure as much liquid seeps away as possible.

3. Meanwhile, whiz the flour, salt and mustard together in a food processor. Add the cheeses and whiz again to just mix them in. Scatter the butter chunks over the top, and process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can do all this in a bowl and rub the butter in by hand.) Tip the mixture into a bowl.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and Tabasco sauce. Make a well in the cheese mixture and pour in the egg mixture, then stir everything together to make a fairly stiff batter.

5. Lay the sliced tomatoes in overlapping circles in the base of the buttered dish so the bottom is completely covered. Now spoon the drained tomatoes over the top and spread them out evenly (be a bit gentle doing this so you don’t disturb the pattern of the sliced tomatoes.) Sprinkle them with the shredded basil. Dollop spoonfuls of the batter over the basil and tomatoes, then, with lightly floured hands, pat it out with your fingers to spread it evenly. Don’t worry if there are a few little gaps – they fill out as the pie cooks.

6. Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes or until the topping has risen and is golden. (The time will vary a bit depending on how thick your dish is.) Test it by inserting a thin skewer into the topping; if it comes out clean the pie is ready. Remove the pie from the oven and leave it to settle in the dish for five minutes. Then sit a serving platter on top and carefully invert the pie onto it. Remove the dish and paper (and enjoy how gorgeous it looks and smells) then mop up any juices that seep out onto the plate.

7. Now, just scatter some basil leaves on top and it’s ready to eat. (Funnily enough, this does reheat well. I’ve gently warmed up leftover slices after a few days in the fridge, and although the tomatoes become a bit mushy, and it doesn’t look quite so eye-catching, it still tastes terrific.)

8. If you’d like to get this ready ahead of time… You can have the tomato part already sitting in the pie dish, and the wet and dry ingredients for the topping ready in separate bowls. All you need do then is mix them together and spoon the batter over the top, before popping the whole lot into the oven.

Simple but impressive. A great meal to serve for vegetarians. Rest for 24 hours for the flavours to infuse. Great when summer ripened tomatoes are plentiful.  

HALOUMI, POMEGRANATE AND ROCKET SALAD

by Paula Tan

INGREDIENTS

½ cup (50g) walnut halves

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

180g packet Lemnos haloumi, cut in half lengthways and thinly sliced

1 bunch rocket, leaves coarsely torn

50g baby spinach leaves

1 pomegranate, seeded

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180⁰C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Scatter walnuts over the tray and drizzle with honey. Bake for five to seven minutes or until walnuts caramelize. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

2. Combine the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, mustard and 2 tbs oil in a screw-top jar and shake until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the remaining two tbsp oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the haloumi; cook, turning, for two minutes or until golden brown and heated through. Remove from heat.

4. Combine rocket and spinach in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss to combine. Arrange on serving plates. Top with haloumi and walnuts and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.

I grow pomegranates in my garden in Victoria. I have two trees and use them in may things from salads to smoothies.

SLOW COOKED LAMB ROAST

by Marg Puxty

INGREDIENTS

1.2 to 1.6kg butterfly lamb leg

1 to 2 packets of French onion soup – depending on size of meat (can use salt reduced if preferred)

1 x punnet of dark Swiss mushrooms (minimum 250g), thinly sliced

If you have fresh herbs available – Bouquet Garni made up of a selection of fresh herbs (I used fresh marjoram, oregano, French tarragon, parsley, Sage and 3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary) – I use 1 or 2 small calico bags to put the fresh herbs in, so the spiky rosemary leaves don’t mix with the juices and stick to the meat.

½ - 1 cup of white wine or cloudy apple juice (really nice, if a wine alternative preferred)

2 – 4 cloves of garlic (peeled) depending on size of meat

METHOD

1. Cut three to four slits at intervals across thickest part of the meat and slide garlic cloves into lamb.

2. If using an unmarinated/unseasoned piece of meat, I sprinkle liberally with Masterfoods roast lamb seasoning.

3. Lightly rub with olive oil (just a smidge).

4. Prepare a double layer of thick alfoil, big enough to fully wrap the lamb (allowing for plenty of fold-over to make sure it is fully sealed before going into the oven).

5. Lightly oil centre section of foil and cover a section about the size of the lamb butterfly with a layer of sliced mushrooms and sprinkle over a generous amount of French onion soup.

6. Scoop up the sides of foil a little, all around to make a small well, so it will hold some liquid.

7. Drizzle a small amount of wine or apple juice over mushroom/soup mix.

8. Place herb bag/s (moistened with apple juice or water) on top and then place seared meat on top of that when ready.

9. Thoroughly but quickly smear the lamb all over in a very hot pan on stovetop – until dark, like barbequed.

10. Place of top of prepared mushroom/onion mix in foil.

11. Layer more sliced mushrooms and French onion soup completely over top of meat with another drizzle of wine/juice.

12. Carefully wrap up in foil and close securely.

13. Preheat oven to 180°C and cook lamb for 20 to 30 minutes in centre of oven.

14. Turn oven down to 110 to 120°C and continue to cook for about 2½ to 3 hours (give or take depending on size of meat and oven).

15. Let it stand unopened for a few minutes – transfer carefully to cutting board (I use lifters on each side to keep it in one piece as it is ‘fall apart’ tender.

16. Carve into fairly thick slices and carefully slide off the board onto a serving plate.

17. Juices can be thickened with a little cornflour and water (if too liquid) over heat on stovetop and drizzled over top of carved meat or added to a traditional gravy mix for added flavour.

Note: Reduce overall cooking time if you do not want it ‘fall apart’ tender. This recipe is easily adjusted to personal tastes and works well substituted with a beef roast with red wine and served with horseradish cream. Serve with any selection of vegetables. It goes well with roasted Mediterranean-style vegetables – wedges of red onion, thick strips of red and yellow capsicum, chunks of zucchini, sweet potato wedges, cauliflower florets and corn cobettes (cut into narrow rings) and lightly brushed with oil and roasted in a hot oven at 190°C until golden.

The secret is on the Bouquet Garni. I make my own trying together fresh herbs from the garden in a calico bag. Try rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram.

DEBBIE’S SPECIAL COCONUT RICE

by Debbie Bennett

INGREDIENTS

1 cup rice

1 can coconut milk

1 can water

1 diced onion, fried

6 curry leaves

Frozen peas

Cooked chicken

2 tsp turmeric

METHOD

1. Cook rice in coconut milk with onion, curry leaves and water in a rice cooker.

2. Combine peas, chicken and rice.

3. Cook until warm.

This is a Debbie original that you can quickly throw together for a very tasty meal. Substitute the chicken for a plant-based meal.

LEMON BUTTER

Anonymous

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup lemon juice

2 tsp lemon rind, very fine

125g butter, chopped

METHOD

1. Place eggs and sugar into a heat proof bowl.

2. Place bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves.

3. Add lemon juice, lemon rind and butter. Whisk mixture for 20 minutes until smooth and the butter had melted and thickened enough to coat the spoon.

4. Do not allow mixture to boil as it will curdle.

5. Pour warm mixture into hot, sterilized jars and seal immediately.  

I have had a lot of trouble finding a good lemon butter at the farmers markets, so I decided to make my own and this recipe is just delicious. Be very careful not to cook it too hot as this will easily curdle.