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A Curry In A Hurry
If this book offers you nothing more than a same-night curry, with real flavour and your control, then I’ll be happy. And … at least I’ll have my own reference, in a place I can find it.
This all started on a holiday at Mission Beach, about three-quarters of the way up the far north coast. [...]
Rack of Lamb, An Unexpected Delight
The lamb might seem to be the icon of Australian cooking. But before prosperity arrived, post-war, the lamb we ate was more likely to be the full-on big daddy or mummy of the flock, aka mutton. It’s only since the fifties that the baby baa-baas have been our favourite food.
The rack of lamb should be [...]
Chilli Mussels
1 clove garlic, sliced finely
2 chillies, chopped finely
1 knob ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
¼ cup reduced tomato puree, or 1 teaspoon tomato paste and 2 skinned, chopped tomatoes
1 kg mussels, steamed and removed from their shells – Save the mussel ‘milk’ and use about ½ cup for this dish, taking care to leave [...]
King George Whiting In An Olive Oil Sauce
The only thing that keeps me from buying King George whiting every time I visit the fishmonger is the high price. They really do shine. They’re so beautifully designed. Delicious to look at, delicious to eat. I just wish I could catch one.
Because of its regularly high price, King George whiting makes its way into [...]
Fish Fingers, Fish Patties
This is the story of a mid-life crisis. When idealism is confronted by pragmatism. When you are forced, suddenly, to think about the way life really works.
There can be few greater shocks in a man’s life than to come home and find the missus has been feeding the kids fish fingers from the freezer. Golly, [...]
A Pure Indulgence: Scrambled Eggs With Scampi
I was brought up on scrambled eggs. After stewing fruit, scrambling eggs might well have been my first try at the stove. I still love them, despite 14,322 helpings during my childhood and adolescence.
Funny thing about scrambled eggs. The routines you learn as a fair dinkum Aussie boy are not necessarily the routines you should [...]
Sweet Corn Fritters
Fry baby, fry! Fritters are fancied by all of us. They’re simple, they’re homely, they’re comfortable, and they sit well at any meal, at any time of day or night, on their own, or in the most exclusive company.
One of the favourite dishes from my old restaurant days was prawns sitting on a bed of [...]
Risotto The Simplest Way
Risotto snobs say their way is the only way. They’re wrong, and they’re right. Cook it to the consistency you like. And stick with it.
The secret to success with risotto is to have two large, heavy-based pots, one for cooking the rice, the other for preparing and maintaining a stock at a simmer while you [...]
Squiggly Pasta With Carrots, For Kids
Carrots are an underrated treasure, the most consistently cheap star in any vegie shop. We should all praise the Lord they have never become trendy.
I have very fond memories of this dish: I love the memories of the flavour; I love the idea of using that underrated root the carrot as the star of the [...]
Passionfruit Mousse
No matter where you are, you can grow a passionfruit vine. Plant and wait, and pick and pick and pick and pick.
Passionfruit is one of those rare products of which you never get tired. Eat it fresh, crunching those delicious seeds as you go, or use its juice to flavour creams and custards and jellies [...]