Recipe - Carrot Soup

Ingredients

• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5 parsley or coriander roots
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1kg carrots, chopped
• 1L chicken stock

 

Method

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 5-6 minutes until softened.
2. Add the parsley or coriander roots, ground coriander, turmeric and 2 teaspoons cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add carrot, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until starting to soften. Season, then add stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
4. Cool slightly, then blend as much or as little as you like

Recipe - Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

• 50 ml olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 50 gm butter, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large Desiree potato, finely chopped
• 1 large cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
• 2L chicken stock
• 1 can butter beans
• 100 gm grated Gruyère

Method

• Heat oil and half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add onion, garlic and potato, cover, stir occasionally until onion is tender (5-7 minutes). Add cauliflower, beans and stock. Simmer over medium-high heat until potato and cauliflower are very tender (20-25 minutes). Purée as much or as little as you want, stir through  remaining butter, season to taste, add Parmesan cheese

Recipe - Cucumber and Raisin Salad

Ingredients

• Chopped cucumbers
• Fresh dill
• Golden raisins
• Lightly Roasted pine-nuts
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Combine all ingredients together

Recipe - Cucumber and Feta Salad

Ingredients

• Cucumbers
• Chopped Parsley
• Feta (Marinated in herbs and oil. Or, use a lemon's juice and zest to make a dressing with olive oil, slat and pepper.)
• Chopped Walnuts

Method

• Combine all ingredients together

Recipe - Duck Ragu on Tagliatelle

Ingredients

• 4 duck marylands
• 1 large onion and 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup (70g) tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 2 cups (500ml) dry red wine
• 300ml chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves and 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
• Pared rind and juice of 1 orange
• 500g tagliatelle or any wide pasta
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Place a large flameproof casserole over medium heat. Add duck, skin-side down, and cook for 6 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 4 minutes. Remove duck and drain fat, leaving 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a further minute. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to combine. Add the wine, stock, herbs, rind and juice. Bring to the boil and season. Return the duck to the pan, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
3. Remove the duck from sauce, skim as much residual fat from the surface as you can. Place casserole over medium heat. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until sauce has reduced slightly. When duck is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and shred meat. Return meat to casserole.
4. To serve, cook pasta in boiling salted water according to packet instructions, then drain. Return to the pan, add the sauce and toss to combine. Divide pasta among plates and serve sprinkled with parsley and grated parmesan.

Recipe - Lentil and Lemon Soup

Key info:

• Serves 4 – 6
• Prep time 20 mins
• Cooking Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 diced celery stems
• 2 diced carrots
• ½ bunch english spinach
• 1 small yam or sweet potato or suede
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 potato
• 7 cups chicken or veg stock
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup (200g) green lentils, washed and drained
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes, until soft
2. At 3-minute intervals add: celery, root vegetables, lentils
3. Add stock and bring to boil
4. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils and vegetables are soft
5. Add english spinach until soft
6. Stir in lemon juice
7. Season to taste

Recipe - Other Meat Marinades

The following is for 1 kilo of meat:

Marinade 1 – A 3:2:1 ratio of wine:oil:soy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wine. White wine or rose is best for all meat types.
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, savory, sage, parsley, and rosemary, coarsely chopped. I like the combination of rosemary, thyme and parsley
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Freshly ground black pepper (don’t need salt as you’ve got the soy sauce)

Method: 

• Combine all ingredients. Pierce meat with a fork all over. Marinate in a large container or ziploc bag. Let marinate for up to 5 hours.

Marinade 2 – Great for chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil depending on preference
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Fresh parsley to garnish

Method: 

• Combine all ingredients. Pierce meat with a fork all over. Marinate in a large container or ziploc bag. Let marinate for up to 5 hours.

Marinade 3 – Jerk Marinade

Ingredients:

• 6 fresh bay leaves, coarsely torn
• 4 spring onions (including half the green parts), coarsely chopped
• 3 habanero chillies, coarsely chopped (see note)
• 1½ tbsp. coarsely chopped thyme
• 2 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
• ½ tsp each ground cinnamon and finely grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve
• 12 chicken drumsticks (there are 50 pictured

Method

• Pierce meat with a fork all over. Process bay leaves, spring onion, chilli, thyme, spices and 1 tsp sea salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Add soy, sugar and lime juice and process to combine. Rub paste all over chicken pieces, then refrigerate overnight in an airtight container to marinate. source

Marinade 4 - Maple and Bourbon Marinade for 2kg meat

1. 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
2. 1/4 cup (60ml) bourbon or beef stock
3. 1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar
4. 1 tbs Coles Dijon Mustard
5. 1 tsp ground paprika
6. 1 tsp smoked paprika
7. 1 tsp dried oregano
8. 1 tsp garlic powder
9. 1 tsp onion powder