Skordalia is the Greek version of the French ‘aïoli’ and the Spanish, ‘allïoli, and is a luscious garlic mayonnaise, sauce, or dip. It is usually based on potato and flavoured with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley. Elizabeth David in her ‘Book of Mediterranean Food’ gives her recipe with egg yolks, ground almonds [...]
This cake makes a lovely Christmas gift, full of Brazil nuts, walnuts and various glace fruits. It may be made in a large loaf tin 20cm x 12cm, or smaller cake tins – 8.5 x 14cm and smaller still at 10 x 5.5cm. This quantity also makes 8 tiny puddings, in mini pudding tins; [...]
Makes a square 20 x 20cm, 2.5kg cake This cake has been made by my family for a couple of generations; it is simple to make if just a little time-consuming cutting up the fruit and nuts to approximately equal sizes. It stores and keeps very well for months if it lasts that long! [...]
I love this interesting ‘cake’. It is my low carb healthy fat adaption of the Cauliflower Cake in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty More. Hopefully, you will love it, as it is very attractive, colourful, unusual and delicious. Serve it as an appetiser with the glass of wine before dinner or as a lunch dish with [...]
Affogato is Italian for drowned; the ice cream is drowned in espresso with the liqueur served on the side. It is the easiest of all desserts, once you have mastered the ice-cream making. Make your Crème Anglaise vanilla bean ice cream as per my recipe. When ready to serve, make your espresso shot, place one [...]
My butchers, Barry and Mario from Kirkpatrick's Butchers at the South Melbourne market, sell the most delicious and tender racks of lamb which I frequently buy for a simple and quick mid-week dinner. The butchers sell them, 2 ways, ‘frenched’ or ‘unfrenched’. ‘Frenched’ is the term used to describe the process of cutting the fat [...]
Prunes and apples always team well with pork, so if you prefer, substitute apples for the prunes. For the pork, you can select various cuts, female pork neck, pork scotch, a boned, rolled pork shoulder, or even a pork leg. These cuts are delicious as they are fatty and succulent; the fat runs through the [...]
Cooking all these chicken dishes and stock as I have been in this Covid-19 winter 2020, reminded me of some happier times and our visit to Bresse, the home of the famous Bresse chicken, la volaille de Bresse, and the Monday market day in the market town of Louhans in Burgundy. The summer of 2017 [...]
Hollandaise sauce is a classic emulsion* sauce, made with egg yolks and butter, seasoned with lemon juice, salt and a little white pepper to become a thick, yellow, creamy sauce. It is the traditional partner to asparagus, artichokes, and eggs Benedict. It is perfectly matched with poached fish and vegetables. I love it drizzled over [...]
The Burgundian Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon share many similarities. They are both regional Burgundian specialities, they both showcase the famous Burgundian wines, Bresse chickens, pork and Charolais beef. Their method of cookery is very similar as well. When this dish is cooked with one of these Burgundian wines it takes the name of [...]
