Penne with Rocket and Basil Pesto, Avocado, and Tomatoes

I always seem to have tomatoes and avocado in the fridge and this is my go to dinner when I want something light and fresh. I don't cook the tomatoes or avocado, just throw everything together at the end grate on plenty of parmesan cheese.

I had a huge bag of rocket left over from Christmas and a small basil plant in the garden so that's what I used but you could switch up the herbs to suit your taste. Save yourself some time and blitz up a batch of pesto, use one portion, and freeze the rest for another night.

Rocket and Basil Pesto

140 grams rocket
15 grams basil
90 grams Pinenuts, lightly toasted
60 grams parmesan cheese
30 grams lemon juice, from 1/2 lemon
35 grams olive oil
10 grams olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste

Pasta

Penne or dried pasta of your choice, cooked according to packet directions

Tomatoes, roughly chopped

Avocado, halved, deseeded and roughly chopped

Parmesan cheese, grated

Pesto

Put all pesto ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend for 5 seconds / speed 6.

Scrape down sides of bowl and blend further 15 seconds / speed 6. 

Add more lemon juice, olive oil or pepper to adjust consistency and flavour according to taste. 

Tips

For variations, combine rocket with other herbs, e.g. parsley, coriander or basil.

If you have leftovers pour some oil over the top and freeze it or use within a few days on salmon, chicken or scrambled eggs.

Rocket and Basil Pesto Recipe on Recipe Community website

ANZAC Slice

I love ANZAC biscuits but they can be a bit fiddly spooning balls of mix onto trays. So when I saw an ANZAC Slice recipe on the Thermomix recipe community website I had to give it a try. I made a few changes as I didn't think it needed as much sugar as the original recipe, and was a bit heavy handed with the golden syrup to boost the flavour.

This was supposed to be for a work morning tea but I just had to sneak a piece just to make sure it was as delicious as it smelled.

125 g Butter
90g g Desiccated Coconut
100 g rolled oats
130 g raw sugar
180 g self-raising flour
25 g golden syrup
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180C
Line a slice tray with baking paper and set aside.
Place butter in Thermomix bowl and melt 30 seconds / 60 degrees / speed 3 (or until melted)
Add in all other ingredients and mix for 10 seconds / reverse speed 3. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if needed or until mixture is combined.
Press into lined slice tray, using measuring cup to flatten and smooth.
Bake in oven 180C for approx. 30min or until golden on top. 

Leave to cool in tray before slicing.

Can be frozen. I wrapped individual pieces in foil and took them out to defrost as needed.

TIP
Try adding 100g sultanas, choc chips, dried fruit or crushed nuts for some variety.

CADA - Coconut, Apple, Date, and Almond

I've tried a few different CADA recipes and initially found them too sweet without the yoghurt. I reduced the coconut and dates and found that this mix was just right for me. Feel free to play around with what you have on hand. Add some cinnamon, chia, goji berries, blueberries, oats or sultanas, the possibilities are endless.....

10g coconut, desiccated or flakes
1 granny smith apple, quartered, core removed
40g almonds, natural
2-3 dates, pitted
banana, sliced to serve

Add coconut, apple, almonds and dates to Thermomix bowl. With lid on and measuring cup in place press Turbo button 2 or 3 times for 1 second each.

Serve with yoghurt and additional sliced fruit as desired.

CADA with banana recipe on Recipe Community website

Chicken, Chorizo & Prawn Paella

We prefer not to go out for dinner on Valentines Day to avoid all of the hype, over crowding, stretched service and those persistent rose sellers that make sales by putting guys on the spot in front of their date. So we went for a delicious breakfast instead and I decided to make a Chicken, Chorizo & Prawn Paella for a special dinner.

This was my first attempt and apart from thinking that I had ruined my relatively new induction cooktop it was a huge success. Thankfully the red marks that looked like I had somehow managed to burn the glass turned out to be burnt red paint from my Aldi paella pan and a bit of elbow grease fixed the problem.

I used my Thermomix to chop the garlic and red onion but you could also just crush the garlic and finely dice the onion. I had a couple of cups of homemade chicken stock in the freezer so I used that but you could also just use packaged stock or cubes/powder and water depending on what you have on hand.

1 litre chicken stock

pinch saffron

1 chorizo, thinly sliced

3 skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 cm cubes
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, deseeded and diced
1 ripe tomato, diced

1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

300 g paella rice
100 g frozen peas
200 g frozen peeled green prawns

Salt and pepper to taste
15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 lemon or lime

Place the chicken stock and saffron into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan or paella pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, turning occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. 

Add the chicken to the pan and cook, turning occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until brown and heated through. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic and capsicum to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add the tomato and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Return the chorizo and chicken to the pan and stir to combine. 

Sprinkle over the rice and and stir for a couple of minutes so it starts to absorb those lovely flavours. Pour over the chicken stock mixture. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is almost absorbed. Test the rice and add a bit more water if needed.

Scatter the peas and prawns over the rice and cook for 5-10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and prawns are cooked. Season and remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon or lime.

Corned Beef with Mustard and Parsley Sauce

After having success with soup I was ready to really put the TM5 through its paces. One of my favourite comfort foods would have to be corned beef and mashed potato so what better meal to test out the Varoma.

I adapted this from a delicious recipe by Ros Hanson I found on the Thermofun blog. It's simple, yet so delicious.

Mustard and Parsley Sauce

10 g flat leaf Italian parsley (handful)
50 g butter, cubed
25 g plain flour
420 g full cream milk
2 tablespoon wholegrain mustard, I prefer Maille
salt and pepper, to taste

Corned Beef

1.2 kg corned beef
1.5 litres boiling water
5 cloves, whole
3 dried bay leaves
90 g apple cider vinegar
pepper, to taste

Vegetables

potatoes/sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
carrots, peeled and chopped
corn on the cob
broccoli

Mustard and Parsley Sauce

Place parsley into TM bowl and chop 5 sec / speed 7. Remove from bowl and set aside. No need to wash bowl.

Put butter and flour into TM bowl and chop 4 sec / speed 5.
Cook 5 mins / Varoma / speed 2.

Add milk, mustard, salt and pepper (to taste) to TM bowl and cook for 8 mins / 100C / speed 3.

Pour into a microwave-safe jug and cover with glad wrap making sure the glad wrap is touching the surface of the sauce. This will stop a skin forming as the sauce cools. Set jug aside.

Corned Beef

Spray the Varoma dish with a little oil to stop the corned beef sticking.
Remove the corned beef from the packaging and rinse well under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and place it into the Varoma dish.
Add the boiling water, cloves, bay leaves, apple cider vinegar and pepper to the TM bowl, secure the lid and place the Varoma on top.
Cook for 2hrs (select 2 x 60min) / Varoma / speed 2.

Vegetables

After 2 hours add your vegetables to the Varoma around the corned beef and in the basket if you are cooking for a crowd.
Check the water level in the TM bowl and refill with boiling water to the 1 litre mark. if required.
Place the basket in the bowl and the Varoma back on top and cook for a further 30 mins / Varoma / speed 2.
Add the corn and broccoli with 15 mins to go.
Check the vegetables, if they are still firm cook for a further 5-10 minutes, taking care not to overcook the broccoli.

Reheat Parsley Sauce and serve with corned beef and vegetables. I like mashed potatoes with corned beef but you could also serve them steamed as is.

Corned Beef with Mustard & Parsley Sauce recipe on Recipe Community website

Thai style pumpkin and sweet corn soup

With a few corn cobs left over from making my Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup I thought I'd try a blended soup. Using the Thermomix was an absolute dream compared to ladling hot soup from the pot into a blender and making a huge mess (I'm very clumsy..)

I didn't have any onions so I just improvised and used dried onion flakes.

700 grams pumpkin , peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-3cm cubes
3 sweetcorn cobs, kernels removed (300g)
2 level teaspoons TM Vegetable stock paste
550 grams water, to make up vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes, mixed into stock
250 grams sour cream
1 heaped teaspoon curry paste (your choice, I used red curry)
salt and pepper to taste

coriander to serve

Add pumpkin and corn to Thermomix bowl and sweat for 10 minutes / 100 degrees / reverse, speed soft, with measuring cup (MC) in place.

Add water mixed with stock paste and onion flakes and cook for 15 minutes / 100 degrees / speed 2 - 3, with MC in place
Puree for 30-40 seconds, going slowly from speed 1 to speed 9, with MC in place.
Add curry paste and sour cream and mix for 2 minutes /speed 5.
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Serve with fresh coriander

Thai style pumpkin and sweet corn soup recipe on Recipe Community website

Curried Sausages

H has been travelling quite a bit for work and is in need of some comfort food so I decided to make curried snags for dinner tonight. I smashed together a few different recipes I found online and came up with this. Next time I think I'll add in some sultanas to give it a sweet element.

1 kg beef sausages
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 Tbsp oil
1 large brown onions, cut into wedges
150g celery, chopped
2 Tbsp madras curry powder
2 Tbsp plain flour
200g sweet potato, chopped
150g pumpkin, chopped
450g potato, chopped
200g carrot, chopped
3 cups beef stock
1 cup frozen pas & corn
2 tsp cornflour (optional)

water (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C
Prick sausages and place in saucepan with enough cold water to cover, add vinegar.
Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Drain, cool and remove skins from the sausages.
Chop sausages into 5cm pieces and brown in a frypan. Set aside
Heat oil in a deep oven proof saucepan and sauté onions until soft. Add celery and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add sausages and sprinkle curry powder and flour over the surface and stir to combine.
Add sweet potato, potato, pumpkin and carrot and stir to combine.
Add stock and bring to the boil while stirring.
Cover and bake for 30mins.

If you need to thicken the sauce mix some cornflour and water together and slowly add to curried sausages and stir.
Serve with mashed potato or with white rice.

Serves 6

Pasta with the lot

Why should only pizza get to have all the toppings when pasta tastes great with everything as well? Why not give your spag bol a makeover and clean out your veggie crisper with this delicious pasta dish.



1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp crushed chilli
1 kg premium beef mince
400g mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1/2 green capsicum, diced
1/2 yellow capsicum, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 Tbsp Sacla Olive and Tomato Pasta Sauce (or pesto)
1 jar Bolognese Pasta Sauce of your choice
400g tin whole tomatoes
10 Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup red wine
pasta of your choice, cooked
parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat large saucepan over med-high heat and add oil. Sauté onions with garlic and chilli until soft.
Add mince and cook, breaking up large pieces, until cooked through.
Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add all remaining ingredients except pasta and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes.
Stir through cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Serves 6

Perfect mashed potatoes

For perfect mashed potatoes every time get yourself a potato ricer. There are a few different varieties but the common theme is that the ricer incorporates air into the potatoes, making the fluffiest, most luxurious mashed potatoes. But the best thing is that you will never have lumpy mash ever again!

The potatoes are prepared the same as for normal mash:
Peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch pieces.
Place in a saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer until fork tender.
Drain the water and place the drained potatoes back into a hot pan to help evaporate remaining water.
Spoon the potatoes into your ricer a few at a time and turn the handle or press down (depending on the design). The potatoes will be pressed through the holes in the die of the ricer (mine came with three different sizes). This is called "ricing." Perform this step over a bowl to catch the riced potatoes.
Continue to add more potatoes to the ricer until you have riced all of the potatoes.
Stir in warmed milk and butter with a fork and season to taste.

Variations:
- add chopped chives
- add dry mustard powder
- add French Onion Soup packet mix
- make a Root Purée: try using the ricer for mashed summer squash, pumpkin, carrots, turnips, celery root, parsnip and sweet potato

Perfect hard boiled eggs every time!

If you are sick of getting a grey ring around the yolk of your hard boiled eggs give this method a try. You will get lovely yellow yolks without the ugly ring every time.

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1-2 inches.
Bring to the boil and take off the heat. Cover the eggs and allow to sit for 12 minutes.
Transfer eggs to a bowl filled with cold water.

For a quick snack add some sea salt and Dijonnaise (mix of Dijon mustard & mayonnaise) and gobble them up. Yum!

Granola à la Curtis Stone

This morning I stumbled across a YouTube video of Curtis Stone making Granola and decided to give it a go before I polished off all the almonds and dried apricots in the pantry. My kitchen smells divine right now!

Here is my version using a few different ingredients as I didn't have any pumpkin or sunflower seeds..



Makes about 6 cups

1/2 tsp plus 50g butter
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup (packed) golden-brown sugar
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 c dried apricots, chopped
1/2 c sultanas

Accompaniments: plain yogurt or milk, fresh fruit such as peaches, apples or berries

Preheat oven to 170°C / 350°F. Not fan forced..

Lightly coat a large, heavy baking sheet with 1/2 tsp butter.

Combine remaining cup of butter, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer. Set aside.

Combine the oats, sesame seeds and almonds in a large bowl.

Drizzle the warm syrup over the oat mixture. Toss to coat well.

Transfer oat mixture to the prepared baking sheet, forming an even layer.

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mixture is dry.

Stir in the apricots and sultanas, and continue baking for 10 minutes, or until the granola darkens slightly.

At this point the granola will be soft, but as it cools it will become crunchy.

Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let granola cool completely, I managed to wait about 20 mins before I just had to taste it... It will set into chunks; simply break it up into smaller pieces.

Enjoy with fresh fruit and yogurt or with cold milk.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Variations:
Use coconut oil or grapeseed oil instead of butter
Other sweeteners like pure maple syrup can be used instead of honey
Substitute or add pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
Substitute or add raw walnuts, cashews, pecans or flax seeds
Substitute or add dried cherries and golden raisins
Try other dried fruit like cranberries, goji berries, chopped peaches or apricots

Minestrone

This recipe can serve 4-6 but to keep the calories down you would probably want to stretch it to 6 by adding more water with the stock cubes. If you want to reduce the calorie count you may want to look for the lowest calorie bacon and four bean mix.

I usually use green cabbage but I thought that I would try red cabbage this time. But it coloured the soup and had a different flavour so I would recommend sticking to green cabbage..

4 rashers of bacon, diced
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
1/2 small cabbage, shredded
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 tin four bean mix, drained and rinsed
1 tin Cannellini beans (white beans), drained and rinsed
1L beef stock
1 cup dried pasta (spirals or shells)
cracked black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Cook bacon, onion and garlic until onion is soft.
Add carrot, zucchini and cabbage. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, four bean mix, cannellini beans and beef stock and stir well.
Add pasta and crack some black pepper over the top and simmer until pasta is cooked.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Total: 1767 cal / 7380 kj

Per Serve (if serving 6): 294 cal / 1230 kj

Moroccan Chicken & Couscous

This is a quick and easy chicken dish which I have been making for years. I always have the ingredients on hand as they are all Staple Foods for me.

Serves 2

4 chicken thighs

Masterfoods Moroccan Seasoning

olive oil spray

1 cup couscous

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

1/8 cup pine nuts

1/8 cup sultanas

Heat griddle pan over high heat.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle with Moroccan Seasoning on one side and place seasoned side down in pan. Fill a large clean saucepan with water and place on top of the chicken to weigh it down and create a delicious crust.
*Alternatively, spray both sides and place on a George Foreman Grill*
When chicken is golden brown turn it over, spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle with Moroccan Seasoning and again place the full saucepan on top to weigh it down. Don't pour water on chicken!

In the meantime place chicken stock in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and pour in couscous, stir and cover. Allow to sit for 10 mins.

Dry fry pine nuts in a small fry pan until golden and toasted. Set aside.

Fluff up couscous with a fork and add olive oil and butter and fluff up until no clumps remain. Stir in pine nuts and sultanas.

Remove chicken from pan and slice on an angle.

Divide couscous between serving plates and top with chicken.

NOTE: Any leftovers are great heated up for lunch the next day or mixed in with salad.

Red Chicken Curry

Last night I was craving a curry so I raided the fridge, freezer and pantry and found enough elements to whip up a delicious red chicken curry. I have been using coconut flavoured coconut milk lately to save on calories but of course you could substitute coconut milk.



Serves 2

1 Tbsp coconut oil
2-3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
25g ginger, grated
2 chicken thighs (approx 300g), thinly sliced
250g cauliflower, broken into florets
2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, halved and bruised
375ml light & creamy coconut flavoured coconut milk
1 Tbps brown sugar (or palm sugar)
1 cup hot chicken stock
1/3 red capsicum, thickly sliced
1/3 green capsicum, thickly sliced
1/3 yellow capsicum, thickly sliced
10 cherry tomatoes
2 dried kaffir lime leaves, sliced and soaked in warm water, drained
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
100g rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in warm water and drained
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
50g bean shoots, trimmed

Heat oil in wok on medium high heat. Add curry paste and ginger and cook, stirring over medium heat, for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Add chicken and cook, stirring over high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add cauliflower, carrots, lemongrass, evaporated milk, stock and sugar. Bring to boil. Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes.

Add capsicum, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves and half of the chilli. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Add noodles, fish sauce and lime juice and mix well. Simmer for 2 minutes or until heated through.

Garnish with bean shoots and the remaining chilli. Serve.

Vegetable Rice

Here is a quick and easy recipe using your rice cooker. It can be adapted to use up any vegetables that you have on hand. I only had green capsicum, cauliflower and frozen peas & corn so that's what I used. But this made it predominately green and gold - a great Aussie dish but it would look much better with some red capsicum to liven it up a bit. Swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock if you want to make this a vegetarian dish. You could also cut up some chicken thighs and toss them in as well.



Serves 2

1/2 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 green capsicum, diced
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2-3/4 cup basmati rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp hot ground chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup frozen peas & corn
1 spring onion, sliced to serve
fresh green herbs to serve

Place all ingredients except spring onion and herbs in your rice cooker bowl and stir to combine. Switch to the Cook setting.

When it switches to the Warm setting remove the lid and fluff up. Spoon onto plates and top with spring onion and any other green herbs of your choosing.

Cheese and bacon scones

These savoury scones are great lunch-box treats or as an accompaniment to a chilli or stew so that you can mop up all of the gravy

Makes 16

5 rashers short cut bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
3 cups self-raising flour
80g butter, cubed
150g tasty cheese, finely grated
1 to 1 1/4 cups milk
plain flour, for dusting
butter, extra, to serve
pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a flat baking tray with baking paper or a baking liner.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Cool completely.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add bacon and cheese. Mix well.

Make a well in centre of mixture. Add 1 cup milk. Mix with a flat-bladed knife until mixture forms a soft dough, adding more milk if required. Turn dough onto a lightly floured bench or chopping board. Knead dough gently until smooth (take care not to knead too much).

Pat dough until 2.5cm thick. Using a 5cm cutter, press gently and cut 16 rounds from dough. Place 1cm apart. Sprinkle tops of scones with flour. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and well risen. Serve scones hot with butter.

Variations:
Sprinkled some grated cheese on them before putting them in the oven.
Instead of cutting rings, flattened the dough into a circle, about 2-3 cm thick, and cut into 8 triangles.
Add chopped chives, mixed herbs and add diced mushrooms to the bacon..

Adapted from a recipe in Super Food Ideas - May 2005

Sausage Hotpot

A good hearty one pot meal, this hotpot is delicious with any kind of sausages. Try chicken, pork, beef or Spanish chorizo.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
500g beef and cracked pepper sausages
2 brown onions, halved, sliced
1 red capsicum, cut into thick strips
2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
400g can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp crushed chilli
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausages. Cook, turning often, for 5 minutes or until browned. Remove sausages to a board. Thickly slice.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining oil, onions, garlic, chilli, paprika, oregano and capsicum to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Add rice, tomatoes, stock and sausages. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil.

Cover pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add frozen peas. Remove pan from heat. Set aside, covered, for 15 minutes (this allows rice to complete cooking). Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hotpot into serving bowls. Serve.

To reheat hotpot, spoon into serving bowls. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons chicken stock and cover with damp paper towel. Microwave on MEDIUM (50%) for 3 to 4 minutes.

Adapted from: Super Food Ideas - November 2006. Recipe by Michelle Noerianto

Baileys Balls

If you like my Rum Balls, you will love these Bailey Balls. For something different add a bit of Butterscotch schnapps to the baileys for Cowboy Balls...

1 packet of Marie biscuits
1 tin condensed milk
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
 2 tablespoons of cocoa
6 (or more) tablespoons of Baileys

Place biscuits into a food processor and blend into fine crumbs.
Pour into a large bowl with the coconut and cocoa and stir to combine.
Add the condensed milk and baileys and mix well.

NOTE: You may not need the whole can of condensed milk, the consistency of the mixture should be slightly wet and sticky but still hold it's shape.

Roll the mixture into balls and coat with coconut. Refrigerate overnight.

Chicken With Dates & Couscous

I made this last night and it was the perfect amount for the two of us but this is a very straightforward recipe so if you want to stretch it a bit further just double the ingredients or increase the chicken and couscous to suit your needs.



Serves 2

1 brown onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into 4 pieces
1 knob butter
1 Tbps olive oil
8 dates, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch saffron threads in 1 Tbsp warm water
400g can chopped tomatoes
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
1 cinnamon quill

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup instant couscous
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock, boiling

1 tsp lemon pepper
20g (1/4 cup) flaked almonds
1/4 bunch coriander

Heat butter and 1 tbs oil in a deep heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes each side or until browned. Transfer to a plate.

Return pot to medium heat. Add onions, garlic and salt, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add cumin, cinnamon and saffron to onion mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Return chicken to casserole and add tomatoes, the first cup of stock, cinnamon quill and the dates. Bring to a simmer, then cook, partially covered with a lid, for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Place couscous and 1 tbs oil in a heatproof bowl or container. Pour over the hot stock and stir to combine, then cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid. Set aside for 10 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Toast almonds in a small frying pan, tossing regularly, for 3 minutes or until almonds are toasted.

Fluff couscous with a fork, then divide among plates with chicken. Tear leaves from coriander, then scatter over chicken with almond mixture to serve.

Coleslaw

With 1/4 cabbage left over from Sundays corned beef feast it was only natural that my mind turn to coleslaw. But instead of the standard recipe I decided to make a few additions. I used the food processor attachment on my Kenwood for the cabbage, carrot and cheese but you could also use a mandolin/V-slicer.



Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

1/4 large cabbage, finely shredded
1 medium (about 130g) carrot, peeled and grated or shredded
1/3 small-medium red capsicum, thinly sliced
1/3 small-medium yellow capsicum, thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
50g tasty cheese, grated or shredded

Dressing
1/3 cup kewpie mayonnaise*
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons caster sugar
Salt, to taste

Stir mayonnaise, white vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Cover bowl and refrigerate until required.

Toss vegetables and cheese together in a large bowl. Store in the refrigerator and dress salad just before serving.

*Kewpie is a Japanese mayo which has a rich creamy texture with a higher egg ratio than western mayonnaise. It also tends to suit Japanese flavours more because it’s made with rice vinegar and has an umami characteristic not present in western mayo.