Leading up to Avalon’s (7 months as of today) birth, Nat and I talked of our first proper meal together. Being October, outside, put up the umbrella, Champagne and a slow afternoon of good food and baby talk.
Good times right.
I did a side of ocean trout over charcoal and a really aromatic Asian/South American salad, though we kicked it off with this tostada, a recipe I’d had in our worryingly big backlog of recipes to try.
Sure it’s simple and sure, Sydney has overdone kingfish ceviche to death the past few years, though what a great snack.
Just a lovely way to kick off a meal with a three-day-old and a glass of something French. And doesn’t it look the part!
(And 7-months later, Avalon has consistently remained the most happy, beautiful little girl and best-friend any father could ever hope for. And no, she is not named after the regional Victorian airport, and is instead a nod to the great Bryan Ferry and his greatest song of all time.)
Ingredients
400gm sashimi-grade kingfish, cut across the grain into 5mm slices 1/2 white onion, finely chopped 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced Juice of 1/2 orange 1 tbsp olive oil (note: not extra virgin olive oil) Juice of 2 limes Vegetable oil for shallow-frying 6 – 8 small tortillas 1 large avocado, coarsely chopped 40gm sour cream 2 radishes, cut into julienne 1 c (loosely packed) coriander
Method
Combine kingfish, onion, jalapeño, orange juice, olive oil and half the lime juice in a bowl, season to taste and refrigerate for 15 minutes to marinate.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil (about 2cm deep) in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry tortillas one at a time, turning once, until golden and crisp (1 – 2 minutes each side). Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels. Season to taste with sea salt.
Process avocado, sour cream and remaining lime juice in a blender or food processor until smooth and season to taste. Spread tostadas with avocado cream, top with ceviche, radish and coriander, season to taste and serve.
This thumper of a beef curry was cooked by Nat as part of a Bangladeshi lunch.
Calling it a thumper is unfair on one hand because it is so complex and aromatic. But boy, it isn’t mucking around either.
Nat skipped the addition of the final fresh chillies because she felt it was already where she wanted to be, spice-wise. You’re call.
Otherwise, let this number marinate overnight, cook it low and slow and you’re in for a real autumn warmer. Beautiful. (Red wine is not really optional either.)
Ingredients
1.4kg beef shoulder on the bone, cut into 4cm pieces* 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp chilli powder 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1/3 tsp ground nutmeg 1/3 tsp ground mace 1/2 c mustard oil or rapeseed oil** 2 medium onions, finely sliced 3 c cold water 2 bay leaves 4 – 5 whole green chillies
Dry Spice Mix
2 tsp coriander seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp Bengali five-spice or 1/2 tsp (wild) celery seeds 2 green cardamom pods 5cm piece of cassia bark or cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
Wet Spice Paste
1 tbsp water 4 garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped 5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled 1 1/2 tsp salt
Method
Place the beef chunks in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Set aside.
To make the dry spice mix, lightly toast all the whole spices except the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium-heat and stir for 2 minutes, or until the spices are aromatic. Transfer to a dish to cool slightly, then tip into a spice grinder, along with the fennel seeds. Grind until very fine, then pour into the bowl with the meat.
To make the wet spice paste, blend all the ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth paste. Transfer this to the bowl with the meat. Add the turmeric, both chilli powders, nutmeg and max and mix thoroughly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours or preferably, overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over a high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for a few minutes until golden, then add the marinated meat, followed by 1 1/4 c of the water and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low-medium, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Add the remaining 1 1/2 c water. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 45 minutes, or until tender and the gravy is reduced and no longer watery.
For the final 10 minutes of cooking, add the whole green chillies. Stir through a simmer. When ready, serve immediately with boiled basmati rice.
* Nat substituted 900gm of chuck roast, taking into account the weight of the bone ** If using rapeseed oil, add 2 tbsp mustard powder to the marinade.
The latest addition to the cookbooks is Made in Bangladesh by Dina Begum, a UK cook and food writer.
It’s a lovely book of stories and recipes from a Bangladeshi home kitchen.
As part of a late week – we need to reward ourselves for a flat-chat week of work – lunch, Nat and I tackled a dish each.
This was mine.
Nat is suspicious of egg recipes like this. I suspect (know) it comes from a childhood of whole eggs in dishes, something which in fairness, would have also skewed my view of whole eggs in really any dish.
The sauce is silken with the addition of milk and yoghurt towards the end. It is aromatic and actually pretty addictive. If I had to eat this for breakfast every day, sign me up!
If you have the opportunity, cook both and this is a perfect late-Autumn meal. Add a red wine and now you’re talking.
Ingredients
8 large eggs 4 tbsp vegetable oil 1 large onion, finely sliced 2 tbsp ghee 2 cloves 4 peppercorns 5cm piece of cassia bark (substitute cinnamon stick) 3 cardamom pods 1 bay leaf 1 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tbsp ground cumin 1/2 tbsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1/2 c water 2/3 c full-fat milk 4 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt 4 whole green chillies
For the paste
1 large onion, roughly chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, grated 3 – 4 tbsp water
Method
Combine the paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth, then set aside.
Place the eggs in a pan of cold water over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil and boil for about 15 minutes, then remove from the water and cool under cool running water. Once cool, peel the eggs and very lightly score their surfaces lengthways. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a deep, wide frying pan over medium-heat and fry the onions for about 10 minutes until golden. Transfer the cooked onion to a bowl and set aside. Add the ghee to the same pan, still over the heat. Add the hard-boiled eggs and lightly fry for 1 – 2 minutes until lightly golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan and set aside.
Next, add the whole spices and the bay leaf, along with the onion paste and salt. Stir well to combine, then cover. Reduce the heat and cook for 7 – 8 minutes, or until soft, ensuring the paste doesn’t brown. Now add the ground spices. Increase the heat to medium to cook out the spices, then add the water. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 6 – 7 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure nothing is catching on the pan. Add a splash of water if necessary. Take off the heat and leave to rest, cover, for a minute or two.
In a jug mix the milk and yoghurt until combined, then very slowly whisk into the pan – working slowly will help the mixture from splitting. Once you have a smooth sauce, stir in the eggs until they are coated with the sauce, then add the whole green chillies and half the fried onions. Return to a low heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the remaining fried onions to serve.
Nat found this recipe on Instagram and whilst we have been plenty burnt by Instagram and TikTok recipes in the past, just watch the video below and tell me we should/could have moved on?!
Like our signature Snapper Pie from The Boathouse, this pie is a labour of love. Time is your friend here. From roasting the chicken the night before. The gravy reducing for hours. The baked potato mash (will I ever do a mash that isn’t baked potato again?).
And of course, homemade shortcrust which is absolutely essential.
The sum of the parts is extraordinary. This is a signature pie. We almost feel embarrassed to have cooked a chicken pie prior to this one.
The gravy was probably the finest gravy I have ever had. Together with the pie and that incredible crust; and that mash. I am not overstating it. This is 2-hat cooking, a recipe they would never manage to take off the menu. We both agreed, a chicken pie could surely not go further. We’d well and truly found the outer limits of what a chicken pie could be.
It was a rainy Sunday in Autumn in Sydney when we (Nat) cooked this. A decanted 2019 Barolo. And it frankly doesn’t get better.
Ingredients
For the chicken 1 large free-range chicken 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly cracked pepper 1 large eschalot, peeled 1 lemon, halved 4 garlic, peeled Two sprigs of rosemary
For the chicken filling 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 250gm streaky bacon, chopped 1 white onion, finely chopped 1 leek, white and green parts thinly sliced 2 garlic, thinly sliced and rubbed well through salt 1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley finely chopped 2 tbsp Dijon mustard Salt and freshly cracked pepper 2 1/2 tsp softened, unsalted butter 1 tbsp plain flour 1/2 c hot chicken stock 1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
For the gravy 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil 1 white onion, chopped 2 carrots, coarsely chopped 1 stick of celery, coarsely chopped Half a bunch of flat-leaf parsley including the stalks 7 peppercorns A good splash of Madeira (or sherry)
For the shortcrust pastry 1 c plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 115gm cold, unsalted butter cut into cubes 3 tbsp ice water
For the mashed potatoes 5 large, unwashed potatoes 1/2 c cream 80gm unsalted butter Salt
Method
Heat the oven to 200c. Rinse the chicken and stuff the cavity with the eschalot, lemon, garlic and rosemary. Drizzle over the olive oil and season well. Roast in a roasting pan for 1 1/4 hours or until cooked through, basting occasionally with the oil and juices.
Set aside and allow to cool slightly Remove and discard the skin. Remove all the flesh, chop coarsely and place in a large mixing bowl. Discard the ribs. Combine the bones and remaining chicken and juices and set aside to make the gravy.
In a fresh pan, cook off the bacon until slightly browned and set aside.
In a separate pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion until soft. Add the leeks and continue cooking until softened. Turn down the heat and add the garlic, cooking for a few minutes and finally add the cooked bacon. Take off the heat and stir through the cooked chicken flesh, parsley and mustard. Season with pepper.
In a pan, heat the butter until bubbling. Add the flour, whisking constantly. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, continuing to whisk until you have a thickened mixture. Add to the chicken mixture, stir through and set aside.
For the gravy, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the chicken bones and juices, sautéing for a few minutes. Add the the vegetables and the peppercorns, cook until softened and then cover with boiling water and add a few splashes of the Madeira. Reduce the heat, cover and cook down until you’re close to a gravy consistency. Check the seasoning, strain and set aside.
For the shortcrust pastry, put the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and process, cutting the butter into the flour until you have a coarse meal. Add the cold water and process for 30 seconds until you have a soft dough. Remove the dough, shape it into a thick dough, wrap tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Bring to room temperature prior to rolling.
For the mashed potatoes, heat the oven to 180c. Wash the potatoes well and spike all over with a fork. Bake on a baking tray for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through. Set aside to slightly cool. Peel by hand, removing and setting aside the flesh. Heat the butter in a saucepan and using a ricer, rice the potato flesh, adding it to the butter. Add the cream and season with salt, adding more butter or cream as need-be.
Heat the oven to 220c. Lightly oil your pie tin. Roll out your shortcrust pastry and line the tin. Fill with the chicken mixture. Cover the pie with more shortcrust pastry, sealing well with a fork. Trim the edges and brush all over with the egg wash. Create a small hole in pie to let the steam escape and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.
Send the kids to their rooms. Have a bottle of good red decanted. Serve the pie with the mash and plenty of gravy and goddam, enjoy.
The addition of the chargrilled shallots at the end is the clincher here, adding great texture and flavour: though the whole curry is just a wonderful Saturday night in sort of curry. Plus the potato adds even more luxury when accompanied by the couch, dimmed lights, a glass of red and a good movie.
Somewhat on the Colonial Indian side of cooking.
Definitely one to bookmark. (And do yourself a calorie favour, even on a Saturday night: substitute this great cauliflower rice for rice and cut your calories by 90%!)
Ingredients
1kg skinless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped* 2″ ginger, roughly chopped* 3 tbsp vegetable oil 2 bay leaves 2 dried mild red chillies 200gm white onions, finely chopped 1 1/2 mild chilli powder (or Kashmiri chilli powder) 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp cumin powder 1 tbsp cumin powder 1 tbsp coriander powder 200gm tomatoes pureed to a paste 140gm Greek yoghurt whisked 150ml water 140gm baby potatoes, roughly chopped Sal to taste 1 tbsp garam masala Coriander for garnish
For the shallots
2 tbsp vegetable oil 200gm shallots peeled and halved
Method
Grind the garlic and ginger in a blender with a splash of water. In a large mixing bowl add the chicken, and mix in the garlic ginger paste. Mix well and set aside for an hour or overnight preferably.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom sauce pan over a medium flame. Add the bay leaves and chilli and fry for a few seconds. Add the onion and fry for 17 – 18 minutes, stirring well: as they begin to brown, add the marinated chicken. Turn the heat up and cook the chicken until it is sealed.
Stir well and at this stage, add the chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Fry for a minute. Add the pureed tomato and mix well, scraping the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4 minutes.
Turn the heat back to medium and add the yoghurt, a little at a time. Stir well, ensuring it doesn’t curdle, for 6 minutes. Add water, potatoes and season to taste. Turn the heat down low and cook the curry for 20 minutes with the lid on or until the potatoes are cooked through and the gravy reduced. Add the garam masala and let rest.
In the meantime, in a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the shallots for 5 – 6 minutes on each side over a medium heat. Cook until slightly charred, add to the curry and stir well. Garnish with coriander and lemon juice and serve with rice or roti
* Or if you’re cooking curries as often as we are, get yourself a large jar of garlic and ginger paste from any good Indian supermarket and measure out the equivalent amount.
I typed up this wonderful Thali Nat and I plated a while back, from the aptly named cookbook ‘Thali’ by Maunika Gowardhan. And now I am back with the absolutely wonderful chicken curry.
Served alongside an excellent Spiced Turmeric & Coriander Potato Curry from the same book, this chicken curry is just pure moorish.
It is also really unique in terms of the heavy use of pomegranate powder, a style I had never encountered and wasn’t really sure of. (Note: I substituted mango powder (Amchur) which has essentially the same tanginess and qualities.)
It’s also a pretty simple recipe.
An absolute homerun of a curry. Mate it with a vegetable curry for a dahl and this is the perfect way to end the week and say hello to an Autumn weekend.
Ingredients
1kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 tbsp vegetable oil 300gm white onions, thinly sliced 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 c chicken stock Salt to taste 2 green bird’s-eye chillies, slit lengthways 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
First, make the marinade by mixing all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Smear the mixture over the chicken pieces and leave to marinate in the fridge for 3 – 4 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Fry the onions for 11 – 12 minutes, until they are soft and turn light brown.
Tip in the marinated chicken pieces and fry, sealing the meat, then continue to fry for 5 minutes until the chicken is browned. Add the garam masala and stir well. Now add the stock, then season and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat to low, letting the mixture simmer gently. Cover the pan and cook for 9 – 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, stirring halfway through.
Add the green chillies and fresh coriander. Stir and serve with warm paratha or rice.
* I always substitute garlic ginger paste from all good Indian supermarkets.
The restaurant Kwality in Connaught, New Dehli, where we had this dish of chickpeas served with fried and puffed potato bread and my goodness, wasn’t it a revelation.
The chickpeas, soaked overnight in tea, and then braised with spices is literally perfection. Throw in that oily potato bread and this is just sex.
Nat keeps going back to many of the recipes we discovered on our Indian trip and this is one I am happy to go back to. Most happy.
1 c white chickpeas, soaked overnight with a tea bag 1/2 tsp cumin 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cm piece of ginger, grated 2 cloves garlic, grated 2 tsp garam masala 2 tsp chilli powder 2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur) 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 tbsp vegetable oil Salt to taste Slided red onion to serve Lemon wedges to serve
Method
Discard the tea bag and boil the chickpeas until they are soft. Drain and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until the onion is golden brown. Add the garam masala, chilli, mango, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders and salt and sauté for another minute. Add the chickpeas and 1 c of water and mix well. Simmer for 15 minutes.
This recipe dates back to the days of Darley Street Thai.
And wasn’t that just a brilliant restaurant, especially in the day. (I’m showing my age aren’t I?!)
We did a long Thai lunch, cooked exclusively from David’s tome of Thai cooking, ‘Thai Cooking’.
The pork and prawn egg nets by Nat were incredible, though this chicken salad was the standout. Totally luxurious, svelt, moorish and refreshing, all at the same time. And that kaffir lime!
Classicly good Thai – Royal Thai – cooking.
By itself or alongside a hot and sour curry, this simply speaks to why the Thais are just so clever with their food.
Yum!
Ingredients
1 c coconut cream Pinch of salt 150gm skinless chicken breast fillet 1 – 2 tbsp chicken stock Large pinch palm sugar 1 tbsp fish sauce 1/2 tbsp lime juice 2 stalks lemongrass, very finely sliced 3 red shallots, sliced* 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded 1 tbsp shredded coriander leaves Handful of Thai basil leaves 1 tbsp ground, roasted peanuts
Paste
3 long red chillies, deseeded and grilled 2 garlic cloves, grilled and then peeled Large pinch of salt
Method
First, make the paste: gradually pound the ingredients together, using a pestle and mortar, until smooth.
Heat coconut cream with salt, add chicken breast and simmer very gently until cooked (4 – 5 minutes). If the coconut cream seems about to separate, add a few tbsp of stock. Remove chicken, cool and shred.
Return four tbsp of the coconut cream to the boil and mix in the paste. Season with the palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice: it should taste rich, salty, sweet and sour. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and serve with a sprinkling of the peanuts.
* We tend to have quite large shallots in Australia and three of these would be too much. Play it by ear.
We love anything from Gourmet Traveller and I found this recipe in one of their books I picked up in a local community library.
And sure, it is a simple recipe though in fairness, the book is called ‘Simple’. Doh!
And excuse the photo which was more about the memory rather than publishing: for the fish is great though my goodness, we both agreed this is one of the best potato salads we have ever had. (And we didn’t see it coming.)
And of course, it is simple!
The next time we are asked to bring a salad to a BBQ, this is it.
Though do the fish as well. Just a cracking and special weekday meal.
Ingredients
1/4 c flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped Grated rind of 1 lemon 3 c day-old breadcrumbs, dried in oven until crisp 2 tsp capers, drained and chopped 12 whiting fillets (we used John Dory) 1/2 c plain flour 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water* Vegetable oil, for shallow frying Lemon wedges to serve
For dressing, whisk all the ingredients with 1 tbsp water in a small bowl until well combined, then season to taste.
For warm baked potato salad, place potatoes in a roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil, season to taste, and toss gently to combine. Bake at 200c for 20 minutes, then add the onion, toss to combine and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Just before serving, toss the potato mixture with dressing, then gently stir the herbs through.
Meanwhile, combine parsley, lemon rind, breadcrumbs and capers in a shallow bowl and season to taste. Dust fish in flour, shaking away excess, and dip in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs mixture, pressing crumbs onto the fish to coat evenly. Shallow-fry crumbed fillets, in batches, in hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through, then drain on absorbent paper.
Serve crumbed fish immediately with warm baked potato salad and lemon wedges to the side.
* It is a bit of a bugbear of ours, though you will always need at least twice the egg mixture called for so prepare yourself for this inevitability.
This is such a delightful side, showcasing how the addition of a few simple ingredients can make a vegetable side totally sing.
For a BBQ, this is the sort of dish that makes good, great.
Definitely one to bookmark.
Ingredients
2 bunches of asparagus 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra to finish 1 tsp sea salt 60gm feta, crumbled 1 tbsp capers Grated zest of 1 lemon Black pepper
Method
Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and discard. Toss the spears in the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Lay the asparagus in a hot griddle pan, placing them perpendicular to the ridges of the pan. Cook for 6 – 9 minutes, turning occasionally, or until just al dente and lightly charred.
Arrange the asparagus on four serving plates. Sprinkle over the feta, the capers, lemon zest, more pepper and a drizzle more of the oil.
Robby Dog Cooks 