Author: Robert Beerworth

I love cooking, wine, travel, my three boys, and two girls, Avalon and my beautiful wife and best friend and cook, Nat...

The Boathouse Snapper Pie

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Makes: 5

Pre-Preamble: we served this pie as course #4 of #6 at our long lunch/wedding. It is one of our favourite dishes and the restaurant – The Boathouse at Blackwattle Bay – is where I asked Nat to marry me.

(She gave me a tentative yes though told me to ask a year later for the full affirmative, something I duly did.)

Anyway, so as not to cause confusion, when we first typed this recipe up, we did it as a tribute to our wonderful friends Leesh and Josh for their wedding. Here is the handsome couple at our long lunch/wedding (which was also coincidentally Leesh’s birthday):

The preamble below is what we originally wrote to them and obviously we can’t remove it!

Preamble: We are typing up this recipe as part of a tribute to our awesome friends Leesh and Josh who are getting married – at last – this weekend. Being awesome means they are awesome on the food front: cooking, eating, discussing and pairing wines with.

Here is to many meals in the future guys. We are proud to be your friends.

Enjoy the copper and cooking this pie one rainy Saturday. Keep the champagne near.

Love

Nat and Rob

—

The Boathouse at Blackwattle Bay is one of our favourite restaurants.

It means a slow and incredibly comfortable afternoon of great food, wine, cheese, conversation, laughter and watching the boats slowly drift by. There really are fewer, better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Of course, anyone in the know about this wonderful institution would know that the signature dish on the menu is the Snapper Pie.

And lordy, what a pie it is.

The richness of the pie. The smell, the warmth. The whole bloody thing.

And the smoky tomato? Yes please.

(Here is how Nat produced the tomatoes for our wedding: baby tomatoes, brined overnight, smoking essence and balsamic, seasoned and roasted:)

Not to speak of the obvious outcome of the Paris mash.

Anyway, we cooked this – for the second time – a few weekends ago and holy smoking duck balls it was fine. Smiles, gasps, awe.

Every hour of sweating onions paid off!

Take off the afternoon and make this.

It is pure joy.

Ingredients

800gm pink snapper fillet, cut into 3cm pieces (you can get from the Fish Markets)
5 dessert spoonfuls of white truffle oil
Puff pastry
1.2kg sliced onions
800mls cream
400mls fish stock
300gm diced onion
Olive oil
Salt
1 egg beaten with a little water
4 tomatoes, peeled, halved and seeded
80gm long grain rice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
Paris mash to serve

Method

  1. Sweat the sliced onion is a little olive oil and salt and cook as slowly as you can until the onions are light golden.
  2. Add the fish stock and slowly reduce by half. Add the cream and slowly reduce by half or until you have a thick, creamy consistency and remove from the heat.
  3. In a separate pan, sweat the diced onion with a little olive oil and salt and cook slowly until light golden. Add to the sliced onions and check the seasoning.
  4. Preheat the oven to 250c.
  5. Spoon some of the sauce into 5 deep pie dishes, lay over the fish, cover with the remainder of the sauce and add one dessertspoon of truffle oil to each dish.
  6. Roll out the pastry, lay over the dishes, press down and trim at the edges and egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
  7. For the smoked tomatoes, line a wok with foil, place the rice in the base, place a wire rack over and heat the wok until the rice starts to smoke.
  8. Place the tomatoes cut side up on the rack, combine the garlic and balsamic and brush the tomatoes. Cover with foil and cook for 3 minutes until heated through and smoked.
  9. Allow the pie to rest for a few minutes before serving with the tomatoes and the Paris mash.

Keftedakia (Greek Lamb Sausages)

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Uncooked!

Makes: 20 sausages

We are on a bit of a sausage thing at the moment with the recent addition of a new meat grinder and sausage stuffer to the kitchen.

Though searching for recipes has been a bit of an underground thing.

For whilst you can find the odd super-gourmet sausage recipe out there, there is a dearth of every-day sausage recipes on the web: until you hit the underground sausage forums.

And this is where it gets serious.

I have a few mates that are into smoking meats and they take it seriously. They swap notes about chips and coals and warm-up times and bastes. It is a passion and Facebook is full of their Saturday morning photos and tips as they fire up.

Sausages it seems are much the same, with the sausage forums full of – generally very positive – banter, advice, recipes and tips.

(I am yet to choose the avatar for ‘robbydogcooks3’ and remain a sausage lurker, though I feel the urge.)

Anyway, on one forum, someone by the name of ‘bradsizzle’ asked for the best Greek sausage recipe ‘in the world’.

And the community answered.

Lamb, pork, beef, the people of Crete (joke), orange peel, aniseed, fennel, more lamb, cumin, explosions, debate, more lamb.

The servers were on fire.

We chose this one to begin and it is one bloody fine sausage.

You’ll need a sausage stuffer of course and sorry if you don’t.

robbydogcooks3 is now part of the club and can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t.

Sizzle bradsizzle.

Ingredients

1kg lamb shoulder, 2 cm pieces (or ground)
½ cup breadcrumbs soaked in ½ cup milk for 5 minutes
1 large red onion, finely diced
2 tbsp red wine (or ouzo)
4 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
4 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (or Kefalotiri cheese)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp whole aniseed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp white flour

Method

  1. Combine the ingredients.
  2. Process through your mincer and stuff your sausages.

Moroccan-style Vegetable and Chickpea Stew

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6 – 8 lunches

We don’t buy our lunches at work.

Instead, we cook something big on Sunday night – a stew, a mince, a dahl – and that is lunch for the week.

Nat repeatedly makes the point that there is simply no point in wasting calories during the week. Or to the point, wasting calories, at work, at lunch. Better to reserve the pastas and pastry for the weekends when you can have a few wines and mop everything up with bread and more wines.

I don’t disagree.

Thus why you should consider this stew and making it for your next week of lunches.

Working backwards, it is a calorie blackhole. You’ll burn more calories eating it.

Secondly, it tastes just great.

Thirdly, thanks to the chickpeas, it is filling and you won’t be searching around for a Rivita before four.

Save the money, save the calories and save the weekend for the big chicken sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 – 2 tsp chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 dates, pitted and chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped into 2 cm pieces
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
2 x 400gm cans of crushed tomatoes
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 yellow capsicum (pepper), stemmed and chopped into 2cm pieces
2 cups of cooked chickpeas
Salt and pepper
Couple handfuls of baby spinach
To serve: Greek yoghurt, coriander, lemon zest, brown rice

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onions, lower the heat and cook until softened. Add the spices and chilli flakes. Slowly saute until the onions are really soft.
  2. Add the garlic and saute for a minute. Add the dates, carrots and sweet potatoes. Season with the salt and pepper and mix. Add the tomatoes, stir and then the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced and thickening.
  3. Add the capsicum and chickpeas; check your seasoning. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
  4. Add the greens and cook for a final minute, adding olive oil, lemon zest and seasoning as need be.

Apple and Sultana Muffins

.Reading time 1 minute.

Makes: 12

We went on a bit of a muffin crave a few months back.

Every Sunday, we would whip up a batch for lunches and snacks, usually doubling the recipe on account of Tom (6) hoovering six (6) of them as soon as they could be handled.

These muffins are pretty down-the-line muffins though the boys whole-heartedly helped cut and mix all the ingredients. And any recipe that the boys participate in is one to type up; because getting participation and having fun in the process is half the point.

Our craves move on and the muffin ship has sailed for the moment, though if I did a batch of these one night as a treat, I have no doubt the ship would be back in port.

Keep it simple, treat yourself and enjoy.

Ingredients

200gm self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
50gm wholemeal flour
100gm caster sugar
2 eggs
125ml skim milk
4 tbsp sunflower oil
2 apples, grated
100gm sultanas

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar.
  3. In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well and then fold in the apple and sultanas.
  4. Divide between 12 greased muffin cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and hand them to your Tom.

Beef and eggplant moussaka

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

Based on a recent cooking show Nat and I watched, I gather that moussaka is regarded as a bit ho-hum in the UK.

Just like Pad Thai is for us in Australia.

In Australia however, Greek food isn’t a mainstream staple and moussaka isn’t something you pick up from the corner store. Greek food is a treat.

The Ashes family introduced me to moussaka. It is one of their staples and they take it seriously.

To satisfy the breadth of palates in the family, the last time I did this en masse (there were eight of us eating), I did a turkey mince and beef mince number. Genuinely, the turkey mince was the slightly more interesting of the two, though either way, you cannot go wrong.

Live the good life, plan to go for a run tomorrow and find a bottle of red to open.

And cook this.

Ingredients

2 large (1kg) eggplants
Sea salt
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 kg minced beef
1 x 400gm can tomatoes
½ cup tomato paste
¼ cup white wine
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp sambal oelek
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground hot paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

Cheese sauce

100g, butter
½ cup plain flour
3 cups milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Cut eggplants into 5mm slices, place on wire rack, sprinkle with salt, stand 20 minutes. Rinse slices under cold water, drain, pat dry with absorbent paper. Brush slices with oil, add to pan in batches, cook until browned on both sides; drain on paper towel.
  2. Heat extra oil in the same pan, add onion and garlic, cook, stirring, until onion is soft. Add beef, cook, stirring, until beef is browned. Stir in undrained crushed tomatoes, paste, wine, herbs, nuts, sambal oelek and spices, simmer, covered, about 25 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  3. Cheese sauce: Melt butter in pan, stir in flour, stir over heat until bubbling. Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in cheese; cool 5 minutes.
  4. Place one-third of the eggplant over base of a greased shallow ovenproof dish, top with half the beef mixture. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant and beef mixture, ending with eggplant. Spread cheese sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 180°C for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

Spicy Tomato Baked Eggs

.Reading time 1 minute.
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Yes… an amazing way to start Sunday.

Serves: 4

We love our weekend breakfasts and this number we whipped up last week was just awesome; so spicy, so rich, so hot.

Add a side of avocado and a good coffee and you’re off to the best Sunday morning of anyone in your street; add a French champagne and you’re talking streets and streets!

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 red chillis (de-seeding is optional) and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
Small bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately
2 x 400gm cans cherry tomatoes
2 chorizo, diced
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp caster sugar
4 eggs
Oiled, grilled Turkish bread sliced to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan that fits a lid; soften the onions, chilli, garlic, chorizo and coriander stalks for 5 or so minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and then simmer for 10 or more minutes until thick.
  2. Using the back of a large spoon, make four dips in the sauce and then crack and egg into each one. Put a lid on the pan (or cover with foil) and then cook the eggs through over a low heat for 6 – 8 minutes; halfway through, scatter the parmesan cheese.
  3. Serve with the coriander leaves on top.

Maple and Mustard Glazed Ham

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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You get an A+ for effort.

Serves: Plenty

Nat’s sister Courtney (of Japanese Bean fame) had her engagement party last week.

120 of her closest friends and family, waiters darting around with wine and food, a million candles and fairy lights and animated conversations made for a wonderful and memorable night: everything the beautiful couple deserved.

A big part of the evening’s success came from Courtney’s fastidious focus from spending several years as an Events organiser; spreadsheets, meticulous planning, an innate understanding of the relationship between the increasingly lateness of a night, wine and food.

So I was delegated the glazing of a 10kg ham. A ham destined for around midnight with hundreds of soft, and otherwise illegal breadrolls and a creamy, wholegrain mustard sauce.

A do-it-yourself station where sir or madam was encouraged to match the wine or beer in their hand with a roll or two.

Anyway, here is the simple and very effective glaze I did. A tablespoon or two of finely chopped rosemary would have been a nice addition, though start with this glaze and you’ll be onto a very good midnight thing.

Ingredients

5 – 10kg ham
1 cup maple syrup
4 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp seeded mustard
30 cloves

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. Remove the skin from the ham, keeping as much fat on the flesh as possible. Discard the skin.
  3. Score the fat and pin a clove into each corner of a score, making a quilt pattern as you go.
  4. Mix together the maple syrup, brown sugar and seeded mustard and baste the ham all over the scored fat/flesh.

Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

If you have a Kitchenaid mixer, do yourself a favour and get the mincer and sausage stuffer accessory.

Because homemade sausages are a win on all levels.

They’re fun to make and you can involve the kids. You know what is going into your sausage; and what isn’t going into your sausage: snouts, sawdust, car parts.

And suffice to say, you can make some pretty crazy, pretty amazing sausages.

Nobody doesn’t love sausages. Master one of the greatest food types there is and never look back.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken breast, chopped
280gm frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp marjoram
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp fine ground black pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic

Method

  1. Combine, mince and stuff.

Kylie Kwong’s Deep-fried Tofu with Sichuan Pepper and Salt and Lemon

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 2 – 4

We cooked Chinese last night and started off with this wonderful tofu dish.

So subtle is it, you could serve it as part of any contemporary dinner and your guests would love you. And it.

Key is to heat the oil and then to quickly dust the tofu with the flour and cook. If you dust and leave the tofu for too long, it will become moist and sticky and you won’t get the same batter effect.

Ingredients

1 x 300gm packet silken tofu
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
⅓ cup plain flour
Handful coriander leaves
1 tsp Sichuan pepper and salt*
1 lemon, halved

Method

  1. Gently remove the tofu from the packet; carefully slice the tofu into six cubes and drain off any excess liquid.
  2. Heat oil in a wok until the surface is shimmering. Lightly dust the tofu pieces in flour and lower into the oil.
  3. Deep-fry the tofu for about 4 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towel.
  4. Arrange the tofu on a platter, garnish with coriander and serve immediately, sprinkled with Sichuan pepper and salt, coriander leaves and accompanied by lemon halves.

Kylie Kwong’s Stir-fried Pork Fillets with Honey and Ginger

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 as part of a meal

This simple to prepare, fast to cook number tastes as if you have ordered in… or are eating out.

It really is very good and something you can marinate overnight ready for a simple, mid-week dinner.

Enjoy with a side of egg fried rice.

Ingredients

600gm pork fillets cut into 5mm pieces
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 10cm pieces
1 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp water
2 limes, halved

Marinade

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp shao hsing wine or dry sherry
2 tbsp finely diced ginger
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp five-spice powder
½ tsp sesame oil

Method

  1. Combine pork with the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add half the marinated pork and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside; heat the remaining oil in the work and add the remaining pork and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
  3. Return the reserved pork to the wok with the spring onions, vinegar, soy sauce, water and lime halves. Stir fry a further minute or until the pork is cooked through and slightly browned.