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...

Bill Granger’s lamb curry with yoghurt and tomatoes

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

I sat for 5 minutes wondering how to start this post.

For I am just not sure how I feel about Bill Granger. I’ve cooked some of his recipes and had real success; others, well I didn’t cook them because they just looked strange.

Nat and I had a very good breakfast at his restaurant in Hawaii – breakfast of course being his signature meal – though at a lunch we had just this weekend at Bills in Bondi, the fish curry was excellent though the chicken salad was… strange. (Nice vibe though).

Is he genuine or cute? Is he too simple or is that the genius?

Am I over-thinking this? Absolutely.

What I can confirm is that this dish is a great one. Really great. And really simple.

Cook the lamb for as long as you like, serve with coriander and enjoy as a weeknight dinner.

Well done Bill. I’m still hanging in there.

1kg leg of lamb, cut into 5cm cubes
2tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cardamom pods, crushed
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp fresh ginger, freshly grated
1 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
2 large onions, chopped
400g tin (chopped) tomatoes
1 c yoghurt
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp sugar
Coriander
Steamed Rice
Chutney

Method

  1. Place the lamb in a large bowl, add the spices and ginger and toss to coat well. Season with sea salt.
  2. Place a large heavy-based pan over medium-high heat. Heat the oil and butter and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the spiced lamb and cook for 5 or more minutes until browned.
  3. Add the tomatoes, yoghurt and 1 c of water to the pan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down load, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
  4. Stir in the lime juice and sugar and serve with steamed rice, chutney and coriander.

Ross O’Meara’s Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 8+

My mother cooked this last night and what a great dish!

Of course, half the genius is the 6 hour cooking time of the wonderful pork shoulder though the other half is the simple, set-and-forget nature of the dish.

It takes only a little prep time and the afternoon is yours again.

We had this with sautéed Brussel sprouts, poached baby turnips and roasted baby carrots and apple sauce… and the incredible potatoes that have been cooking alongside the moorish pork. (After cooking, I removed the skin/crackling and gave it a good whack under the grill to really finish it off!)

Winter is almost here. Get yourself some pork shoulder and get into this!

3kg pork shoulder, bone out, skin on
Olive oil and salt for cooking
1kg waxy potatoes
3 French shallots, peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 anchovy fillets
1 handful chives, chopped
1 handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
100ml chicken stock

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 150c (or 130c if it is fan-forced).
  2. Take the pork shoulder, dry it with paper towel and then rub with the olive oil and salt.
  3. Wash the potatoes and then slice into pieces around ¾ cm thick.
  4. Get a large, deep roasting dish and add the sliced potatoes, shallots, garlic, anchovies and herbs. Mix each of the ingredients up, ensuring they are evenly spread.
  5. Add the stock and place the pork, skin side up on-top. Cook in the oven for 6 hours.
  6. Periodically check the pork to ensure it isn’t cooking too quickly and if it is, cover with foil.

Easy ricotta lasagne

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Thanks ladies and hen!

Serves: 8

The Internet probably doesn’t need another lasagne recipe though I cooked this up for Lauren’s (Nat’s sister) Hens weekend and it was really successful.

The recipe is an adaptation of a few recipes with the view of making this an easy dish to prep and cook.

The key point is the cheese sauce or lack thereof.

Not only is the ricotta-version here much easier to prepare when you have literally run out of stove space, it tastes amazing.

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500gm pork mince
500gm veal mince
10 tbsp tomato paste
4 can of tomatoes
4 c chicken stock
2 tsp dried oregano
Bunch of basil, torn
500gm mozzarella, shredded + a handful to sprinkle at the end
1 kg ricotta
250gm parmesan, shredded
2 eggs, beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
(Instant) lasagne sheets
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter for greasing the cooking dish

Method

Meat Sauce

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and slow cook the onions, garlic and carrots until soft.
  2. Add the mince and cook until browned and the water has evaporated.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, chicken stock and oregano.
  4. Season and simmer for 40 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
  5. Take off the heat and stir through the basil.

Cheese sauce

  1. Combine the cheeses, eggs and nutmeg and season.

Assembly

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. In a greased cooking dish, layer a small amount of meat, then a layer of lasagna sheets, then more meet, cheese mixture and repeat.
  3. Finish off with a layer of mozzarella.
  4. Cover with foil, cook for 40 minutes and then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Court’s Japanese Beans

.Reading time 1 minute.
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Don’t be stuck with boring beans again.

Serves: 4 – 6

Court(ney) is Nat’s younger sister and by some strange twist, the girlfriend of our 5-year old, Tom(ney).

Court is pretty efficient in the kitchen with a sort of take no prisoners, get-in-and-out approach to cooking. Beans are one of her specialities which ordinarily would be a pretty niche subset of cooking to specialise in, though once you cook this particular dish, you’ll understand why.

It’s awesome.

Just make sure you have the right mayonnaise: Kewpie Mayonnaise, a Japanese sushi mayonnaise that you can find at Woolies and Coles.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Canola oil
Two or three good handfuls of beans
1 tsp freshly minced garlic
1 tsp Kewpie mayonnaise
Light soy sauce

Method

  1. Heat the oil in the pan until hot.
  2. Add the beans and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 10 minutes ensuring the garlic doesn’t burn.
  3. Add the mayonnaise and continue to cook for another 5 minutes; add a few splashes of soy sauce, turn up the heat and finish off.
  4. 幸せな食事*.

* Happy eating.

Sylvia’s Cornbread with Bacon and Chive Butter

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Obama at Sylvias. Note the cornbread in the basket!

Serves: 15

Nat and I visited the famous Slyvias Restauarant in Harlem two years back. Starting her restaurant 1962, Slyvia was known as the Queen of Soul Food and everyone has eaten there.

It is a complete institution.

Among other things – fried chicken, you name it – we had cornbread. And as far as cornbread goes, it was amazing.

Come last Saturday and we’re cooking as part of a big Southern American themed meal – fried chicken, you name it – and we nominated this cornbread complete with a butter we felt befitted the theme.

The bread is fabulous. Served warm with butter, it is simply heaven.

You’ll explode (in goodness) if you eat this as a side with every meal, though as an amazing once in awhile, this bread will have you coming across as a genius baker to anyone lucky enough to get a slice.

Ingredients

Cornbread

2 c yellow cornmeal (polenta in Australia)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups milk
1 c vegetable oil
5 large eggs

Bacon and chive butter

3/4 c butter, softened
2 tbs fresh chives
2 strips bacon, finely diced and cooked
1 clove garlic, minced

Method

Cornbread

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Grease a baking dish.
  3. In a large bowl, sift or stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the milk, oil and eggs. Add the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined. (Batter will be wet and a little lumpy.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cornbread is pulling away at the edges.
  5. Cool in the pan, then cut into 15 squares.

Bacon and chive butter

  1. Stir all of the ingredients together in a bowl until combined and evenly distributed.
  2. Spoon onto a piece of cling film and roll into a cylinder. Twist the ends and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

Fish (or Prawn) Polkiri Thiyal

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I had this very skillfully cooked for me last night by master curry chef Rob Ashes… and it was as fantastic as it was unique.

Recently returned from Sri Lanka and with a pretty seriously traditional looking cookbook in hand, this recipe is Sinhalese cuisine which I suspected meant ‘tasty tasty’ but instead effectively means the cuisine you eat if you are not Tamil.

I’m not sure what Rob did for the rampe (pandanus leaf) except to leave it out; according to Google, it should be available from Indian food stores or flip a coin and either leave it out or try anything from coriander to lime leaf to rose water.

Enjoy this curry which Rob adapted and I have further adapted. It is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

500gm firm white fish, 3cm cubes (or prawns, shelled)
1 onion, chopped
Punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green chillis, thinly sliced
Cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp butter
3cm rampe (pandanus leaf)
1 tsp lime juice
½ c coconut milk
10 curry leaves
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
A few grinds of pepper
Salt to taste

Method

  1. Heat the butter in a large pan and saute the onions, curry leaves, cinnamon and rampe.
  2. Mix in the garlic, ginger, turmeric and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of water and then place the fish (or prawns) in the pan. Coat with the mixture, add the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
  3. Turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes remembering that you want the sauce to be thick. Add the pepper, green chillis, tomatoes and lime. Cook for another five minutes and serve.

Parmigiano Sformato with Piquillo Peppers and Almonds

.Reading time 2 minutes.
Serves: 8

Wow these are good!

This recipe by Anne Burrell is awesome and was one of the dishes we had when our parents – Deb and Rob/Ellen and Bill – met for the first time. A dish, awesome in not just in how elegant and sophisticated it all looks but in the nutty yet beautifully creamy textured taste.

(The meeting of the parents was a complete success for what it’s worth!)

People will know you’re a cooking star and you’ll put the leg-of-lamb-rosemary-garlic crowd to shame when you show them some real preparation, cooking and style.

Move over braised meat. This is preparation and sophistication and it shows.

Do it as a starter and start it right!

(Tip: the cayenne is the zinger here: don’t overdo it though it is the zinger…)

Oh… fast forward two years: we cooked this for our long lunch/wedding and it was THE standout dish. Well. Done. Ellen.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups heavy cream
4 eggs
1 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt
1 pinch cayenne
1 jar piquillo peppers, julienned
1/4 c sliced almonds, toasted
2 c arugula or mesclun
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp chopped chives

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c. Spray your ramekins with nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, add the heavy cream, eggs and Parmigiano and whisk to combine. Season with salt and cayenne. Divide the egg, cream, cheese mixture between the ramekins.
  3. Place the filled ramekins in a baking dish and fill halfway with hot tap water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on racks.
  4. Place the cooled sformato in a warm oven for 10 minutes to reheat.
  5. While the sformato is reheating toss the peppers and almonds with the greens and a sprinkle of oil, vinegar and salt.
  6. Arrange some of the pepper mixture on individual serving plates. Unmold the sformato on the serving plate and arrange the peppers against the sformato. Drizzle with olive oil.
  7. Sit back and observe your slightly stunned guests.

Prawn Saganaki

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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The original… as supplied to me.

Serves: 4

This is a signature Ashes family recipe and it is right on the money. It tastes amazing, it’s warm and it’s filling.

Whether you use saganaki cheese or feta comes down to whether your name is Rob Ashes or Debbie Ashes. When I asked Rob about using saganaki, he said ‘nah, shit doesn’t melt’.

Deb feels the opposite and generally sneaks saganaki into the dish mid-oven. So perhaps this is a compromise and you should use a bit of both.

The other point to make is that if you can find packets of uncooked garlic prawns (the John West variety), get these and eliminate the garlic from the dish.

Otherwise, enjoy what is a fabulous dish and one I have thankfully enjoyed many times at the Ashes dinner table.

Ingredients

1kg medium prawns, shelled
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic
250gm feta cheese, sliced
250gm saganaki (or feta), sliced
2 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
½ c olives
Good handful of coriander, chopped
Slices of sourdough
Salt and pepper

Method

  1. In a saucepan, saute the onions win the olive oil. Add the diced tomato, garlic (if using), bay leaf, sugar, olives and salt and pepper and enough water to keep moist and cook on a medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Heat the oven to 180c.
  3. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes.
  4. Remote the saucepan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a casserole. Sprinkle the coriander over and then spread thin slices of the feta cheese on top. Top with sourdough bread and top with saganaki slices (or feta).
  5. Cook in the oven until the saganaki cheese has melted (or should have melted). 10 to 15 minutes.

Egg and bacon breakfast muffins

.Reading time 1 minute.
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HP sauce optional unless your name is Natalie Ashes.

Serves: 2 per person

I think Nat made fun of me when I mentioned I was cooking these.

Though you’ll be the one having the last laugh when you realise you can have bacon and eggs literally every day of the week. Mind blown right!

I used to cook a dish my mother taught me where in a ramekin, you put a pile of cooked bacon lardons, crack two eggs, fill almost to the top with pouring cream, season and bake. And wow this was good, but not every day.

Whereas with these muffins, you’re in luck.

Add spinach, chilli, corn, mushrooms, whatever you want. Or keep them simple like I have and demand apologies the next morning when you are being selective in who receives these breakfast gold nuggets.

Ingredients

6 eggs
6 rashers of shortcut bacon (c’mon, it’s the week; be healthy!)
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. Grease 6 muffin tins.
  3. Somehow, shoehorn the back in there as a cup or whatever.
  4. Crack the egg inside, ensuring that egg white fills the tin and the yolk remains in-tact.
  5. Season and bake in the oven for 15 or so minutes until the egg has set.
  6. Fridge or freezer; eat with a ‘told you so’ smirk as your partner grovels over her Monday morning BACON & EGGS!

My Arrabiata

.Reading time 3 minutes.
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So hot. So good.

Serves: 4 – 6

This dish has real significance for me.

It was the first meal I cooked when I moved out of home, a recipe I adapted from Neil Perry and adapt every time depending on what is in the pantry and the fridge. Try it with torn basil, a pinch of sugar, freshly chopped chilli, whatever you want.

The key is in the length of cooking. The longer you can sweat the onions and the more slowly you can reduce the sauce, the better and better it will be. Forget that stuff from the local pizza shop, add lots of chilli and two hours over the stove and this takes on a new dimension.

Add this recipe to your repertoire and know it like the back of your hand. It will make clear to your lady friend that you can turn a pack of bacon and a few things from the cupboard into an amazing, hot and smoky pasta: it worked for me!

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 good pinches chilli flakes
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, halved (half a punnet)
1 can tomatoes
1 tbsp capers, drained
2 tbsp black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Good handful of ham, roughly chopped
10 rashers of bacon cut into lardons
Salt and pepper
Penne, spaghetti, whatever
Ground parmesan
Chopped Italian parsley

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat and add the onions, garlic, chilli flakes and good pinch of salt and sweat as slowly as you can without letting stick to the bottom of the pan; around 20 – 30 minutes.
  2. Separately, cook the bacon in a pan until golden. Drain and set aside.
  3. Add the tomatoes, ham, capers and olives, combine with the onion mixture and cook for a minute. Add the bacon and can of tomatoes as well as a can of water.
  4. Bring to the boil and then drop to a low simmer.
  5. Cook for an hour to an hour and a half and longer if you can. The key is to removing as much liquid from the sauce as slowly as you can.
  6. Check the seasoning and chilli and adjust as necessary.
  7. Cook the pasta, drain and combine with the sauce.
  8. Serve with plenty of grated parmesan and parsley.
  9. Enjoy your reward.