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...

Oliver’s Guacamole

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: Oliver

In a cooking blog that is meant to discover and inspire, it might seem a little odd to put up a guacamole recipe. According to Google, there are 2.380 million of the recipes out there and so it is safe to say that we don’t need another.

Except that it wasn’t until recently when I had a fresh guacamole and then made my own batch at home that  I remembered just how awesome guacamole is. It is so spirited and exciting and fresh. And so healthy that the top result about guacamole in Google describes it as almost ‘superfood’.

I’ll run with that!

Also, this blog being for my boys so that they have a bunch of tested recipes to cook for their friends and family, Oliver (8), the eldest who is really picky and plain about food, demolished this guacamole. By itself, he would never touch avocado, red onion or coriander… or any of the ingredients.

He would just eat the corn chips and be done with it.

But he will eat this guacamole by the bucket and that is a great way to get great foods into him.

It is also why it’s called Oliver’s Guacamole.

Enjoy it like he does and go all in with the flavour!

Ingredients

Avocados
Red onion, minced
Garlic, mashed with salt
Lime Juice
Cumin
Tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
Salt
Coriander leaves
Plain corn chips

Method

  1. Mash the avocados roughly with the lime juice.
  2. Mix through the remaining ingredients except the coriander and correct the seasoning.
  3. Garnish with the coriander.

Giada De Laurentiis’ White Bean Dip

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 8 snacking guests

Another fantastic recipe from Giada De Laurentiis; I recently wrote up her Linguini with Green Beans, Ricotta and Lemon and this dip gets the same superlatives I used for her pasta recipe:

    • Great
    • Unassuming
    • Simplicity
    • Clean
    • Healthy
    • Tasty

I’m really into dips at the moment and I did this one up on the week alongside a few others. It will easily last the week it will take to dip away at it and it is just so fresh to be able to have a few mouthfuls of dip anytime you get hungry.

As long as you’re not telling yourself that you are hungry all the time because then dip could become a problem!

Ingredients

4 pita breads, split horizontally and cut into 8 wedges
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano
1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ c parsley leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
  2. Process the beans, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice with salt and pepper until coarsely chopped, and then gradually mix in 1/3 cup olive oil until creamy.
  3. Brush the pita bread wedges with some olive oil, and then sprinkle with oregano and salt and pepper.
  4. Bake until crisp and golden.
  5. Serve the bean dip with the pita wedges.

Cucumber and Feta Dip

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 8 snacking guests

There is something special about arriving at someone’s house and being presented with a few homemade dips. It says something nice about your host and it tells you how they feel about you.

I’ve been making my own skinny hommus of late, though I really should get into the habit of making more and more dips; a few dips on hand and a box of chopped carrot sticks in the fridge would be all I needed to bridge the lunch to dinner gap and it would be far more interesting than a boiled egg or an apple!

This wonderful dip is courtesy of my mother. I made it over the weekend with low-fat feta and geez it’s good with brown rice crackers and a glass of wine before dinner.

Get on it! Make your guests feel special!

Ingredients

2 large Lebanese cucumbers, peeled, deseeded and finely diced
Salt and pepper
225gm feta, crumbled
1/8 + cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped mint

  1. Place the diced cucumber in a colander, sprinkle with salt, allow to drain for 30 + minutes, and then rinse and pat dry.
  2. Mash together the feta, olive oil, lemon juice, water and some pepper, and then mix in the cucumber, onion and herbs.

Bisteeya

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 8

This wonderful recipe – courtesy of my mother – is seriously great and in so many ways.

Whilst it is a bit of an effort to make, it absolutely rewards: it looks beautiful as part of a banquet, it tastes really special, it’s fun and as I discovered, it is Oliver (my 8 year old) friendly. So friendly that he asked if he could take a slice in his lunchbox to school; this coming from a kid that thinks that tomatoes are dodgy.

Try this just once and I promise you’ll have a smile on your face!

Ingredients

1 c butter
2 c slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sugar
Ground cinnamon
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
½ c chopped coriander
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp saffron threads, crushed
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp turmeric
salt
1 c water
3 tbsp lemon juice
6 eggs, beaten
filo pastry
icing sugar

Method

  1. Sauté the almonds in 1 tablespoon butter until golden, and then remove and drain on paper towels.
  2. When the almonds are cool, chop them coarsely and combine with the sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
  3. Sauté the chicken in 1 ½ teaspoons butter until lightly browned and then remove.
  4. Sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender, and then add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, the coriander, garlic, cumin, saffron, pepper and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
  5. Add the water, bring to a boil, and then add the chicken and cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
  6. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, cut into small pieces, and toss with 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
  7. Simmer the onion mixture, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  8. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the eggs and cook until softly set, and then season with the remaining lemon juice and salt.
  9. Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper.
  10. Arrange 10 – 12 sheets of filo on the paper in a pinwheel fashion, brushing each with melted butter.
  11. Top with a sheet folded in half and brushed with butter.
  12. Arrange the chicken in a 9 inch circle over the pastry and spoon over the egg mixture.
  13. Top with the almonds and fold the sheets up on top of the filling.
  14. Repeat the pinwheel pattern over the top with 10 – 12 more sheets of filo, brushing each with melted butter.
  15. Tuck these sheets gently under the pie and brush the top with butter.
  16. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and then remove from the oven.
  17. Place baking paper on another baking sheet, place over the pie, invert, and return the pie to the oven and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes.
  18. Invert the pie onto a platter, sift over some icing sugar, and sprinkle on some cross-hatch lines of cinnamon.

Eggplant Chips

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 8 snacking guests

The most important thing about this rather simple dish is not that it is low in carbs, nor that the chips taste great.

No, the most important thing is that you get the eggplant slices as dry as you can.

Because as we know, good chips are dry chips. If need be, bake a little longer than instructed to get them golden.

And enjoy!

Ingredients

6 baby eggplants
2 tbsp sea salt
Oliver oil cooking spray
1 c no-fat Greek-style yoghurt
1 small Lebanese cucumber, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. After washing the eggplants, slice the eggplants into thinish discs.
  2. Place the eggplant discs on a tray and sprinkle with sea salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture.
  3. Heat the oven to 180c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  4. Pat the eggplant slices with paper towel to remove any excess moisture and salt. Place the eggplant discs on the baking tray, spray both sides of the eggplant discs with the oil and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
  5. Meanwhile, combine the yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon rind and dill in a bowl to make the tzazziki dip.
  6. Season and drizzle with a little olive oil if you wish.

Andalusian Pork

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

What a simple, gutsy dish!

The Spanish certainly do have some fun with their food and after a day marinating and then chargrilled on a really hot grill, this pork is sensational.

And it’s healthy. Ha!

I’ve cooked this and served this a few times over the years though last night it was with eggplant chips, some steamed sugar snaps and a great Bobby Flay Spanish Potato Salad.

A great end to the week and fuel for the start of the new working year. Here is to 2016!

Ingredients

2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
500g pork fillet, trimmed of any fat
2 lemons, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the paprika, oregano, garlic and salt with the olive oil to make a thick paste.
  2. Spread the paste evenly over the pork, cover and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
  3. Cut the meat on the diagonal, around 2cm thick.
  4. Heat a griddle, heavy frying pan or a grill until very hot. Cook the pork for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until cooked through.
  5. Serve at once with the lemon wedges.

Cha Ca (Ling Fillets marinated with dill and tumeric)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

According to Google translate, ‘kinh ngạc’ is amazing in Vietnamese and I do hope it is because this dish is a-mazing.

It’s got it all.

Healthy, hot, filling, so tasty.

Seriously, copy paste these ingredients and clear your schedule for tonight because this is going to make tonight – and every night you cook it – very special.

Mark Jensen of Red Lantern is a genius!

Ingredients

1kg ling fillets
8 spring onions (scallions)
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp hot curry power
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch dill
125g rice vermicelli
1 cup fish stock
1 lemon
300g bean sprouts

Method

  1. Cut the fish into 4cm pieces, place in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Put the white heads of the spring onions (reserving the stalks) and garlic in a mortar and pound to a paste.
  3. Add the paste, turmeric, curry powder, yoghurt, fish sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the oil and a third of the dill, roughly chopped) to the fish and mix well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  4. Cook the vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for a further 5 minutes. Strain, refresh under cold water a set aside. (This may contradict instructions on pack, though don’t worry!).
  5. Thinly, diagonally slice 4 or 5 of the green spring onion stalks.
  6. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the remaining oil and fry the fillets for 30 seconds on one side.
  7. Turn the fillets over, add the fish stock and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
  8. Remove the fish and squeeze over the juice from the lemon.
  9. Mix the bean sprouts, sliced spring onion, remaining dill and vermicelli together, place into bowls and spoon over the fish fillets and sauce.

Oriental Pork Cakes

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 4

Slightly dull name for a recipe and not sure where I found it either; though name aside, they’re really good, they’re really simple and they’re really made from mince, the finest thing out there.

And reasonably healthy too, especially if you substituted chicken or even turkey mince .

I think having lots of these little recipes around is great for those weekend lunches and week nights where suddenly it’s meal time and you need to think on your feet. If you cook this, people will think you’re a genius.

Ingredients

500g pork mince
3 pork chipolata sausages (100g), skins discarded
2 eschalots, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stem (pale part only) finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Grated zest of one lime
Splash of fish sauce
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped coriander leaves
Sunflower oil, to shallow fry
Sweet chilli sauce, thinly sliced cucumber and lettuce leaves to serve

Method

  1. Place the mince, sausage meat, eschalot, lemongrass, garlic, zest, fish sauce, chilli and coriander in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until combined.
  2. With damp hands, shape the mixture into 16 cakes and chill for 15 minutes to firm up.
  3. Heat a little sunflower oil in a large frypan over a medium-high heat. Cook the cakes (in batches if necessary) for 3 – 4 minutes until each side is golden and cooked.
  4. Serve the cakes with chilli sauce, sliced cucumber and lettuce leaves.

Lamb Filo Spirals with Tomato and Mint Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 4

Recently at a function and calorie counting, I told myself not to eat but a few of the healthier canapes on offer, knowing full well that the healthiest canape was still not likely to get the Jenny Craig nod of approval.

Anyway, was doing pretty well, keeping to mineral water when a tray of old-school, Greek, mince and filo pastry triangles is offered. And if there is anything I can’t resist, it’s mince and filo pastry. Jenny was not amused but I really didn’t have any choice.

If it’s cold and raining and you just want some comfort and the couch, this recipe is for you.

Just stop counting your calories for the night!

Ingredients

1 3/4 c mint leaves
600g minced lamb
2 gloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
16 sheets filo pastry
100g butter, melted
2 tablespoon flaked almonds
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways, thinly sliced diagonally
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  2. Coarsely chop 3/4 cup mint, then combine with mince, garlic and cumin in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Place filo pastry on a work surface; keep covered with a lightly damp tea towel while working to prevent it drying out. Take 1 sheet of pastry and brush it lightly with melted butter. Top with another sheet and brush with butter.
  4. Place a 1cm-wide strip of lamb mixture along one side of the pastry. Roll pastry to enclose filling, then working quickly, coil the length of the pastry into a snail-shape. Place on 1 large paper-lined oven trays, then brush with butter. Repeat with the remaining pastry, butter and filling.
  5. Scatter the spirals with almonds and sesame seeds, then bake for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.
  6. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and cucumbers and remaining mint (1 c) in a bowl. Add oil and lemon juice and season to taste and toss to combine.
  7. Serve warm spirals with the salad and lemon wedges.

Pork Chops with Gremolata

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 2

I think this recipe should be named Gremolata with Pork Chops.

Seriously, how doubly good is anything with gremolata?! It’s the reason you’re cooking this.

Easy weekday dish, bistro quality and served with a green salad and maybe some boiled, seasoned baby potatoes with parsley and butter and you definitely don’t have to wash up!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 pork chops
Salt and freshly ground pepper
25g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, skins on, squashed flat
175ml white wine

For the gremolata

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic finely chopped
½ lemon, zest only

  1. Season the pork chops with the salt and pepper. Heat the butter and oil together in a pan until frothing and then add the flattened garlic and the pork chops.
  2. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes until browned and then turn over and 2 – 3 for the other side until it is also browned; lower the heat and continue cooking for 3 – 4 minutes until cooked through. Transfer the chops to a warm plate aside.
  3. Pour the wine in the pan to deglaze, scrapping off the residue from the bottom of the pan. Bubble over a high heat for 4 – 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.
  4. For the (amazing) gremolata, mix together the parsley, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl.
  5. To serve, spoon the reduced white wine sauce around the pork chops and sprinkle over the gremolata.