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...

Neil Perry’s Warm Squid Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 as a share plate

It is after numbers like this one that you wonder why you don’t cook more squid! And if you don’t trust me, you have to trust that pretty much anything Neil Perry cooks is going to be wonderful.

It is an incredibly easy dish to do, it takes no time to prep and cook and it’s healthy sans the loaf of bread which unfortunately, is not optional!

The key to it all is to cook the different ingredients as fast as possible! And preferably, with the two of you cooking; it’s a fast-faced, hands-on, let’s both be rewarded sort of experience.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium Spanish Onion roughly sliced
3 garlic, sliced
2 fresh Bay leaves finely sliced
Sweet Sherry
4 medium Squid Tubes sliced 2cm thick
4 Tomatoes blanched, quartered, peeled and de-seeded
½ bunch Parsley picked
Sea salt
Freshly Ground black Pepper to taste
2 Lemons juiced
Rustic loaf of bread to sop up sauce

Method

  1. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan to very hot. Add the onion, garlic and bay leaf and fry quickly.
  2. Add the sweet sherry, toss around and allow the alcohol to burn off as it quickly reduces.
  3. Add the sliced squid. Toss through for about 30 seconds
  4. Add the tomato quarters, parsley, salt and pepper.
  5. Finish with the lemon juice, a dash of extra virgin olive oil and a grind of pepper.

Armando Percuoco’s Truffle Egg Pasta

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 as an entree

This is a brilliant recipe for so many reasons.

It is the signature dish of Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo and typifies his wonderful, modern Italian cuisine; this dish served alongside his deep fried zucchini flowers together with a glass of chilled white wine is simply magic. I few years back, I replicated this combo at least once every summer and seriously, you win smiles and nods.

You just look better in everyone’s eyes!

The truffle egg pasta is a very simple dish to accomplish though it is one where no corners can be cut; the best pasta, full cream and proper butter are the point of the recipe, not merely the base. There is no question that bang for buck, this recipe is way up there.

The few times I have cooked this, I have used truffle oil though when I have had it at Buon Ricordo, it has been with truffled egg. There is a difference in flavour, though not better or worse; just different. Frankly, I’m not sure I can be bothered truffling eggs in my amateur kitchen.

You probably won’t be able to lie to your lady friend about the ingredients or the calories, though life is short and you’re only going to whip this up once a year right?

Do it and thank Armando later.

Ingredients

280g fresh or dry Fettuccine
1 tablespoon Butter
1 cup Cream
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
4 Truffle Eggs or 1 tablespoon truffle oil
Extra Parmesan for serving

Method

  1. Boil fettuccine for about six minutes if dry, or four minutes if fresh. Drain.
  2. To a frying pan add butter and cream and simmer for three minutes over medium heat to reduce the mixture.
  3. If using ordinary eggs and truffle oil, add truffle oil now.
  4. Add cooked pasta and toss, then add parmesan and stir.
  5. Divide pasta into four serves on plates.
  6. In the meantime smear frying pan with butter and fry egg until whites are firm, but yolks are still runny. Do not burn or allow a brown under-crust to burn; it is not Sunday morning.
  7. Place egg on pasta.
  8. Add more parmesan, salt and pepper and toss egg into pasta.

 

Whole-Wheat Linguine with Green Beans, Ricotta and Lemon

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

This is Giada de Laurentiis’ dish and continues the theme that everything I have cooked of hers has been great.

It is an unassuming recipe and its simplicity is its strength; it’s clean, it’s healthy and it has a mellow, consistent and creamy texture. It’s also very tasty.

I don’t know if I’d serve it to the Queen Mother, though as a Monday night meal, it’s perfect.

For what it’s worth, I doubled some ingredients and this is reflected in the recipe below.

Ingredients

1 pack of Whole-wheat linguine
1 cup low-fat ricotta
3tbs olive oil
500g French green beans, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1tsp salt
1/3 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 c halved cherry tomatoes
1 lemon, zested

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.
  2. Add the pasta and cook until cooked. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water.
  3. Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl and add the ricotta cheese and toss to combine.
  4. Meanwhile, in a heavy pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat.
  5. Add the green beans, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the cup of cooking water and continue cooking until tender; another few minutes, being careful not to overcook the beans.
  6. Add the pasta with the ricotta to the pan, and toss to combine.
  7. Add the tomatoes and gently toss.
  8. Transfer to serving plate and top with lemon zest.

 

Zarzeula

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

This is such a wonderful dish. It is so fresh, letting the seafood and the sauce do the work, and looks just amazing when dished and then plated in front of everyone. I served this with Andalusian Pork, a Moroccan salad and an enormous bowl of crusty bread.

I substituted bass for monkfish (I briefly thought about crayfish meat) and flounder for the halibut, though halibut can be found at the markets and I have had monkfish in Australia, albeit in a restaurant and imported from NZ.

Ingredients

7 tbsp olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 large, ripe tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and finely chopped
½tsp paprika
2 thin slices of bread, crusts removed
4 almonds, toasted and skinned
3 garlic cloves, peeled
100g thick cod fillet, skinned
100g monkfish fillet, skinned
100g halibut fillet, skinned
1½ tbsp plain flour
100g prepared squid, sliced
8 raw tiger prawns
16 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
8 large clams, scrubbed
100ml Spanish brandy or other inexpensive brandy
150ml dry white wine
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
crusty bread, to serve

Monkfish

  1. Heat three tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and sauté slowly until light golden. Add the tomatoes and paprika and cook over a low heat until the oil separates from the vegetables and appears on the surface. Put to one side.
  2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a separate frying pan, add the bread and fry on both sides until golden. Place in a mortar with the almonds, two cloves of garlic and one tablespoon of olive oil. Pound together to a fine paste, then set aside.
  3. Season the fish and dust with the flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the fish in it separately – first the cod, then the monkfish, halibut, squid and prawns. As each is cooked, transfer to a large casserole.
  4. Add the mussels and clams to the casserole. Chop the remaining clove of garlic and stir it into the casserole dish. Put over a low heat, pour the brandy over the fish and heat gently, then set it alight, standing well back.
  5. When the flames have died down, stir in the reserved tomato mixture, followed by the white wine and just enough hot water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about four minutes, until the mussels and clams have opened. Discard any that remain closed.
  6. Mix in the reserved bread paste to thicken the sauce, then add the parsley. Season to taste. Serve in large bowls, accompanied by crusty bread.

Coriander pesto

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Serves: Plenty as a dip

Not much to say here except that rather than using this for a pasta, as a dip with crackers or bread, it is so moorish, it will be the first thing to disappear. And I can vouch that it is particularly kid friendly.

Start here for your next party,.

Ingredients

2 c coriander leaves
½ c pine nuts, toasted
½ c grated Parmesan
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ c extra virgin olive oil 

Method

  1. In a food processor, process together the coriander, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and lemon juice and with the machine running, add the olive oil.

Chicken Stew with Mushrooms, Turnips and Kale

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

It might seem odd to cook a stew in the middle of summer, though months since my last stew, I didn’t really care how hot it was outside. After a long day, served with a cold beer, a warm stew is a really nice, stout, filling meal among a summer of prawn salads, watermelon and frozen yoghurt.

I have adapted this recipe by doubling the mushrooms and removing the cornstarch.

You can never have too many mushrooms and the cornstarch adds a nebulous thickness to the stew as well as merely adding calories and processed food to what is otherwise, a healthy, 260 calorie dinner.

As with all stews, the cooking times really are approximate only. I let the mushrooms and onions cook down for 25 minutes and as long as you don’t overdo it and end up with mush, the longer and slower you cook a stew, the better the stew.

Season well, chopped parsley to serve, awesome.

Ingredients

750gm chicken breasts but into 2cm pieces
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large turnips, peels and cut into 2cm pieces
500gm sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup dry white wine
4 cups chopped kale (Coles sell chopped, fresh Kale in the vegetable aisle)
750ml chicken stock
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
Salt and cracked pepper

Method

  1. In a heavy saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over a medium heat; add the chicken, stirring until lightly browned. Around 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  2. Add the remaining olive oil to the saucepan; add the turnips, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Stir and cook until the onion is limp: 10 – 20 minutes or more. Add the wine and stir in for a minute before adding the stock, rosemary and kale. Bring to the boil and return the chicken (and any juices) to the saucepan. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes or until you have the consistency you are after.
  3. Done!

Cauliflower rice

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Going from fatso to less-so fatso was a journey that meant less drinking, less calories, more exercise and… crossing those food taboos I had always held true.

Like substituting.

Substituting strips of zucchini for pasta. Tofu for meat. And cauliflower for rice.

Because rice was one of those things that made me fat. The carbs, the inoffensive taste, the way it filled me up when covered in curries and sauce.

Rice though, is high in calories. And as I have done the simple arithmetic – less carbs in, more carbs out = weight loss = I’ve had to cross old taboos. Namely, rice cannot be substituted.

Well let me tell you, my fellow fatsos, it can. And with no downside.

A cup of rice is 216 calories. A cup of cauliflower rice with the same density, 28. Ha.

And cauliflower has a lower GI so you’ll feel fuller longer!

And in ‘ricing’ the cauliflower, it takes on a new, really pleasant texture. Dry yet moist, solid, almost like cous cous. Tastes good too, especially when you run through some coriander and toasted cumin seeds.

216 calories is a brisk half-hour walk. You’ve just burnt 28 reading this recipe introduction.

Take the plunge and see the light. This is how rice should be.

(Unless you’re in an Indian restaurant with a vindaloo in which case, it is safe to assume you have earned rice or need rice, or both…!)

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
Bunch of coriander, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
Small handful of curry leaves, fried

Method

  1. Cut the florets from the cauliflower leaving the tough stalk aside.
  2. Pulse the florets in a food processor until of a consistent, cous cous like consistency.
  3. Put the pulsed cauliflower in a microwave-proof bowl, cover in cling-wrap, pierce the cling wrap and microwave for 7 minutes (yes, 7 minutes) on high. Do not add water.
  4. Heat a large pan over a medium-high heat and fry the cauliflower, tossing it through until lightly toasted.
  5. Stir through the coriander, curry leaves and cumin seeds.
  6. See the light!

Smoky Chipotle Salmon & Coriander Dressing

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 2

This is seriously, so good. Like, so good.

You’ll know it off by heart the first time you cook it. It is incredibly healthy, especially when served with cauliflower rice. It looks great. The fish can be marinated in-advance. It’s hot and filling and the contrast of the cold yogurt with the hot, smoky salmon and the rice is just awesome.

This is why it is seriously so good. So good, I have cooked it twice in two weeks and I won’t feel bad cooking it a third time. There is no shame. This should be a staple.

Thank you to Suskizzled where I sourced the original recipe…)

A quick note on the dry rub.

Unlike in the States, Chipotle Chilli Powder is not a staple of our stores. I sourced it from Herbies though only because I was in the area. There would be reasonable substitutes and as an alternative, I saw a chipotle dry rub in Coles which essentially had the same ingredients and would probably be alright also.

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets (skin off)
1tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt and pepper

Coriander Dressing

4 heaped tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt
1 Habanero chilli, finely chopped
Large bunch of coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Combine the dry-rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over the salmon. Set-aside or refrigerate if using later.
  2. Heat a heavy pan and pan cook the fish on both sides until still slightly rare and flaking.
  3. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
  4. Serve the salmon with the coriander dressing drizzled on-top; serve with cauliflower rice and a small side salad of greens, sliced shallots, avocado and a squeeze of lemon.

Gok Wan’s Leftover Roast Duck Noodles

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 2

This is a cracker of a dish.

From go to hero, it is the fastest way to whip up a great tasting Asian dinner using your left-over meat; duck, chicken or in my case, three small leftover pork scotch fillets. Shred your meat, get your noodles ready and five minutes of wok time later…

Kid friendly too!

This is not the original recipe as I have altered some of the ingredients up. You could tone it down a notch though I really like the fun, fresh taste.

Ingredients

1 tbsp groundnut oil
200gm leftover duck meat, shredded (or pork, chicken, lamb etc)
1 cucumber, deseeded and cut into batons
4 spring onions, finely sliced into 4cm lengths
3 – 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
150gm dried fine egg noodles, cooked and drained according to instructions (I used Wokka Thin Egg Noodles (Shelf Read).

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. When the oil is smoking, add the duck meat and stir-fry for 2 – 3 minutes, until the meat is beginning to turn golden and a little crisp.
  2. Add the cucumber and spring onions and continue to stir-fry for 2 mins, then add the Hoisin sauce and a splash of water, Mix well.
  3. Add the cooked noodles, with the soy sauce if using and toss everything together. Serve immediately.

Prawns, peas and epic (prawn) oil

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 2

Sitting with my mate Leo waiting for a haircut (that never actually eventuated because they didn’t notice us for 15 minutes and when they did, told us they had no room for us until 4pm; and Leo doesn’t even have hair!) and flicking through Men’s Health.

And among photos of men with incredible abs, photos of huge watches and photos of men with incredible abs wearing huge watches running through parks, was this recipe.

Except for the oil, it is super healthy and in any event, there isn’t much oil left after you reduce it all and it is olive oil, so it’s goodish anyway.

It can be a little unidirectional in its otherwise excellent flavour – we’re talking prawns and half a kilo of peas here – so go all in with the flavour; the herbs, lemon, good crack of pepper.

Ingredients

500gm of prawns, shelled and deveined (shells/heads retained)
½ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
¼ bunch parsley, chopped
250ml fish or vegetable stock
500gm peas (frozen baby peas is what I used)
1 onion sliced
Handful fresh dill roughly chopped
Handful fresh mint roughly chopped
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Juice of half a lemon

Method

  1. Add oil to a pan over a medium heat. Stir in the prawn shells/heads and cook for 5 or so minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly golden, before storing in the chilli and the parsley for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then strain the oil, discarding the solids. Do not wash the pan.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring the stock to boil then turn to medium and cook the peas for 3 – 5 minutes until tender. Strain the peas, keep the stock.
  3. In the same pan as used before, on a medium heat, add the onions and allow to caramelise for 8 – 10 minutes. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes until tender.
  4. Stir in the peas for a minute before folding in half the dill and mint and half the stock; you want it to be a lose mix but not soupy.
  5. Add 2 tablespoons of the epic oil (prawn oil). Season with salt and pepper, squeeze in the lemon juice and serve, garnished with the remaining herbs.