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...

Berber Tagine Omelette

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 4

I found this recipe on SBS Food by mistake.

It originates from Morocco, and is so simple to do, the spices turning into a wonderful sauce with the onion and tomato. I cooked it years ago for brunch though this is an anytime dish.

And almost as good as Nat’s famous Mexican eggs.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
10 tomatoes, peeled and diced
7 eggs, beaten
1 handful, chopped coriander
Salt and Pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Heat some olive oil in the tagine on the stove, and gently cook the onions for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the spices and cook for a further 3 minutes.
  4. Add the tomatoes and coriander and then simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a sauce consistency.
  5. Remove from the heat and pour the beaten eggs over the sauce, cover the tagine lid and place in the over for about 10 – 15 minutes or until it lightly puffs and sers.
  6. To serve, season well and drizzle with a little olive oil.

King Prawns sautéed with tomato, fish sauce and black pepper (Tom Rim)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 4

I first cooked this dish at a cooking class at the Seafood School with my mother Ellen, around 2003. The teacher was Mark Jensen, the head chef at Red Lantern, and I swear, I became infatuated with this dish and cooked it a dozen times for different friends: Rob and Jill, Giles and Nat… even Aaron and Nilhan.

And of course my Nat one winter’s Sunday night where it hit the right note!

It is rich, hot and striking and with fresh prawns, coriander and spring onion, knocks the socks off of unsuspecting guests. I still have the recipe printout from the Seafood School, though I rediscovered it after buying the Red Lantern cookbook a few years back; this should become a staple for you.

Ingredients

1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bird’s eye chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
12 jumbo king prawns, peeled, deveined, with tails intact
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3/4 cup (185ml) fish stock
1/2 very ripe tomato, diced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 small handful coriander leaves

Method

  1. Add the oil, garlic and chilli to a wok over medium heat and stir until fragrant but not coloured.
  2. Add the tomato paste. Prawns and sugar. Toss to combine.
  3. Add the pepper, fish sauce, fish stock and diced tomato.
  4. Increase the heat, bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until the prawns are cooked through.
  5. Remove the prawns to a serving planner, reduce the sauce slightly (the sauce starts to take on a slight syrupy texture) and pour over the prawns.
  6. Garnish with the spring onion and coriander.

Pulled Pork

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Pulled Pork

Serves 10

Pulled pork has been a bit done to death, though there are times that call for it.

And that time was Courtney’s 25th birthday when 30 or so of her closest friends came for a casual, winter’s BBQ dinner and drinks.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and whilst it’s the pork that does most of the talking, the rub makes a great difference. Shredded and mixed through with a good BBQ sauce, who could want more?

I should note that I have varied significantly from her method; she seals the meat and doesn’t focus on the crackling.

Having cooked 12-hour pork so many times, I reckon the crackling is half the point and whilst sealing the flesh would add another dynamic, once shredded, I’m not too fussed.

Ingredients

5kg pork shoulder (I cooked it without bone in, though bone in would be ideal)
3 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp dry mustard
½ ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

  1. Place the pork shoulder on a baking paper lined tray. Combine the rub ingredients and rub all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and ideally, overnight.
  2. Preheat the oven to 250c or as hot as possible.
  3. Pull out the pork and bring to room temperature; 30 minutes. Pat the skin dry with paper towel, score if necessary and rub the skin all over with olive oil and salt.
  4. Cook the pork in a baking dish at 250c for 30 minutes or so to allow the crackling to start to form. You could add the grill if necessary; really anything you need to do to get that crackling proud!
  5. Drop the oven to 150c and let the pork cook for another 6 hours. Check to make sure it is not dry every hour or so and add water as necessary to the dish.
  6. Remove the pork and it should start to fall apart under its own weight. If not, return to the oven for however long is necessary.
  7. Remove the crackling and cut up; remove the fat and shred the meat with two forks.
  8. Run through a Texan BBQ sauce and serve on brioche buns, slaw, all the good stuff.

Chophouse’s BBQ Glazed Short Ribs

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 4

My favourite source of meat in Sydney is Haverick Meats. They’re the best butcher in town and their Saturday store is borderline theatre; dozens and dozens of customers in the cool room, hundreds of cuts of meat, a non-stop BBQ for the kids.

And the best meat in town.

Peter, their MD has been pushing me to try his Short Ribs since I have known him, though I’ve never really thought of how to cook them and so have always left them on hold.

I found this short rib recipe via Haverick Meats; it is from the Chophouse, one of Haverick Meat’s many restaurant clients. The Chophouse did a cooking presentation at Haverick Meats for selected food bloggers – one of whom kindly reproduced the recipe.

I’ve cooked ribs plenty of times and they’re always a party winner; though just those boring pork and beef ribs you can find at Woolies with a BBQ sauce.

These Short Ribs are simply a different level altogether.

This is restaurant grade stuff. From the cut of meat to the process to the flavour.

Head to Haverick Meats on a Saturday morning, grab the Short Rib and say hello to Saturday night’s dinner and improved friendships/admiration/adoration.

Ingredients

2kg piece short rib (grain fed ideally), trimmed, bone in

Dry Rub Ingredients

2 sticks lemongrass
3 birds eye chilli
100gm ginger (about 2 cups!)
1 bunch coriander

BBQ Sauce Ingredients

200gm tomato paste
300ml apple cider vinegar
20ml sweet chilli sauce
5ml tabasco sauce
7gm ground ginger
10gm hot English mustard
20ml dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce
10g ground black pepper
400ml honey
100ml water

Method

  1. Steam the short rib for three hours; I left the ribs in the oven for a few hours after this to cool and as with all cuts of meat like this, the longer the cooking time, the better.
  2. Place the dry rub ingredients in a food processor and blend to a rough paste.
  3. Once the meat has cooled, scrape the excess fat and apply the dry rub to it; allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
  4. For the BBQ sauce, add all the ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil. Mix regularly to stop the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir for 20 minutes. Cool and strain.
  5. Heat an oven to 160c. Scrape the marinade off of the meat and transfer the meat to a baking tray. Pour over the BBQ sauce and slow cook for 30 minutes, basting the meat every 5 or so minutes. Add water to the sauce if it starts to caramelise.
  6. Serve with slaw, baked potato and corn.

Spicy Braised Beef Soup with Hot Bean Paste

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Spicy Braised Beef Soup with Hot Bean Paste

Serves 4

I found this recipe on the Rockpool website – I assume it is sourced from Spice Temple.

It is a wonderful and really fresh dish, though spend some time making sure you track down the right pastes. There are dozens and dozens and at the Chinese grocer I went to, they said they had little knowledge of the Korean pastes other than whether they were used in soups or not.

The reason I say to take care is that you want this soup’s spice level dialled to 11; it’s the reason this dish is so good.

Ingredients
700gm piece beef brisket, trimmed
1 star anise
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon quill
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2 spring onions, finely sliced into rounds
2 tbsp Korean fermented hot chilli bean paste (gochujang)
2 tbsp Chinese soybean paste (huang jing)
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
¼ cup light soy sauce
1 tbsp castor sugar
160gm fresh Shanghai noodles
3 Chinese cabbage leaves
1 long red chilli, finely sliced
Handful coriander leaveshandful coriander leaves

Method

  1. Place the beef in a pot covered with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil; when the scum rises, remove the beef and rinse. Cut beef into 2cm pieces.
  2. Dry-roast the spices in a pan for 4-5 mins until fragrant, Allow to cool and wrap in a tied muslin cloth.
  3. In a large pot, put in the beef, spices (in the muslin cloth) and 2 ½ litres; bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Lift out the beef and the spice bag and reserve including the stock.
  4. Heat oil to hot in a large wok. Stir-fry the garlic, ginger, and spring-onions for 1 minute. Add both the bean pastes and fry until fragrant.
  5. Deglaze with Shaoxing wine, then season with the soy and sugar. Check seasoning.
  6. Add the beef and spice bag and 1 ¼ litres of the beef stock; bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  7. Cook the noodles until al dente; 8 – 10 minutes or according to instructions; I doubled the amount of noodle though this does change the dish to more of a noodle dish than a soup.
  8. Remove the spice bag from the wok and discard; dice the cabbage leaves into 3cm pieces and blanch for a minute in the stock; add the noodles to heat through.
  9. Ladle the soup into four large bowls and garnish with the chilli and coriander.

Spaghetti with prawns, basil and pistachios

.Reading time 1 minute.
With a glass of cold white wine and some bread and salad, you've set up Saturday afternoon as a win.
With a glass of cold white wine and some bread and salad, you’ve set up Saturday afternoon as a win.

Serves 4

Another simple and successful Neil Perry dish.

And yes, it is essentially pesto through no, it tastes nothing like the stuff in the jar. It is much lighter and fresher and really clean. A great Saturday lunch with a big glass of white.

Ingredients

1 clove garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ bunch basil leaves
¼ bunch parsley leaves
¼ bunch mint leaves
½ c toasted unsalted pistachios
1 tbsp finely grated parmesan
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
400g dried spaghetti
1kg green king prawns, peeled with tails intact

Method

  1. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and salt. Add the herbs and continue to pound until a thick paste is formed and the herbs broken down.
  2. Add half the pistachios and continue to pound until the paste is a creamy consistency.
  3. Chop the remaining pistachios and stir through the paste, also adding the parmesan, 2 tbsp oil and lemon juice. Season with more salt as necessary, and a pinch of pepper.
  4. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti until al dente and set aside keeping warm.
  5. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over a high heat and pan fry the prawns quickly; around two minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt.

Mix the pesto with the pasta, stir in the prawns and serve.

Jamie Oliver’s Mexican Breakfast: Chilli tomato stew, eggs and cheese wrapped in tortillas

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 6

I am not usually very adventurous with breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon or an Eggs Benedict is my go to in pretty much any hotel or café; occasionally an omelette as long as it has ham, cheese and mushroom.

I do cook pancakes from time-to-time, though with some chopped parsley, milk and garlic powder, scrambled eggs and few slices of buttered toast are my regular offering to the boys and Nat on a Sunday morning; boring perhaps, comfortable yes.

I had these eggs cooked for me for my last birthday and with a flute of good French, this dish reminded me of why being adventurous can come with such reward.

Are these the best eggs ever? My mother thinks Kylie Kwong has this honour stitched up whilst my father thinks Roger Verge’s Fried Eggs with Wine Vinegar wins.

For me – this Mexican breakfast – is way up there and a fabulous way to celebrate someone’s birthday; if you’re celebrating the birthday of someone my age, it will definitely be the best present they get.

Go Jamie Oliver. Go Nat!

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and finely sliced
2 fresh red or orange chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
1 large dried chilli
3 fresh bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2x 400gm tins chopped tomatoes
2 large tomatoes, sliced
6 large eggs (free range Nat!)
6 tortillas
150gm grated cheddar cheese, to serve
Method

  1. In a large fry pan (with a fitted lid) or a tagine (which we used and is far more dramatic for purposes of presentation), heat the oil to a medium-high heat.
  2. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, both the fresh and dried chillies, bay leaves and a good pinch of salt and pepper; stir and cook for 15 minutes to soften and caramelise.
  3. Add the tinned tomatoes and try to break them up/mash them a little as they combine and cook; bring to the boil and then reduce and simmer for five or so minutes as the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
  4. Check the seasoning and then layer the fresh tomato slices over the sauce.
  5. Make six wells in among the tomato slices and sauce and crack the eggs into the wells; try to crack them as quickly as possible so they cook consistently.
  6. Season the eggs and cover the pan for 3 – 4 minutes or until the eggs are poached to your liking.
  7. Whilst the eggs are cooking, warm the tortillas in the oven or microwave.
  8. At the table, sprinkle some of the cheese on a tortilla and add an egg with the sauce and tomato; wrap it up and enjoy with Champagne.

Gordon Ramsay’s Slow Braised Beef Cheeks (Ragu) with Pappardelle

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 6

Credit where credit is due.

This is an amazing dish; an amazing braise. And I didn’t even cook it.

Nat did. For my 36th birthday.

A good ragu is about the length of the cooking time and this is where Nat nailed it. Six hours in, there was a ripple of fear that the beef cheeks hadn’t broken down, still solid and in one piece each; two hours later and a light tap, and they collapsed into moorish, unbelievably tender meat.

And why not keep cooking on a low heat, right up until dinner? Which is what we did. Time is your friend and beef cheeks love to sit and braise away.

During my childhood and teen years, my mother cooked Pork in Milk for my every birthday; it was my annual request and 20 or more years on, I can still taste it.

This ragu has now replaced my annual pork offering and I can’t wait to cook it – or have it cooked for me – again and again and again.

Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying
1kg of beef cheeks (in this instance, don’t substitute another cut of beef; or try lamb shanks if that is all you can get)
1 onion, peeled and roughly cut
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly crushed
1 bay leaf (or two dried if you can’t get fresh)
400ml red wine (you can safely use a bit more here)
1x 400gm tin chopped tomatoes
500ml beef stock
500gm dried pappardelle
Handful of parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan; season the meat and brown on all sides. Set aside.
  2. In the same pan, brown the onions, garlic and bay leaf until just softened and starting to brown a little.
  3. Return the meat to the pan and add the wine to deglaze.
  4. Allow it to reduce a little and add the stock and tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down.
  5. Stir occasionally for the next four hours, ensuring the meat is not drying out and adding water as need be. The meat is ready when it falls apart; keep cooking as long as you want. Time is your friend!
  6. Cook the pasta in salted water.
  7. Gently stir through the sauce with the pasta and garnish with parsley.
  8. Happy birthday.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

This is a really simple and elegant dessert and one easy enough that it makes it into my remit; it’s not that I don’t love tackling and serving a great and complex dessert, though the main meal always takes priority for me.

And so this is where this dessert shines; it is quick, easy and looks like half the afternoon was given to it.

And it lasts a few days which makes it triply as good.

Ingredients

1 tsp instant coffee powder
¼ c boiling water
200gm butter, chopped
180hm dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs, separated
1 c caster sugar
2 c almond meal (ground almonds)
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Double cream and strawberries to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160c (180c if not fan forced).
  2. Grease a 6cm deep, 22cm round base spring-form cake pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper.
  3. Combine and stir the coffee powder and boiling water.
  4. Place the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee mixture in a medium saucepan over a low heat and stir continuously for about 3 minutes until combined and melted. Remove, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool slightly.
  5. Beat the egg yolks and sugar for five minutes until thick and set aside. Separately, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
  6. Add the chocolate mixture and almond meal to the egg yolk mixture. Combine and then gently fold in the egg white mixture.
  7. Pour into the pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes and then allow to cool complete.
  8. Dust with the cocoa powder (or icing sugar) and serve with the strawberries and cream.

Warm potato salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

Growing up, potato salad meant two things to me. That fabulous, only-served-at-picnics Woolworths potato salad that you knew you shouldn’t like or eat.

Or the different variations my mother served to us; potato salads that were not bleached white, often contained mustards and wine and herbs and frequently enough, were warm. This recipe is one of many she has given me.

I still have a hidden love for the Woolworths variety, though I still know I shouldn’t eat it except for BBQs and picnics and fishing trips. This potato salad however, has no guilt attached to it and is simply fabulous served with a steak, sausages or really anything that goes with potato salad.

Better still, as with all potato salads, make enough and it is the gift that keeps on giving; head to the fridge with a teaspoon at 11pm on a Saturday night and repeat every fifteen minutes until  you wake up on Sunday and start the same trick from 11am onwards.

Long live the potato salad.

Ingredients

100gm thinly sliced bacon
1.25kg potatoes, scrubbed
½ c sour cream
1 tbsp honey
1 eschallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Fry the bacon and then break it up.
  2. Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water and then drain, peel off the skins and slice.
  3. Combine the sour cream, mustard, honey, eschallot, vinegar, olive oil and chives, season with salt and pepper and toss through the warm potato and bacon.
  4. Garnish with the parsley and look forward to the next 24 hours of slightly guilt-free snacking.