Tag: dinner

Damien Pignolet’s Tiny Omelette of Goat’s Cheese & Pine Nuts

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 1

Nat and I had a simple French lunch a Sunday or two ago and I cooked this omelette from Damien Pignolet’s book, ‘french’.

It’s a book I have had for years and it’s just lovely 80s and 90s French from his various restaurants. (If you haven’t, Bistro Moncur in Woollahra is a wonderful long lunch!)

This omelette is predictable delicate and just a lovely way to kick things off; I doubled it so that we had a small omelette each.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp crème fraîche
2 tsp pine nuts, toasted until pale golden
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp unsalted butter
2 tsp rosemary oil (below)
1 tbsp rindless mature goat’s cheese, broken into small pieces

Method

  1. Place the egg, egg yolk, crème fraîche, and pine nuts in a small bowl for each omelette. Season with a tiny pinch of salt, freshly cracked black pepper and thyme leaves. Using a fork, break the eggs and yolks, lightly mixing the ingredients so that streaks of white and yolk are still visible – this ensures lightness of texture in the omelette.
  2. Heat the butter and rosemary oil in a blini pan, pour in the egg mixture, wait a moment for it to set, then shake the pan and, using a spatula or fork, draw the cooked egg away to allow the raw mixture to flow underneath and cook. While the omelette is still quite moist, add the goat’s cheese, flip half the omelette over and turn out onto a warm plate.

Rosemary oil

To make the rosemary oil, put 4 tbsp of olive oil in a small ovenproof bowl with 2 tbsp rosemary leaves and place in a 150c oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool then strain into a bowl or storage jar; the oil will keep for several days. This quantity is enough for 9 tiny omelettes. Rosemary oil can also be used to sauté potatoes, along with some garlic, or to brush on a small fish such as red mullet before grilling.

Vefa Alexiadou’s Pork Chops in Wine

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

Another excellent and simple Greek dinner from Vefa Alexiadou’s ‘Greek Cookbook’.

We were after a quick Monday dinner and this totally hit the spot.

Alongside a green salad and some pan-fried potatoes with oregano and feta, this is how you celebrate beating Monday.

Plus now that you have an open bottle of red or white wine, well, you know…

Ingredients

4 large pork chops, 1.5cm thick
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2/3 c dry white or red wine
4 lemon wedges
Fried potatoes and greens, to serve

Method

  1. Season the chops with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan large enough to hold the chops in a single layer. Add the chops and cook over medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
  2. Pour in half the wine and cook for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated, then pour in 5 tbsp water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
  3. Increase the heat and let the chops sizzle. Pour in the remaining wine and cook for 1 – 2 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated. Serve immediately on warmed plates with 1 – 2 tbsp of the wine sauce, garnished with lemon wedges and accompanied by fried potatoes and greens.

Colin Fassnidge’s Pork, Marjoram & Parmesan Rind Rigatoni

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

I was worried this wouldn’t be a special pasta, though there is something very special about it. There is a real nuance in the flavour and it’s just lovely.

Definitely the marjoram. Definitely.

Could also be the parmesan rind.

Could be that I really slowly cooked it down and then let it sit for a few hours.

Definitely was because it was a mid-week dinner.

We had dinner at Pelengrino2000 for Nat’s birthday earlier in the week and this is exactly what I would have expected from them.

1-hat stuff.

Hat’s off Colin Fassnidge. First recipe and it hit it out of the park.

Ingredients

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 bunch marjoram, leaves picked and finely chopped, stalks finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
500gm pork mince
1/3 c white wine
700ml tomato passata
2 parmesan rinds (substitute 1/2 c finely grated parmesan) plus extra finely grated to serve
350gm spaghettini or rigatoni

Method

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, marjoram stalks and chilli, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the onion is softened. Increase heat to high, add pork and cook for 10 minutes or until evenly browned.
  2. Add the wine and cook, stirring regularly, for 2 minutes or until the liquid is reduced slightly. Add passata, parmesan rinds and 3/4 marjoram leaves, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes to reduce slightly and develop flavour. Discard rinds.
  3. Meanwhile, cook your pasta al dente, reserving 1/3 pasta cooking water.
  4. Toss pasta and reserved cooking water through the tomato mixture. Scatter with remaining marjoram leaves and extra parmesan to serve.