Leek & Ricotta Filo Pie

What you need

1 onion , halved and sliced

2 leeks sliced

4 tbl Olive oil

2 garlic cloves , crushed

500g ricotta cheese – drained well

grating nutmeg

200g feta cheese , cumbled or grated

4 eggs , beaten

6 large sheets filo pastry

What to do

Heat the oven to 200C.

Sautee the onion and leek in the olive oil until soft and turning golden. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Cool

In a bowl place ricotta, add the onion and leek mixture along with the nutmeg, feta, eggs and season.

Melt 30g more butter, and butter a non-stick frypan or cake tin, about 20-22cm. Put the first sheet of filo in the tin and brush with butter, letting the excess hang over the sides. Keep going with the rest of the sheets, turning a little before adding each additional pastry sheet and brushing all over with butter. When all the pastry is used up, tip in the filling and fold over the excess pastry to cover. Butter the top then bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the filo is crisp and golden.

Leave for 5 minutes before turning out and cutting into wedges to serve.

beetroot relish

This easy to make relish takes just 30 minutes, and goes great with chicken or turkey in a sandwich or a burger.

what you need

1 chopped brown onion

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

pinch of ground cinnamon and cloves

225g drained canned beetroot, chopped

what to do

Combine 1 chopped brown onion, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water and a pinch of ground cinnamon and cloves in a saucepan over medium heat. 

Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. 

Add 225g drained canned beetroot, chopped, and cook for 15 minutes or until thick. 

Allow to cool & store in the fridge 

stuffed red peppers

what you need
3 red peppers (capsicums)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 gloves garlic, crushed
50gr (1 3/4oz) butter
1 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
1 cup grated mozzerella
2 tablespoons chopped sage


what to do
pre heat the oven to 170 celcius.
Cut the tops of the capsicums and save, remove the seeds and and wash
heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add onion and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes.
remove from the heat and stir in the rice, butter and breadcrumbs , transfer to a bowl and add egg, parmesan, tomato, mozzerella, sage and three tablespoons of water, stir well and season to taste. fill the peppers and place the lids back on drizzle with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes or untill peppers and cooked


Why not try a variation and use tomatoes, or marrow instead of capsicums or peppers, or cous cous instead of rice. 

fried pumkin blossoms

Here is a variation on my fried zucchini flowers, Pumpkin vines have large, yellow flowers that are 4 to 5 inches in diameter. The pumpkin vine like the zucchini vine has separate male and female flowers. The pumkin only forms at the base of the female flower.

The pumpkin is technically a fruit that belongs to the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers

what you need

24 pumpkin blossoms
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or corn meal)
3-4 tablespoons light cooking olive oil
dash salt as desired
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

what to do
Cut pumpkin blossoms off where the pumpkin starts.

Take the center out (stamen) as this is quiet bitter and wash well.

Make a batter of the milk, eggs, salt and pepper.

Dip the blossoms in the wheat or cornflour then in the blossoms in the batter and deep fry at 180 degrees until light golden brown.

Serve hot, these are also great filled with ricotta or goats cheese, or even a cheese risotto filling

greek zucchini fritters

What you
need
1 medium zucchini,
grated
1 onion, grated
1/2 carrot, grated
1 clove garlic,
minced
1/2 stick celery, peeled and grated
3/4 tablespoon star anise seed, crushed
1/2 tablespoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground
black pepper
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour, or as needed
oil for frying

what to do
Mix zucchini, onion, carrot, garlic, celery root, star anise seed, celery seeds, lightly beaten egg, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Gradually stir in flour until you have a soft, wet dough that sticks to your hands.

Heat oil in deep-fryer to 190 degrees C.
Drop dough by tablespoons into the oil, and turn until all sides are golden brown.

Italian stuffed mushrooms

18 large (about 2 lbs.) white mushrooms
Extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup Marsala wine
1 ½ cups, fresh bread crumbs (can substitute with gluten free crumbs!)
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
Aged balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove stems and coarsely chop them, reserving the caps. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped mushrooms to the heated oil, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook until mushroom mixture is dry, about 5 minutes. Slowly add Marsala. Cook until Marsala has evaporated, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the bread crumbs. Set aside the bread crumb mixture to let cool, and then add Pecorino Romano, parsley, and garlic. Mix thoroughly.

Place mushroom caps in a single layer (rounded side down) on a greased cookie sheet. Spoon mushroom filling into caps, drizzle with olive oil, season with pepper, and bake until golden brown, about 30-45 minutes. Arrange mushrooms on serving platter and drizzle with a little aged balsamic vinegar

corn and coriander fritters

what you need

1.5 cups corn kernels

2 spring onions finely chopped

½ onion finely diced

1 knob of ginger finely chopped

1/3 bunch of coriander leaves chopped

½ red capsicum finely diced

1 tsp dried cumin

½ cup of water (if you’re using tinned corn, use the water it comes in)

2 eggs

1 cup self raising flour

Sea salt flakes

Cracked lack pepper

Olive oil

what to do

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (350 fahrenheit).

Sauté the onion and ginger in a little oil until soft and translucent.

Place the flour, 1 cup of the corn kernels, onion, ginger, cumin, water and eggs into a food processor and process until well combined.

Place mixture into a large mixing bowl and stir through the remaining corn, shallots, capsicum, and coriander and season the mixture with sea salt and black pepper.

In a non-stick fry pan place a little oil and set over high heat.

Using a 30 ml (1 oz) ladle cook fritters 2 at a time, approx 1 minute per side or until golden.

Transfer to an oven proof rack and tray and cook for a further 3-4 minutes in the oven.

vegetable & feta tort

what you need for the pastry 2 cups bakers flour 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tsp sea salt water as required for the filling
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
400g pumpkin, peeled and diced 2cm
1 large kumara, peeled and diced 2cm
6 silverbeet leaves, thickly sliced
1 cup crumbled feta
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten

what to do For the pastry

Place the flour, salt and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook and mix in enough water to make a stiff dough.Knead with the dough hook for 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. This can also be done by mixing in a bowl then kneading by hand. Remove from the bowl, cover in plastic wrap and rest the pastry in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

For the filling
Heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry gently until soft and well browned. Remove from the heat and cool.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain well and crush coarsely with a fork. Boil the pumpkin and kumara separately in more salted water until tender. Drain well and cool. Boil the silverbeet leaves until well wilted, cool under cold water then squeeze dry and chop again.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Roll 1/2 the pastry out to make a disc 35cm in diameter. Place on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Put the potato in an even layer over the pastry, leaving a border 2cm wide all around the edge. Spread the fried onions on top, then the pumpkin and kumara. Sprinkle the silverbeet and feta over and season with a little salt (depending on how salty the feta is) and black pepper. Roll out the other 1/2 of the pastry and place on top. Brush the edges with egg and crimp or twist together all around to seal the pie. Brush the top all over with egg and make several cuts on the top to let the steam escape. Bake for 40 minutes or until well cooked.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly

zucchini and feta tart

What you need

6 medium zucchini,thinly sliced

2 Tbsp sea salt

6 eggs

2 Tbsp cornflour

½ cup finely chopped dill

80g fetta cheese, crumbled

Sea salt and white pepper

¹⁄³ cup finely grated parmesan

What to do

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base and sides of a deep 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Put half the zucchini slices in a colander. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the salt. Top with the remaining zucchini slices and salt. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, then rinse zucchini under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside on a large baking tray.

Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add cornflour and whisk to combine. Add dill, crumbled feta cheese and salt and pepper to egg mixture and stir to combine. Put zucchini slices in prepared cake tin.

Pour the egg mixture over the zucchini. Sprinkle parmesan over the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked in the centre when tested with a skewer.

Stand tart for 10 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Serve warm or cold, cut into wedges.

stuffed eggplant

This is classic peasant food. It makes the most out of stale bread and eggplants when they are cheap and abundant in the summer. Like all rustic dishes if you get it right the taste is amazing.

what you need

2 medium sized egg plant

2 cups home made tomato sauce

1 cup quality bread crumbs

handful parsley leaves, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup grated parmesan

2 eggs

what to do

cut the egg plants in half and boil them until they are soft.

When cool scoop out the flesh gently, leaving the skin as a vessel.

In a bowl mix the flesh with all the ingredients minus the tomato sauce, making sure that the mixture is properly seasoned and that it’s not too wet or too dry.

Adjust accordingly adding more breadcrumbs if it’s too wet and more egg is it’s too dry.

Pack the eggplant skins with the mixture, pressing it gently.

In a non-stick pan with just a film of oil fry the eggplants with the stuffed side facing down so that a nice crust is formed and the contents are sealed.

Remove from the pan very gently and place the eggplants in a baking dish with the fried side facing upwards.

Spread the tomato over the surface of each eggplant, Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes .

Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Zucchini Rolls

what you need
2 large zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or substitute domestic parmesan)
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped thyme

what to do
Preheat a grill pan. Brush both sides of the zucchini slices with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place on the hot grill pan. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side until the grill marks show.If you do not have a grill pan, brush zucchini slices with olive oil, salt and pepper and sauté in a skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned and just tender (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the goat cheese wih the Parmigiano, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, mix well, and set aside.Remove the zucchini slices from the grill, and set aside to cool slightly. Spread goat cheese mixture over one side of the zucchini slices, roll up, and arrange on a platter. Serve cold or at room temperature.

marinated mushrooms

This recipe for marinated mushrooms is so easy, it keeps for weeks and can be done in large volumes. So now you can serve homemade marinated mushrooms and not have to pay the high price from the gourmet deli , perfect to serve as part of a antipasto platter.

What you'll need
500 grams (1 lb) Swiss Brown or button Mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup of red wine
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

fresh rosemary sprig
Sea salt flakes
Pepper mill

What to do
Grate or finely chop the garlic
Add the garlic to the mushrooms
Place a large pot on medium high heat
Add 4-5 tablespoons oil
Add mushrooms & garlic
Stir for about 1 minute
Add the red wine
Increase the heat to high, stir and cook for 1 minute
Add the vinegar and stir through
Season with salt & pepper
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes
Allow to cool
Drain & serve (reserve the liquid)
Can be served whole as part of antipasto platter, in salads or even sliced on bruschetta

Store remaining mushrooms covered in the marinade in fridge

eggplant rolls

what you need

3 eggplants
250 g cottage cheese or soft cheese
1-2 garlic cloves
rosemary, thyme, parsley,
salt to taste

cracked pepper
olive oil for frying

what to do
Wash the eggplants, trim off the ends and cut them along in thin slices.
Pour olive oil into a frying pan and fry eggplant slices on both sides until they get soft, for about 2 minutes each side.
Chop herbs finely. Mash garlic cloves.
Mix the herbs and the garlic with cottage cheese or any soft cheese. Salt slightly if needed and cracked pepper to taste.
Then put cottage cheese on the warm eggplant slices and fold them into rolls.

Serve the rolls cold, drizzle with good olive oil light squeeze of lemon

chilli spiced polenta cakes

what you need
1 1/2 cups polenta

1/2 cup diced roasted green chilies

1 small onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

what to do
Sweat the onion and garlic in a dash of oil. Add the green chilies and the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the polenta and keep stirring until the spoon stands up-right without falling over, about ten minutes.

Spoon polents mixture into well greased muffin trays, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 180c or until golden brown.

Serve warm with crisp salad and red pepper sauce or tomato salsa

caponata

Few salads epitomize Sicilian cuisine as much as caponata,
which probably takes its name from an essential ingredient (though not the principal one), capers. Like so much of Sicilian cuisine, caponata comes to us from the Arabs.

Sicilian caponata is a savoury blend of eggplants, tomatoes, balanced with green olives, capers, celery, sugar and vinegar for its characteristic sweet and sour taste

what you need
1 large eggplant
100 ml olive oil
1 clove garlic chopped
1 onion, sliced
45 ml basic tomato sauce
250 grams celery
chopped 25 grams capers drained
12 black olives
30 ml red wine vinegar
10 grams sugar
salt and pepper

what to do
Peel and cube eggplant
Saute in 2/3 of the oil
Remove from pan and add remaining oil and cook garlic and onion till onion is browned
Add tomato sauce and celery and simmer till celery is tender
If necessary, add a little water to the pan to keep mixture moist
Return eggplant to the pan, add capers and olives
Heat vinegar with the sugar and pour over eggplant
Season with salt and pepper and simmer 15 minutes
Serve at room temperature with a slice of lemon to bring out all the flavours.