This is a good dish to learn the basics of stir-frying.  Make sure you have everything ready before you start cooking as the idea is to cook the food quickly. Combine the four sauce ingredients before you start.  If you don’t like chillies, there’s no need to add them – the Thais love their food hot, spicy and sour with a touch of sweetness.

1.   Heat a wok or heavy frying pan until hot.  Add the oil and when hot, add the onion.  Stir-fry for 1 – 2 minutes or until onion is softening and turning transparent.  Add garlic and chillies, stir-fry another minute.
2.  Add chicken strips and stir-fry until chicken turns white and is beginning to colour, about 3 – 4 minutes.  Add  beans and capsicum and stir-fry for another minute.  Add  the basil leaves and sauce, stir to combine.
3. Cover wok with a lid, turn heat to low and leave to simmer for one minute.  Serve immediately with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Tip:  You can use chicken thigh meat instead of breast, if you like – it is juicer. If you can’t find Thai holy basil, use Italian basil – wash and dry the basil thoroughly before using – a salad spin-dryer is handy for drying leaves.  The onion is cut so that the pieces fall into petal shapes.

Photo of Eloise Moore holding the Thai stir-fry dish we made in the kids cooking class during January 2012 school holidays.

It has become traditional to fill the turkey with two stuffings – one for the neck or crop (in this case, pork and veal) and another for the body (fruit and walnut).
Use these cooking times for stuffed turkey as a guide:
3kg – 4kg turkey will take 3 – 31/2 hours and serve 8 – 10
4kg – 6kg turkey will take 3 ½ – 4 hours and serve 10 -14
6kg – 8kg turkey will take 4 – 6  hours and serve 14 – 16

Serve with roasted vegetables, candied sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, brussels sprouts & chestnuts and gravy (made from pan juices).

Preheat oven to 220degC (200degC fan-forced).  Wipe turkey dry inside and out with paper towels.  Put pork and veal forcemeat into the neck.  Be careful not to pack it in too tightly as it will swell as it cooks.  Pull neck skin over the cavity and secure with skewers.
Put fruit and nut stuffing into body of the turkey.  Tuck wings underneath and plump up breasts to give it a good shape.  Pull the turkey skin up under wings to hold it in shape and secure with skewers.
Tie legs together with string, making sure they are secured close to the body.  Rub butter over breasts, legs, and wings, and season lightly with cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Place turkey, breast side down, in a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes.  Turn oven down to moderate (180decC/160 fan-forced) and cook for another 3 – 3/12 hours.  Check from time to time, basting with pan juices, and covering any parts which may be browning too quickly with foil.  Turn turkey onto other breast about quarter of the way through cooking, then onto its back so that it cooks evenly.  The turkey is cooked when juices run clear – test this by inserting a skewer through the thickest part of the thigh.  Take care not to overcook.
Remove to a warm serving platter, discard string and skewers and cover loosely with foil.  Leave to rest in a warm place for 15 – 20 minutes while you make the gravy.

Pork and Veal Forcemeat: Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste.

Fruit and Nut Stuffing:   Soak prunes and apricots overnight in a bowl with the Madeira.  Toast nuts in a moderate oven for 8 – 10 minutes.  Melt butter in a heavy frying pan, and cook onion and celery until soft.  Add apple and pear, and cook until softened.  Remove pan from heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients, except bread cubes. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point.
Just before stuffing, add bread cubes and macerated prunes and apricots.  Stir to combine well.

The photograph is from my Entertaining At Home book, taken by Rodney Weidland

This recipe is from my new book, The Cook’s Garden (NH$49.95).  It’s perfect to serve on cool spring nights, or for lunch in the garden, and you can add other vegetables such as sweet young peas and sliced button mushrooms. Freshly chopped spring herbs are also a good addition. The rice should always be creamy when cooked but still al dente (slightly chewy).

Steam the asparagus until just cooked, and cut into 3-cm (1¼-in) lengths. Reserve some of the tips for garnishing.
Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Tip in the rice and stir until all the grains are coated with the butter and onion mixture. Pour in the wine and stir with a wooden spoon until the wine has almost disappeared.
Add a ladleful of the boiling stock and stir into the rice. Once the liquid has disappeared, add another ladleful. Continue like this, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the rice is creamy but still al dente and all the liquid has been absorbed (it may take the smaller quantity of stock). This will take about 30 minutes. Season to taste.
Add the asparagus and extra butter (if using) and combine well, being careful not to damage the tips. Stir in the grated cheese. Serve immediately. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, reserved asparagus tips and shaved parmesan cheese.

This is one of Michael Moore’s favourite Sunday lunches, from his new book Blood Sugar).

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6).
Peel and cut sweet potato into large chunks. Coat well with agave and soy sauce and place onto a shallow baking sheet. Roast in oven for 35 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time.
Spray tenderloin with cooking spray and seal evenly in a hot skillet (frying pan) for 2 minutes each side, or until brown. Remove and cool.
Process seeds and nuts to a coarse crumb. Add butter and process until just mixed through. Press nut crust onto beef tenderloin and bake in a moderate oven (180°C/350°F) for 25 minutes.
Set aside to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Mix mustard and horseradish ingredients together and season to taste. Serve sliced beef with sweet potato and mustard and horseradish cream.

Here’s a colourful stir-fry to make for dinner using baby broccoli.  Broccolini baby broccoli was introduced to Australia by Perfection Fresh in 1999 it’s a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale and combines an asparagus-like stem with tiny buds reminiscent of a mini broccoli head. Unlike broccoli, Broccolini baby broccoli stalks are firm, tender and succulent from flower to stem and don’t need peeling or scaling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes.

Cooking Time: 10 minutes.

Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Drain well.
Separate noodles with your fingers. Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce and honey in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the  baby broccoli, baby Brussels sprouts, capsicum, onion and celery. Stir-fry for 4 minutes.
Add the Tuscan cabbage (cavolo nero) – if you are using it -  and water to the wok. Toss. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, tossing once, until cabbage just wilts.
Add noodles and combined sauces. Toss until well combined and heated through.
Divide stir-fry among serving bowls. Top with cashews and serve.

This wonderful Italian pasta dish is cheap to make and makes a very satisfying meal served with a mixed green leaf salad and crusty bread. You’ll find it on the menu at Signorelli Gastronomia, Pyrmont, Sydney.

Clean the vongole by immersing them into water with the flour for 30 minutes.  Rinse well and drain.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the vongole, wine and cover.   Steam over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, add chilli, garlic and shake the pan, until the shells open.
Meanwhile, cook the linguine in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (about 8 minutes), then drain well and coat with olive oil. Add the linguine to the vongole.
Add the remainder of the olive oil, butter, chopped parsley and lemon juice to the saucepan and toss through. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve in a deep pasta bowl.

This recipe is from Food of India by Carol Selva Rajah and and Priya Wickrwmesinghe (Murdoch Books). “Moghul lamb with turnips, a festive dish from the  Punjab region of India would have once been served in the Mogul palaces  at the time of their rule in India” says Carol. ” Even today this is reserved for festive occasions  when it comes to the table covered in silver leaf  accompanied with a stack of garlic naan and yoghurt with saffron threads sprinkled over.” .

Put the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies in a food processor and chop them to form a paste. If you don’t have a food processor, chop everything finely or grind them in a pestle and mortar.
Heat the oil in a karhai or casserole and add the onion mixture with the bay leaves. Fry over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and fry for another 2 minutes. Don’t let the onions turn more than golden brown. Add the meat and stir until all the pieces are thoroughly coated with the onion mixture. Fry for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. This is a very important part of the cooking process as the longer you fry the meat, the more flavour it will absorb. It is ready when the oil starts to separate out from the meat.
Add the asafoetida, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masala and stir in well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomato puree and yoghurt. Fry for another minute and add the salt and pepper. Pour in 500 ml water a little at a time, stirring into the mixture after each addition. This will ensure that the dish retains the heat throughout and will be constantly bubbling until you have a rich, thick sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the turnips to the pan and continue simmering for another 45 minutes, or until both the lamb and turnips have completely softened and the oil has separated from the sauce and turned bright orange.
Serve warm.

The Reuben was created in New York City in 1914 by Arnold Reuben and was recently named the hottest food item in Sydney for 2011.  Made with prime Wagyu salt beef, served on hand sliced freshly baked rye, Swiss cheese, homemade dill pickles, sauerkraut & mild mustard mayo. According to Craig Claiborne in The New York Times Food Encyclopedia:
Late one evening a leading lady of actor Charlie Chaplin came into the restaurant and said, ‘Reuben, make me a sandwich, make it a combination, I’m so hungry I could eat a brick.’ He took a loaf of rye bread, cut two slices on the bias and stacked one piece with sliced Virginia ham, roast turkey, and imported Swiss cheese, topped off with coleslaw and lots of Reuben’s special Russian dressing and the second slice of bread. He served it to the lady who said, ‘Gee, Reuben, this is the best sandwich I ever ate, you ought to call it an Annette Seelos Special.’ To which he replied, ‘Like hell I will, I’ll call it a Reuben’s Special.’

This is how Sydney chef Michael Moore makes his Reuben sandwich which you’ll find at Reuben & Moore on Level 5 of the Westfield Food Court in the Sydney CBD:

My Reuben is made as follows

Wagyu silverdside salt beef is cooked for 5 hours until tender.
Freshly slice light rye bread add a slice of swiss cheese.
Place the hot sliced salt beef on top.
Add homemade sauerkraut pickled cabbage
Add sliced fresh made dill pickles. Drizzle with a blend of mild and hot mustard mixed with my( 80 year old spiced vinegar recipe).
Place the second slice on and serve.
I do not toast the bread.

Reuben & Moore also serve the cold Rachel Reuben twhich is made with Russian dressing (coleslaw) pickles cheese and homemade brined, rubbed, smoked and slow roasted wagyu pastrami (this is unreal) – and the  Georgia Reuben which is made with shaved turkey.

A simple but effective way of jazzing up lamb fillets.
This recipe is from Juleigh Robin’s terrific book “Wild Food” which features recipes using native Australian ingredients – perfect to celebrate Australia Day!

Mix together the native mint, mustard powder, black pepper and parsley flakes on a plate.
Roll the lamb fillets in the herb mix to lightly coat all sides.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the seasoned lamb for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side.  Cover and rest the meat for a minute or two, then slice diagonally and serve with hot Quandong and peach sauce.

For the Quandong and Peach Sauce: heat a little olive oil in a small saucepan and cook 1 diced onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger and 1 small seeded chilli until softened.
Add ½ cup fresh or frozen quandongs, 1 thinly sliced large yellow-fleshed peach, ½ cup sugar, 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock and 1 cup red wine.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until the volume has reduced by half and the quandongs and peaches have broken down in the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: Where Can I buy bush tucker foods?

You can buy native mint online: http://www.bushtuckershop.com/category6_1.htm

And the quandongs here: http://www.cherikoff.net/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Or try: www.outbackspirit.com.au

Ask your fishmonger to cut the fish into cutlets so that the bone is retained – it will add more flavour to this sweet, fragrant soupy dish. Look for Red Emperor – it is a succulent, flavoursome fish, or you can use kingfish.

Sweat the onions and garlic in the oil in a medium heavy casserole.  When soft, stir through the fennel seeds and cook for another minute, stirring to combine.  Add the fennel (cut large slices into halves).  Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and bouquet garni.
Lay the fish over the top of the tomatoes and pour in the fish stock or water.  Add the saffron, orange zest and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to simmering point and simmer very gently, partially covered,  until fish is cooked, 30 – 40 minutes – be careful not to overcook the fish.
Serve with toasted rounds of French bread (crostini) with a bowl of  ‘rouille’ (a spciy saffron flavoured mayonnaise) to the side.