Recipes

2 June, 2009

Persian Chicken

A good alternative to the standard roast chook and one which all the family will love. Serve it with glazed sweet potatoes and kumara and freshly cooked sugar snaps.
31 May, 2009

Garbure

This hearty wholesome soup hails from south- west France and is a good one for those on a budget or with a crowd to feed. According to 'Larousse Gastronomique', the most famous version is from Bearn (which includes cabbage and confit), but there are many local variations. In Gascony , the local tradition is to tip a glass of wine (preferably a full-bodied red) into the dregs of your bowl which not only makes the soup go further but is also very delicious. Toasted bread with cheese is sometimes served as an accompaniment, as with French onion soup.
31 May, 2009

Weeping Lamb (L’agneau qui pleure)

The French describe this method of slow-roasting lamb as "weeping" because the drippings from the meat "weep" into the potatoes underneath. They use a leg of lamb and cook it for up to three hours - if you decide to use the leg, double the quantity of vegetables.
29 September, 2002

Scallop salad (pla hoi shenn)

This simple but tasty salad is from David Thompson's magnificent new book "thai food" (Penguin). Thompson is Australia's foremost exponent of authentic Thai cuisine and this new book is a tribute to his years of passionate research and knowledge.
16 August, 2002

Fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Most of us are accustomed to the fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls but ones are bound with an egg and fried and are very tasty. They were part of the cooking class at Hai's Cafe in Hoi An, on the east coast of Central Vietnam, where I visited last week.