In our household, this is known as ‘get-better-soon’ soup. Make sure you use a good chicken stock so that the soup is really flavoursome.
If you prefer, substitute wontons or mini dim sims for the noodles and use vegies of your choice. The recipe is from my book Mini Chef – Cooking with Kids.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10–15 minutes

Equipment:
Measuring cups and spoons
Chopping board
Medium bowl
Strainer
Vegetable peeler
Medium saucepan
Kitchen knife
1. Place noodles in a medium heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 2–3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan. While stock simmers, add the carrots and cook 2–3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken breast strips and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add celery, soy sauce and noodles. Simmer very gently
for 2–3 minutes or until chicken is cooked—don’t let it boil.  Season to taste and simmer for 30 seconds.
4. Ladle into warm serving bowls and top with sliced green onions and a few drops of sesame oil, if using.

Tip: Add a few sugar snap or snow peas for more colour and goodness. You’ll find pre-cut chicken breast strips at the supermarket in the poultry section.

Cooking with Sheridan 100112The recipe for these delicious Lebanese meatballs is from my latest book, The Cook’s Garden.  They are excellent served hot with drinks before dinner. Provide toothpicks so it’s easy to pick them up and put the raita in the centre of the dish.

For the meatballs, put the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli into the blender with a little water and blend until they are almost liquified.
Combine the onion mixture together with the remaining ingredients and season to taste.
Shape into walnut-sized balls, roll in flour and then fry in hot oil. When cooked, remove the koftas and drain on paper towels.
For the raita: put the yogurt into a bowl. Mixthrough the cucumber, mint and onion. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and combine well.
Makes 30

This healthy colourful salad is fromYotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty (Ebury Press), a fabulous book of recipes for vegetarians. “Farro is the Italian name for an old wheat variety similar to emmer or spelt. It can be eaten by some people who are normally intolerant to wheat.  It is sold in a few forms – whole, semi-pearled and pearled – and the one you use will determing the cooking time which can be anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour.  When done, it should be tender but reatain a real bite.  You can buy it in gourmet delis and at Wild Basket.  Alternatively use pearled spelt or pearl barley,” says Ottolenghi

Place the farro in a pan of boiling water and simmer until just tender.  Drain, rinse under cold water and leave to dry.
Meanwhile, prepare the capsicum: preheat grill to high. Use a small sharp knife to cut around the stalk of each capsicum and lift it out with seeds attached.  Place capsicums on the grill pan and grill, turning every now and then, until totally black on the outside – this will take about 30 minutes.  When ready, remove from grill and cover with foil.  Once cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.  Tear by hand into slices about 1cm wide.
To make the dressing: whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Place the cooked faro in a large mixing bowl and add the capsicum, olives, oregano or thyme, spring onions and most of the fetta, reserving some to finish.  Pour over the dressing and gently mix everything together.  Taste and add more salt if you life.
To serve, pile up the salad on a plate or in a bowl and finish with the reserved fetta and a sprinkle of paprika.

These two quick simple ways with cucumbers are from my new book, The Cook’s Garden (NH $49.95) which is full of fabulous ideas for growing and cooking fruit and vegetables from your kitchen garden.  With the Melbourne Cup  just around the corner,  pass a platter of these around with the chicken sandwiches and champagne.

1. Spring Canapes:  Cut slices of cucumber 2 mm (¹/8 in) thick. Sprinkle  with flaky sea salt and leave to drain in a colander for 10–15 minutes. Wash off the salt and dry well. Onto each cucumber slice, put a dab of fresh ricotta or cottage cheese. Garnish with black sesame seeds and a small borage flower.
2.  Cucumber Fingers: One hot, dusty summer in India my mother discovered this way of serving cucumbers. They became a big hit in our household. Choose 3 small to medium cucumbers. Wash them well. Halve and quarter them lengthways so they resemble fingers. You might need to slice some into eighths. Sprinkle the cucumbers with paprika and serve garnished with fresh coriander. Serves 6.

In this traditional Samoan dish served at the Oratur Hotel in Apia, Western Samoa, the fish is “cooked” by marinating briefly in lime or lemon juice then combined with fresh coconut cream and other ingredients to make a lovely light entree or lunch dish.

Serves 4 – 6

Place the cubed fish put into an enamel or glass bowl and pour over the lime juice. Set aside to marinate for ½ hour, covered, in the refrigerator.
Add the remaining ingredients, stirring gently to combine.  Serve immediately.

Tip: you can use other top-grade fish such as swordfish, snapper or even salmon and you can add more fresh coconut cream if you like as it’s meant to be quite soupy. It’s important not to marinate the fish for too long as it’s not meant to be “cooked” by the lime juice. Try to purchase fresh coconut cream for best results, or make your own at home by grating fresh coconut flesh, soaking in water, then squeezing out the cream through a fine muslin cloth.

This recipe is from Susan Austin’s new book Frost Bite – Easy Cooking for Your Freezer (New Holland). “Our lives seem to be busier and faster than ever, yet one thing doesn’t change – we still have to stop to eat,” says Austin. “Just as we’re moving away from the freezer we should be using it more than ever.  It makes sense that we should cook when we have the time – on the weekends, or late in the evening…Freezing makes it easy to prepare ready-to-eat meals.”

Combine the meat, spring onions, soy sauce and coriander (and chilli, if using) together in a bowl and mix well.
Place a wonton wrapper on a plate and place a teaspoon of the filling on the wrapper, slightly off-centre.
Spread it out a little so that the filling is fairly flat, making sure you leave a border around the edge of the wrapper. Dip your fingers in water and brush around the edge then fold in half to produce a semi-circle shape and press the edges of the pastry together.Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
To freeze: ‘Flash freeze’ the potstickers on trays lined with baking paper then transfer to a freezer bag or plastic container.Defrost: Allow to defrost in the fridge (or partially defrost on the kitchen bench before finishing in the fridge). Not suitable for the microwave.
To cook: Heat a frypan over medium heat. When hot, add a little oil to the pan and swirl to coat the base. Add enough potstickers to cover the base of the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Add 1/3 cup of chicken stock and cover quickly with a lid or large oven tray. Cook for another 2–3 minutes then transfer to a serving plate with the browned side facing upwards.

To serve: Serve as is, no dipping sauce is required.

Ricardoes Tomatoes and U-Pick Strawberry Farm is located just north of Port Macquarie in Blackmans Point Road. If you’re travelling along the Pacific Highway, on the mid north coast of NSW, it’s a good place to turn off and stock up on ripe red tomatoes and strawberries (which you can pick yourself) and enjoy a meal or Devonshire Tea. This recipe is included in Tastings of the Hastings, a lovely little book with recipes from chefs in the Hastings region.

Quarter the tomatoes and finely dice the Spanish onion. Finely chop parsley leaves to make approx. 1/4 cup.
Combine olive oil and vinegar and drizzle over the tomato/onion mix.
Serve with lightly toasted, sliced Turksh bread. The freshly toasted bruschetta can be lightly rubbed with a clove of garlic before serving.

Photo by Jay Beaumont, The Creative House Publications

Ricardoes Tomatoes
221 Blackmans Pt Rd,
Port Macquarie NSW

Tastings of the Hastings festival will be held from 5 to 29 October 2011 with the main event on Sunday October 23rd which will feature more than 70 food and wine exhibitors, cooking demonstrations and family entertainment. The event features a dedicated ‘Paddock to Plate’ arena and is held at the Port Macquarie Race Course from 10.00am to 3.00pm.:

The recipe for this magnificent dish was given to me by Richard Ekkebus, Culinary Director of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong.   Richard is in charge of the 2 Michelin star restaurant, Amber, and is renowned for his delicate, refined touch, and for his clever way of combining foods “from the land and the sea”, something which is common in many Asian dishes.  There are a number of steps involved, but it is not a difficult dish for aspirational cooks to prepare once you have all the ingredients.  Tasmanian sea urchins are available locally.

Lobster consommé:  Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan, add the lobster and color golden brown, add the vegetables, sweat till all juices are evaporated. Deglaze with the brandy and flambé the pan until the alcohol has been burned off, add the white wine and reduce till syrupy consistency. Add the chicken stock till level & bring to boil, just before the boiling point skim off all impurities (repeat this during the cooking process to obtain a clear bouillon). Keep just under the boiling point and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the stove and leave to set for 30 minutes.
Pass the lobster bouillon delicately thought a sieve covered with a pre-rinsed mousseline cloth or kitchen towel. Reheat 1 litre and dissolve the pre- soaked gelatine. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. Cool down delicately over ice till the gelatine starts to set.

Cauliflower mousse: Boil the cauliflower in the salted milk, until the cauliflower is well cooked and fondant. Mix the cauliflower in a blender till a smooth consistency, then pass through the sieve. Take 100 g of cauliflower puree and  heat in a small heavy bottom sauce pan. Add the pre-soaked getaline leaves and stir gently until dissolved. Cool down slowly over ice until the gelatine starts to set. In the meantime whip the cream with a pinch of salt, then incorporate the half whipped cream and mix delicately. Check the seasoning and add salt if needed. Place the mousse in a pastry bag, place the bag in the refrigerator until needed.,

Seaweed waffle: Blanch the spinach leaves in salted boiling water. Cool in iced water, squeeze out the excess water. Mix the spinach in a blender till a smooth consistency, then pass through the sieve. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then add the butter mix till smooth. With the help of a spatula spread the waffle mix on silicone mats in regular shaped circles of 10 cm diameter, ensure you spread as thin as possible to obtain thin, delicate waffles.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 8 minutes till crispy. Let cool and serve.

Montage sea urchin: Select the 20 best and most perfect looking sea urchin tongues, the ones less pretty can be used in the bottom of the shell. Place 2½ of these tongues in the centre of the cooled shells. Cover with a ½ sphere of 30mm of cauliflower mousse, place on each ‘½sphere’ with 5 tongues neatly arranged. Then cover each with 2 tablespoons of almost set jell-O and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set.

To serve: Place each sea urchin shell on shaved ice, garnish with the dulce seaweed. Garnish each sea urchin with a quenelle of 10 g caviar and add the gold leaf on the top. Serve the crispy waffle on the side.

On a bleak winter’s day, nothing can beat this tasty Italian vegetable soup.

In a large pan, sweat the onions, garlic and bacon in the oil until onions and garlic are softened – be careful not to let them brown.  Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and peas and cook until vegetables are softened. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, bouquet garni and season to taste. Bring back to simmering point and skim the surface.Throw in the rice and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.  Check seasoning.  Remove bouquet garni. Ladle into warm bowls, swirl through a little pesto and pass the parmesan at the table.
Tip: substitute tinned butter beans if the borlotti beans are hard to find.  Alternatively soak 125g dried beans overnight in water to cover.  Drain and cover again with water and simmer until tender.
Note: tastes even better the next day!