Pickled cherries

These dark mysterious pots are pickled cherries. I’ve never done them before so we’ll see how they taste - in a few weeks. Very simple. 

Ingredients 

200 ml cider vinegar

150 ml water

100g caster sugar

2 tsp coriander seeds, bruised

Pinch of chilli flakes 

1 bay leaf

500g cherries 

Method

Wash and sterilise jars. I use either the dishwasher or microwave to sterilise. 

Put all ingredients, except the cherries, in a saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 5 mins. 

Pack cherries into jars and pour in the spices liquid while it’s still hot. 

Seal jars straight away and leave for 2 weeks before opening. 

These will keep in a cool dry place for up to 1 year - and longer. 

I’m yet to try mine but they are supposed to go very well with smoked chicken or duck or other antipasto items as well as a cheese board. Enjoy! 

Chook’s note: try adding a slightly bruised allspice and/or juniper berry. 

Singapore noodle stir fry

Singapore noodles are a Cantonese dish from Hong Kong. This dish has a delicate warm curry flavour and, importantly, aroma. To the British, who brought curry to Hong Kong, the combination of curry powder and noodles was reminiscent of Singapore's Indian-Chinese fusion, so the dish was called Singapore noodles. A delicious quick and simple meal.  

Ingredients 

2 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 Tbsp curry powder

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs beaten

200g Singapore Noodles

200g prawns, mixed seafood or chicken

1/2 medium brown onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

1 green chili (optional)

Method

Cook noodles in boiling water for 3-4 mins. Drain and rinse.

Combine soy sauce, cooking wine and curry powder and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp oil to large pan or wok over medium heat. Add beaten eggs and swirl it around the pan to create a thin omelette. Remove when cooked and slice thinly.

Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to high then add all inredients except the sauce mixture and egg and cook quickly till meat is cooked.

Add the sauce, noodles and omelette to the pan and toss over high heat 2-3 mins till combined and heated through.

Serve immediately.

Zucchini slice

I’m sure many of you have a favourite version of this slice. This particular recipe has survived in my recipe folder since the 80s.  Judging from the scrappy note, I obviously made it up as I went along (I seem to have loads of such recipes but am slowly sifting through them all). 

Ingredients

375g zucchini, coarsely grated with peel on

1 onion, diced

3 rashes bacon, chopped

1 cup grated cheese – whatever you like or a combo (including feta)

1 cup SR flour

¼ cup oil

3-4 eggs (depends on size)

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine zucchini, onion, bacon and cheese. Then add flour, oil and lightly beaten eggs.

Spoon into a lined lamington, or similar, tin and bake in moderate oven 30-40 mins until brown.

Chook’s note: bake in large muffin tins to make a perfect picnic lunch. 

Zucchini and Leek soup

Ingredients

30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

400g leeks, washed and sliced

1 onion chopped

1-2 garlic cloves chopped

200g peeled potatoes, chopped

2 sticks celery chopped

1kg zucchini chopped

750ml (3 cups) vegetable or chicken stock

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (lemon or both)

½ cup parsley

1Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp yogurt or sour cream

¼ cup cheese

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot and gently fry the leeks for about 5 minutes or until they have softened.

Add the potato and celery to the leeks and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini, thyme and stock to the pot and let the soup reach a simmering point. Cook until all the ingredients are cooked through and tender.

Remove from heat and stir in parsley and blitz until smooth. 

Add butter, cheese, yogurt/cream to taste. Season to taste.

Serves 4-6

Chook's note: substitute onions for leeks if you can't get them (or they're fearfully expensive). The end result will taste as good. 

Celeriac would work beautifully in this too. 

Stir fry veggies

This is so simple just takes a wee bit of time chopping the veggies.  The combination I have used is delicious but you can throw in just about anything.

Ingredients

celery

carrot

capsicum

makimame (soy beans)

onion

zucchini

radish

Method

You know all this I'm sure but just to recap, cut veggies into thin batons or julienne. Add 2 Tbsp oil to hot pan and toss in the veggies. 

I add a splash of sesame oil and Chinese black vinegar, or you could also use oyster sauce.  Finish off with 100ml chicken stock (more or less) if needed. 

Serve with grilled fish, meat or grilled tempe (add the tempe to the pan during cooking time to soak up the flavours). If I'm serving this on its own, I add 100g thin egg noodles.

Honey Glaze Haloumi

A decadent snack, entree or lunch (with side salad). 

The hardest part is deciding which honey to use. I took delivery of this little batch of golden yummyness the other day. They also have an orange blossom honey which would probably be absolutely perfect in this dish. Great honey from Walkabout Apiaries. 

Ingredients

180g haloumi, sliced

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried thyme 

Method

Heat oil on medium heat, fry 1 side of the haloumi till brown. Add honey butter and thyme and flip haloumi over. Add a squeeze of lemon juice (and walnuts if using). Cook till brown and sauce caramelises. 

Chook’s note: try adding a little orange (or lemon) zest. 

Turkish Red Pepper Paste

Again this is from Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul. Thanks Rick, a brilliant delicious series.

Ingredients

660g red peppers

50g tomato purée/paste

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less)

2 Tbs olive oil

Method

Roast the peppers for about 30 minutes at 220ºC until charred & soft. Put in a bowl and cover with cling film and leave until cool enough to peel. Remove the charred skins, stalks and seeds. 

Blitz the roasted peppers with the other ingredients in a blender. 

Store in a jar in the fridge until needed.

Byzantine spice mix

From: Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul. Thanks Rick, such a heady and evocative mix. The smell of cardamom takes me back 35 years to a Sudanese restaurant where they served coffee cooked with cardamom. Heavenly. 

Lindsay’s ancient coffee grinder is now my spice grinder. It works a treat. 

Use in seafood risotto or pasta dishes or whatever takes your fancy - a dish will often call for particular spices. Let your nose be your guide. 

Ingredients

a grating of nutmeg

pinch coriander seeds

4 cloves

1cm cinnamon stick

pinch ground ginger

1 green cardamom pod, seeds only

⅛ tsp turmeric

⅛ tsp chilli powder

Grind all together then store in airtight container.

Chook’s note: use freshly grated nutmeg whenever you can. The flavour and aroma is far superior to the pre-ground. 

I often use cassia instead of cinnamon. It has a darker flavour.