Nothing signifies an Aussie summer like stone fruit. Peaches, nectarines – and of course MANGOES! Yum, there’s nothing better.
Here I’ve paired two of my favourite flavours, cinnamon and coconut, with some delicious poached summer stone fruit. It’s also refined sugar free, with only a small amount of maple syrup in the pancakes.
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I don’t usually use this website to go on a rant (I prefer to save that for watching reality TV shows after a glass of wine), but a recent experience has gotten me all fired up.
You see, my baby has reached that all-important milestone of starting solids – which at first is really exciting, until you realise you’re going to be pureeing your life away for the next few months, but that’s a whole other matter. Anyway, I went in search of that staple ‘first food’, baby rice porridge. I had a particular brand in mind: a lovely organic, brown rice one that I used for my son, but alas, my local supermarket didn’t seem to stock it anymore. So I grabbed another brand – also advertised as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’, and was halfway to the cash register before I noticed a few weird things on the ingredient panel.
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Fennel Salad
It may only be the first week of spring, but Sydney copped a serious summery blast on the weekend, reaching a stunning 28 on Sunday. Which was absolutely beautiful, but did require a total rethink of my planned Father’s Day lunch menu (meat, meat and more meat) to something more befitting of the elements. And this particular fennel salad always makes me think of spring – in winter I love fennel roasted in the oven with a bit of olive oil, but as soon as the weather gets warmer, this is my go-to.
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Wait, Indian Stirfry?! Say what?
OK, I know I sound like I’m crossing my cuisines here, but stay with me… This is a riff on a traditional Indian side dish called Karahi Broccoli, which gets its name from the pot it’s cooked in, a Karahi (or Karhai)… pretty much an Indian version of a wok. Don’t happen to have a traditional Indian cooking vessel lying around the house? A normal wok or fry pan will do just fine (I prefer non-stick so you can use less oil).
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We’ve all been there. You’ve bought a hard avocado. Every day you squeeze it gently, hoping that this, surely this would be the day it’s ripe enough to eat. Finally, you feel the flesh give under your greedy fingertips. At last! You cut through the black skin, anticipating the creamy deliciousness on the inside, and… ew. Bruised, browned, and downright bleurgh.
Let’s face it: there are few things more culinarily disappointing than a dud avo. How are you meant to enjoy your smashed avo toast in your overpriced Sydney property without it?! So I was very excited – nay, exhilarated – to learn the following life hack, which I’m going to share with you now.
Checking your avocado? YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. That’s right, if you want to know if it’s ready to eat, you need to be feeling for softness at the top of the avo near the stem, not squeezing the lower cheeks. Hold the avocado upright, and use one finger to press down – if you feel it give, it’s ripe and ready to rock. Still hard, and you’ll need a few days. Trust me, even if the cheeks still feel firm to the touch, if the top is soft, you’re in business. By the time the cheeks soften, the avocado can be past it’s prime, getting brown – or those weird dark stringy veins they can get (yuck).
Don’t thank me – just try it. It’ll change your life.
Orecchiette with Broccoli
Over summer we were lucky enough to have a friend stay with us who is a) Italian, and b) a professionally trained cook. Best houseguest ever, right?! Although this definitely put the pressure on my own culinary abilities (let’s just say that compared to a pro, my knife skills resemble a toddler painting with an eel), we were treated to several beautiful home cooked meals (and home cooking is always better when it’s someone else cooking).
We had a variety of dishes over the three weeks he was with us, but through all emerged some common themes, which we agreed were the reason Italian food is just so damn good.
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If my Facebook feed is to be believed, half of Sydney is currently enjoying a European summer. Italy, the Greek Islands… it’s like the social media world has conspired to make me jealous as hell, and guess what Mark Zuckerberg? It’s WORKED! While everyone else is knocking back Aperol spritzes and partying till dawn, I’m wearing 25 layers of clothing and the only reason I’m up at 3am is to feed my newborn. Yep, J-E-A-L-O-U-S.
So while Instagram has left me summer lovin’, I thought I’d try and eat my emotions – literally. Caprese Salad – the next best thing to being in Capri!*
(*Yeah, I don’t really believe it either)
GO FOR GOLD
Like so much of Italian cuisine, a Caprese Salad works because it’s a simple mix of flavours that all play off each other beautifully. But when you’re only using a few ingredients, you need to make sure they’re the absolute best you can possibly obtain and afford – think quality extra virgin olive oil, real bufala mozzarella (not the hard balls you buy at the supermarket), super ripe tomatoes and lots of fresh herbs. So yeah, I’m probably pushing my luck making this in the dead of winter – not exactly tomato season, is it? But my basil plant at home is still going gangbusters (it clearly thinks it’s in southern Italy, too) and I managed to get a beautiful array of heirloom tomatoes, so away we go!
PIMP IT UP
A traditional Caprese should resemble the Italian flag: red tomatoes, green basil and white mozzarella. However, I’m a sucker for a colourful dish, so love the effect you get with a variety of tomatoes (red, orange, green and yellow). The traditional version would also only feature basil (which is frankly all you need), but if you’re feeling a bit crafty, what’s really beautiful is to add a few finely chopped fresh mint and oregano leaves. Any Italians reading this are probably screaming, ‘No, no!’ reading that, but what’s a tradition without someone breaking it, right?! What’s also delicious is adding one teaspoon of chopped fresh red chilli (no seeds) for a bit of zing. If you want to make something a bit more substantial (say if you’re serving the dish alone for a light lunch), try scattering a handful of rocket leaves on top.
FAST FACTS
Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese)
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
Ingredients
Method
Fig, haloumi and rocket salad
The summer fruit season may be on its last legs, but there’s at least one thing to look forward to before those endless months of apples and pears: figs! Lush, exotic and unique, figs have a season shorter than a Kardashian marriage – just a few measly weeks from late summer to early-mid autumn – which means you’ve got to grab them while you can.
Warning: they also don’t last for very long (heck, even getting them home in one piece can be a drama, squishy little suckers), and refrigerating them can take away a bit of their flavour (although when it’s a million percent humidity, like it has been in Sydney recently, it’s the price you have to pay if you want to avoid your fruit disintegrating within 24 hours).
This salad is REALLY quick, and makes a beautiful meal with some fresh bread, or as an accompaniment to any Middle Eastern flavours. Sweet figs, salty haloumi and bitter rocket – a classic combo, but an effective one.
SUGGESTED ADDITIONS:
FAST FACTS:
Fig, haloumi and rocket salad
Serves: 2
Ingredients
3 cups baby rocket
4 fresh figs, cut into quarters or eighths, depending on size
180g haloumi, sliced into 1/2 cm pieces
1 sprig fresh mint, leaves picked
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, picked
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Extra olive oil for grilling
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Black pepper
Method
Who else has been indulging just a liiiittle bit too much this festive season? Seriously, I’ve been eating more than a Victoria’s Secret model post-catwalk; every little bit of festive cheer that’s been offered, I’ve had two helpings (plus one for the road). But what the hell, right, it is Christmas after all! It’s just unfortunate that Christmas coincides with swimsuit season, which really does seem like a cruel southern hemisphere irony.
Anyway, after all the indulging, I have been feeling like something a bit nourishing and vaguely healthy, so I thought I’d make a hearty chickpea stew. Because it IS Christmas, I felt like I couldn’t go entirely fun-free, hence the bacon (‘cos ain’t no party like a bacon party). But there are just two little ol’ rashers, so it’s not going to completely derail you.
Using canned chickpeas makes this a super-fast meal for midweek, but you know my policy on ‘real’ pulses – if you can be bothered, by all means use them! But for the record, using the tinned ones means you can make this entire dish (including prep time) in half an hour – and that gets a ‘hells yeah’ in my book.
Because of the season, my homegrown thyme is super soft and just generally delicious so I threw it all in whole, but if yours is on the woody side (or just don’t like it), just use the leaves. In most cases I like to add herbs right at the end of a dish so they retain their flavour, colour and don’t totally disintegrate, but given the super-speedy cooking time of this dish I put them in earlier, so they have a chance to flavour the olive oil and bacon fat (trust me, it tastes a lot more delicious than it sounds).
It was a cool and rainy evening when I made this, so I served with rice and a salad on the side, but you could just serve with some steamed vegies and/or salad if you’re feeling virtuous – or on some pasta with a good crack of parmesan if you’re really embracing the festive lifestyle.
Chickpea, tomato and bacon stew
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 brown onion, diced
1 glove of garlic, crushed or cut very finely
2 rashers of bacon, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can of crushed tomatoes
Small handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
2 tbsps chopped fresh European parsley
2 tbsps chopped fresh oregano leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling decidedly uninspired in the kitchen recently. Not to the point of ordering takeaway every night (although lord knows, I’ve been tempted), but just enough to keep me playing it safe. Blame it on end-of-year malaise or just falling victim to Busy Person Syndrome, I’ve been pretty uncreative with all my meals, particularly with my usual midweek repertoire.
But now summer is a merely weeks away, which means a flood of beautiful fresh new season produce – and if you can’t get inspired by that, then when can you?! And that’s where these babies came in –
How beautiful are they? These incredible ortella tomatoes came in my weekly veggie delivery and as I said, if you can’t get inspired by that…
As well as enjoying them raw, drizzled with a bit of balsamic and EVOO, I decided to turn one of these bad boys into this baked salmon dish, inspired by the taste of a Mediterranean summer. Sure I might be in Sydney, and sure I might have to go to work tomorrow, but a girl can dream, right?
These ortellas are pretty spesh, but any large, firm tomato (e.g. Truss) would be absolutely fine to use. You could do a veggie version (or just use the beans as a side dish for a piece of meat or chicken) but omitting the salmon – simply keep the foil on throughout the entire cooking time.
Baked Salmon with Zucchini, Tomato and Thyme
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Method
3. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
4. Pat the salmon fillets dry, then rub skin side with a little olive oil.
5. Remove beans from oven and uncover. Put a piece of salmon on a slice of lemon (skin side up) resting on top of the bean mixture. Top with remaining thyme and a good crack of salt and pepper.
6. Return to oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. Salmon should be just cooked through with crispy skin.
