Tag: Cheese

easy eggplant parmigiana
Autumn, Brunch, Lunch, Meal, quick meals, Spring, Summer, Vegetable, Winter

Weeknight Eggplant Parmigiana

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Today is a beautiful Sunday in the middle of winter and although an unlikely time to be contemplating what I would normally think of as summer food, today I am going to tell you that this also makes wonderful winter comfort food.  This recipe is definitely given as a cheats version of a traditional Eggplant Parmigiana, a meal which is beloved by many, myself included.  It is a really delicious achievable alternative though, and can be made quickly at the end of a a work day.  I hope you will enjoy it and maybe it will remind you of all the joys of the long slow cooked version that you can make on a leisurely weekend. One of those weekends I imagine, with days which stretch out in long languorous hours allowing you to do all the things you think you can in one day. What a day that would be! Several years ago I was lucky enough to have one of my very first amazing “Cultural Exchange” guests, Katie, make this for me. She made it in the traditional manner with every element made from scratch, I will never forget her making her authentic version of this dish or the stories she told of learning to make this with her very traditional grandparents.  These experiences and memories are some of lifes amazing treasures, the love and kindness and the time spent are the gifts that make me keep cooking and sharing the experiences of the  kitchen and the table,  […]

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cheese pastry
Autumn, Canape, Snack

Easy Cheese Pastry

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  I have been wanting to share this cheese pastry recipe for some time, it is a family favourite and a great party recipe to have up your sleeve – even if it is a bubble party for two. Brilliant  at any time it is also great for times like these when we are looking to  stay home and use store cupboard items and foods that are already in our refrigerator.  This is a practical and delicious way to use up left over pieces of hard cheese lurking in the refrigerator, allowing us to do the right thing – stay home- and serve up delicious comfort food at the same time. The dough can be customised, with the weights of cheese, flour, seeds etc that you have to hand. It doesn’t need to be fancy or for a special occasion either! The crackers are definitely popular here and often disappear as simple snack food throughout the day. The dough/pastry is quickly made in a food processor and can both be made to fit the purpose using preferred cheeses or as an isolation special with cheese ends from your refrigerator – any hard’ish cheese will work whether tasty, edam, gruyere or cheddar –  and using those flours and seeds already in your pantry.   They can also be specifically made with your favourite harder style cheese such as blue vein cheese (leave the lovely soft ones to eat another day).  They will be perfect to go with (fresh or grilled) end of […]

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zucchini cannelloni
Autumn, Gluten Free, Lunch, Meal, Summer, Vegetable

Zucchini Cannelloni

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It is the end of summer and my garden and, more to the point – my daughters gardens – summer vegetables are ready to be harvested.  Although I have got wiser about the number of courgette plants that need to be planted each year I still seem to engage in a constant quest to come up with new ways to cook them. Today I am feeling the squeeze (muffin top jeans), a worthy result of a wonderful summers entertainment with so many very good friends, but it means today I am looking for a lighter dinner option. I need to point out that the photos I have taken today are of a half batch of the recipe that follows.  This worked well but if you are feeding a family or would like leftovers for lunch or dinner tomorrow go ahead and make it as the recipe is written. A LIGHTER SUMMER ZUCCHINI CANNELLONI RECIPE Serves 4 – 6  people Begin by lightly toasting your pine nuts. Next make your cottage cheese filling/topping in a large bowl  ADD All the cottage cheese, 2 eggs Half the parmesan finely grated, Most of the basil finely sliced (save a couple of whole leaves to garnish if you like) Half the pine nuts (save half to garnish) Finely sliced spring onion Finely grated garlic 1 teaspoon lemon zest Salt and pepper Ends of courgettes finely chopped Mix well and taste to check seasoning add more salt and pepper if necessary. Finely slice your courgettes length […]

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zucchini slice
Brunch, Lunch, Savoury, Snack, Vegetable

Zucchini Slice – With Options

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This simple slice has been a part of New Zealand and Australia’s  family food culture for a very long time, it is certainly something I remember my Mum making.  It can be as plain or as complicated as you like but starts with a base recipe that is delicious enough all on its own – just look at the list of optional ingredients in the recipe though and you will see how easy it is to make this recipe your own. During a visit last year my eighty year old Mum and her ninety year old sister volunteered to help me cater for a hens party my daughter was hosting.  Having gamely offered to help, Mum and Sylvie spent an entire day in the kitchen with me – at one point suggesting this zucchini slice that they both still make (both with there own special touches!) feeling it would work well with the rest of the menu.  I left these two amazing women to it and needless to say the slice was a big hit.  It reminded me that many of the old favourites became favourites for good reasons.  It also reminded me that one of the original reasons I started this blog was so that I could share special family favourites with my family and friends scattered locally and around the world, and in doing so feel that they are still sharing my table. This recipe also fits with my challenge of sharing quick, easy, affordable meal ideas. It […]

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parmesan salsa
Canape, Condiments, Gluten Free

Simple Parmesan Salsa

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Welcome to Fresh Kitchen 2020. something about that number sounds great doesn’t it – I love new beginnings and a new decade seems like a great chance to set some audacious intentions.  At the very least I hope to continue to attempt to live my best life and aim to put a positive spin on everyday. I love it when there is time and energy for creating and eating good food, and even more so when I can be sharing it with family and friends old and new.  This Salsa is the perfect way to start any evening – simply served with fresh bread it is amazing,  and if you are feeling a little more industrious or your bread is a day old then char grill it and continue to spooning the salsa on to your crostini or dipping in to it. As usual though with any great condiment it doesn’t stop with one use, use it as … As a great dip with fresh bread or char grilled sliced crusty bread crostini. As part of an anti pasta platter with some juicy olives to balance all that cheesy goodness. Spread on a ciabatta or a long sliced french loaf  and grilled for a cheesy take on garlic bread. Spooned over your favourite caesar or hearty salad with a splash of good vinegar as well…. With tomatoes and basil. Spooned over hot grilled corn. Tossed through vegetables and roasted…… At the moment Parmesan Salsa feels like a taste of summer […]

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polenta chips
Condiments, Gluten Free

Polenta

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Such a simple cupboard staple with so many variations.  A block of cooled polenta is great fridge food for busy lives, the polenta can be made in minutes and refrigerated ready to snap to action.  Best of all it goes with almost anything and makes it better.  Most of these photos have been taken over the summer but as we transition to winter I am looking forward to teaming it with the likes of – buttery mushrooms with loads of garlic and parsley or roast pumpkin, maybe some chorizo, spinach, walnuts and cheese, or a slow cooked juicy ragout – mmmmm. Sliced into “chips” and baked or fried polenta is never a bad choice and will make the most conservative palates happy.  Set it like a trivit under a stack of roast vegetables and olives or a whole cauliflower drizzled in a spicy paprica oil, or for meaty options – think chicken pieces, lamb fillets, chops, rumps or racks, or a steak on the bone to roast and catch the juices – any of these choices will never be wrong and if you want to test its versatility just crumble it and bake or fry to use as croutons in your next salad and you will be equally happy. Another great feature is that although like most foods polenta can be richly enhanced with any amount of butter cream and cheese, the polenta can be equally delicious when made with fresh herbs, olive oil and or spice mixes such as […]

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courgette and goats cheese butter
Autumn, Canape, Condiments, Gluten Free, Summer, Vegetable

Zucchini/Courgette and Goats Cheese Butter

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Zucchini – courgette whatever the name they are definitely a part of summers bounty, in the stores they are plentiful and affordable and if you have a garden chances are you have a constant supply of them.   This is one of my favourite ways of using them, it hits all those exciting flavour notes with chilli, garlic, lemon and basil.  It is great on croutons for a party or a snack, spread on flat breads with a bit of salad on top, or spread on your wrap as well as or instead of hummus or mayonnaise,  and, it is an especially useful way of using those crazy courgettes gone rogue that look more like marrows. It makes a little bit of good quality goats cheese go a long way and it can make a large quantity of courgettes aka the marrowlike version of courgettes shrink down to a more manageable volume when necessary. When you are preparing the courgettes for this, you can use one of two methods, firstly with young firm courgettes you can simply grate them and add to the pan, but with the larger or watery marrowlike versions, I grate them on to a tea towel and then twist the towel with the courgette well enclosed, over the kitchen sink to wring as much of the liquid as I can from them ( I am sure this liquid is very nutritious and would be great added to smoothies or soups).  This squeezing of water from the […]

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labna and char grilled vegetables
Breakfast, Brunch, Canape, Condiments, Desert, Gluten Free, Lunch

Labna Yoghurt – Everyday Delicious

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Welcome to 2019, I wish you all well and I hope it holds everything good for you. I did have a momentary panic as I sat down at the computer this morning, wondering if I would even remember how to open this blog — it feels it has been a long time since I have sat myself down and written anything, being busy and being creative it would seem do not go hand in hand for me.  Luckily life seems to be in some sort of order now (an optimistic view of my normal state of semi controlled chaos) and with the madness of Christmas behind me I am looking forward to some slightly more considered and creative eating and cooking. As always for me it is condiments that star in my cooking and the main player the last few weeks has been strained yoghurt called Labna or Labneh.   Labna is a Middle Eastern staple made by straining yoghurt to remove excess whey and resulting in a thickened slightly sour spread.  Inspired by both some delicious Turkish eggs eaten at a local cafe, and a recipe from Ottolinghi s new book – Simple – for “Hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt”.   I was ready to make again that staple I have talked of before Labna/Labnah.   While both these recipes use greek yoghurt I wanted to make my own version of this thickened greek style yoghurt in order to control the thickness. With Labna you can choose how thick you […]

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ricotta gnocchi
Lunch, Meal

Spinach, Lemon and Ricotta Gnocchi

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These gnocchi are a slightly lighter and looser gnocchi than usual.They are quick to put together and, at a stretch, can be said to be made from store cupboard ingredients. Ricotta and spinach from the freezer, lemons, parmesan, eggs and flour. Anyone who knows me well knows I love food bargains and hate waste.  One of our extended family who lived with us for a while was known to to ask “what’s special for dinner tonight”, and he wasn’t referring to my cooking!  In fairness he always did seem to love the cooking as well. My bargain hunting means I always have a stock of short dated ricotta in my freezer ready for savoury or sweet treats. These little gnocchi are substantial enough to be the hero of your meal and will team well with any of the usual simple pasta accompaniments – simple brown butter is amazing, but for a lighter approach think about wilted spinach, peas and pine nuts, sweet summer cherry tomatoes and basil, a simple Puttanesca sauce, or a wintery dish of roast pumpkin and toasted almonds!(……Maybe some of the fresh asparagus and peas just starting to appear in the market,  topped with a few lightly toasted pine nuts – YUM!.) I have also wandered off track a little with these in the experimentation process and have enjoyed them in a curry sauce and used them as dumplings in a big oxtail stew.  I cooked them from raw in the sauce both times and very happily […]

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carrot top pesto
Condiments, Gluten Free, Snack

Carrot Top Pesto

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Todays pesto combines the mild flavoured, fresh green goodness of carrot tops, with some punchy flavoured Peccorino cheese, garlic, chilli, lemon juice, olive oil and toasted cashew nuts. Carrot top pesto was not my intention for the blog today, but having bought the lovely baby carrots to go in a salad it was immediately apparent that the tops were almost more vibrant than the carrots.  This reminded me of my frustration in seeing people throwing carrot tops like these in the rubbish bin and so here I am making peace with my own carrot tops and making pesto today.  I could just have easily have used these lovely greens to made a herb dressing, a salsa verde, or used then in another batch of last weeks sassy salsa / ravigote sauce. Carrot tops have a mild  slightly parsley / spinach like flavour making them ideal for my pesto today.  You can, of coarse, use this method and list of ingredients to make what ever pesto you like – basil, parsley, rocket …  This loose recipe offers another quick and tasty option to use up those spare ‘herb’ greens  that you have either taken the trouble to grow or purchased. I have used cashew nuts in my pesto as in this part of the world they offer a more cost effective option than the more expensive pinenuts.  The cashews will still give the same buttery texture, but as always you should feel free to use what you prefer. This pesto, or […]

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