I had to get back from Melbourne last week to have fun singing with Charmaine Jones and her Jones Commentary, channelling the Carpenters at St Paul's in Adelaide for a charity concert raising money for the Butterfly Foundation. Always a thrill and even better that it was for such a worthwhile cause. -MB Read the rest...
Lemons are as essential to my cooking as garlic, Verjuice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and quality salt and pepper. I use lemon rind in my game pies, lemon juice squeezed into the cavity of all poultry that I cook, lemon juice to curdle milk for a banana cake, lemons in jam to add extra pectin, in mayonnaise, hollandaise and vinaigrettes. I’m particularly partial to the Meyer lemon in desserts though. Although sweeter than the conventional lemon, it still has a wonderful tang, perfect for lemon curd, pot au crème, semifreddo, or a dense and syrupy lemon and almond cake. And because the Meyer has less acid, it provides an excellent juice for homemade lemonade. A handy tip for extracting more juice from a lemon is to pour boiling water over the whole fruit and leave it for 5 minutes before squeezing it. Or if you have a microwave, heat the fruit on medium for 1 minute and leave to cool a little before squeezing. -MB Read the rest...
I wonder if it’s the fact that the onion is perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the vegetables we eat, that makes it so easy to forget they do indeed have their own season? Growing them in a home garden completely changes that. There’s no doubt onions are at their best, freshly dug from the garden, in autumn and winter. To taste them at their peak sheds a whole new light on what you may consider using onions for. When they are picked in season their superior flavour makes them an easy choice to base an entire meal around rather than simply use them as a background ingredient. It’s worth mentioning they are a breeze to grow too. The brown onion varieties I have had the most success with are ‘Creamgold’ and ‘Murray Brown’, and although I don’t tend to use as many white onions compared to brown, I always plant a white onion option; ‘White Spanish’, which I find to be a milder tasting onion. Red onions are lovely roasted, but are also my first choice for a raw addition to salads and salsa, so I always include one or two varieties when I’m planting my onions for the season; I particularly like the sweeter flavour of ‘Redshine’ which grows very well in our Mediterranean climate. -MB Read the rest...
I rarely have a lot of spare time on my hands, but when the weather gets cooler there is nothing better than long, slow cooking. One favourite dish is Slow Braised Beef Cheeks, and I know many of you feel the same way, as this is the most visited recipes on my website! I use a heavy based casserole, just large enough for the meat to fit into. Once the cooking process is done, and this can take up to 6 hours depending on the breed of the animal, allow the cheeks to cool to make it easier to trim any gristle. Another tip is to refrigerate the juices, this helps in removing the fat, then you can reduce juices to a syrup and gently warm to serve with creamy polenta. If this recipe is yet to make an appearance on your winter table, then wait no longer because believe you me, it's well worth the effort! -MB Read the rest...
Making the perfect risotto can be tricky, but there's a few simple things you can do to increase your chances of success! I use imported Italian risotto rice, which can be arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano. My favourite of all is the Ferron brand of carnaroli rice. I find that a wide, heavy based, deep sided frying pan, a good wooden spoon and a ladle for adding stock are the perfect tools for cooking a good risotto. Be sure not to rush risotto. Only add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously and waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. The rice should be cooked through but still a little firm; it should not be chalky in the centre. I always add fresh lemon juice before serving too. - MB Read the rest...
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