HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

I really wanted to try it cake from Ottolenghi's Comfort cookbook. Even though Helen says it's such a popular recipe here in Australia, we had never seen it in any BBQ we had been to in the last 40 years.... The other reason for making it was because my grandmother used to make a recipe using biscuits in a similar way, and wanted to compare the two recipes. I must say that I love them both!! The traditional recipe is made with Arnott’s Choc Ripple biscuits, and I used them instead of making my own. However, here is the recipe to make your own if you fancy that. Ingredients 3 tbsp milk (or 105ml if not using the Grand Marnier) 60ml Grand Marnier (if using) 1 espresso shot, regular or decaf (30ml) 650ml double cream 325g crème fraîche 50g icing sugar 1½ tsp vanilla extract 1½ tsp ground cinnamon Biscuits 225g plain flour 50g cocoa powder ¾ tsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp salt 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature 200g caster sugar 50ml vegetable oil 50g gol...

Today I had an interesting day in regards to my cooking. I had planned to make Nachos, but unfortunately the avocados were still rock hard, and I love to serve them with guacamole, so I decided to make some Buckwheat pancakes with smoked salmon instead, and was looking for a salad to go with them. I found this one and thought it would be perfect, and I really thought I had most of the ingredients. The first step was to make the dressing with yoghurt and harissa, and I knew I had some, but when I checked the due date, it was almost a year too old, so I couldn't use it and I checked if I could make the harissa myself. I found a recipe for Rose harissa that I could make in the Thermomix. Luckily I had ALL ingredients, so I proceeded to make it and it took me about 30 minutes. It turned out delicious! Then, I proceeded to prepare the salad and decided to change it a bit and add some mixed salad leaves and to pickle the onion. I didn't have any hearts of palm, but I had marinated ar...

Chimichurri ' is an uncooked sauce used as an ingredient in cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat. Found originally in Argentina and used in Argentinian, Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Brazilian cuisines, it has become widely adopted in most of Latin America. The sauce comes in green and red varieties'. This recipe is delicious and I used it to serve duck, beef steak and also some beef skewers.  Ingredients (500ml Yield) Onions: 54g, very finely chopped (half onion) Garlic: 14g, minced (about 3–4 cloves) Fresh parsley: 21g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped fine (a small handful) Ripe tomatoes: 214g, deseeded and diced into small cubes (about 2 small tomatoes) Fresh chillies: About ⅓ of a small chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (adjust to taste) Dried thyme: 0.7g (roughly a generous pinch) Dried oregano: 3.6g (roughly 1.5 teaspoons) Ground cumin: 0.3g (a tiny pinch) Sweet paprika: 1.7g (roughly ½ teaspoon) Coarse salt: 5g (about 1 teaspoon) Lemon: Zest of abo...

I'm not sure this salad is very traditional but I have now made it a few times and is on the list of favourites! It is very yummy! The different layers of vegetables make it a meal on its own.  But the star of the show is the zesty lime dressing! That's what makes this salad so delicious.  To make it even a more complete meal, yesterday we added some hot smoked salmon as one of the possible ingredients suggested.  A really top recipe! Ingredients 1 Tbsp olive oil 300g fresh corn kernels (about 2 corn cobs) 500g snow peas, trimmed and blanched (or raw and thinly sliced) 250g cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 red onion, thinly sliced 4 radishes, thinly sliced 2 large handfuls of coriander leaves, roughly chopped 1-2 jalapeños, thinly sliced 200ml Zesty lime dressing (see below) pinch of ground cumin pinch of ground allspice pinch of sea salt 3 large avocados, stoned Bacon 80ml / 1/3 cup vegetable oil 500g smoked bacon, cut into lardons 150g / 1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 1 larg...

This lovely recipe is usually served for breakfast, but it can be easily served for both brunch, lunch and even for a light dinner. I used both sides of the bagel to make it a more substantial meal. Also, the curly endive, dressed with olive oil, finishing fruit vinegar and a bit of salt, worked perfectly. Certainly a keeper! Ingredients 4 plain or rye bagels 100g neufchatel cream cheese 200g sliced smoked salmon 1 avocado, sliced (optional) 2 spring onions, chopped 2 roma tomatoes, finely chopped 2 Tbsp baby capers, rinsed and drained 2 Tbsp finely chopped dill 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt & freshly ground black pepper salad leaves to serve, optional Method Cut the bagels in half and spread the base generously with cream cheese, then top with the avocado (if using) and the salmon. Combine the spring onions, tomatoes, capers, dill, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl. Season and pile the mixture onto the salmon and serve with the salad leaves if using. Serv...

  This is a delicious warm salad that it's a meal on itself with the addition of the mixed salad leaves. I used a mixture of curly endive, radicchio and rocket. Also, couldn't find any caperberries, so I used capers instead. Love to try it with the other variations of protein. Yum!  Ingredients 10 chat potatoes, skin on 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar extra virgin olive oil salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 4 eggs 2 handfuls of flat-leaf parsley leaves, torn 1 handful of dill fronds, torn 10 tiny cornichons, cut in half lengthways 2 spring onions, finely sliced 2 long green chillies, finely sliced 12 thin slices of cooked corned beef (you could also use pastrami, smoked trout, gravlax or even bacon) 8 caperberries, cut in half lengthways 4 Tbsp crème fraîche salad greens dressed with olive oil and fruit finishing vinegar, optional Method Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until very tender. Drain well, slice in half and add to a large bowl with the vinegar and 2 T...

This is a very traditional Catalan dish that every household has its own way of doing it. It's also very common to use scampi instead of prawns. I have used a couple of recipes from well known Catalan cooks and adapted them to create my own. Mixing chicken and seafood has been very traditional in many regions of Catalonia. Chicken used to be eaten only for big celebration and Christmas, and some seafood such as lobster or scampi were cheaper products on the coastal regions. In fact, they use to call the recipes Lobster and chicken because the chicken was then more scarce! I served it with Rossejat de fideus but without the allioli, the sauce was so flavoursome that it didn't need the extra punch of the garlic. Also, I find that raw garlic can repeat when eaten at night time! Ingredients 1 chicken (approx. 1.6kg) 16 prawns 3 ripe, chopped tomatoes 2 carrots 1 onion 1 bay leaf 1/2 cup cream 4 cloves of garlic 1/3 cup of brandy 1/3 cup of sherry 1 tsp butter 1 litre of chicken st...

  This is the first time I made this dish and used two recipes to make my own version. I used the one from Larkin Cen mostly, but I cooked the pork using another recipe as it contained basic ingredients such as garlic and ginger, which I thought would give the pork a nicer flavour. Everything was made from scratch except for the crunchy chilli oil, that came from a jar.  I couldn't get the traditional preserved mustard greens (yacai), so I made Quick-pickled turnips to give a bit of crunch and sweetness to the dish. I can see why it is a very popular street food in Sichuan. A lovely dish for a relatively cold evening. Ingredients: Quick-pickled turnips 250g of baby turnips, or regular turnips 1 tbsp of salt 125ml of water 125ml of rice wine vinegar 100g of caster sugar Dan dan sauce 100g of sesame paste or smooth peanut butter 10g of light soy sauce 1/2 tsp caster sugar 1 pinch of Sichuan peppercorns 1 garlic clove, ideally confit or roasted 1/2 tbsp of toban djan chilli bean ...

  These fish cakes, also known as ‘fish patties’, are very popular in British cuisine and can be found in many fish and chip shops. Some are better than others… This recipe by Gordon Ramsay is easy to make, healthy and delicious.  Ingredients 400 g potatoes  2 tablespoons olive oil finely grated zest of 1 large lemon 2–3 tablespoons lemon juice sea salt and black pepper a few sprigs of fresh thyme 1/2 lemon, sliced 300 g salmon 300 g cod or other fish a handful of chopped parsley a handful of chopped chervil 3 tbsp plain flour 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten 50 g Japanese breadcrumbs (panko) Anchovy dressing 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons capers 2 shallots, peeled and chopped a bunch of parsley, leaves only, chopped 4 anchovies, chopped 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Method 1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into even-sized pieces and place them in a saucepan with plenty of salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–15 minutes until tender when pierced with a ...