Cooking at home: pesto eggs; Moroccan cottage pie, spicy cauliflower, fish tacos and apple crumble

The combination of cooler weather and my growing bump has led to me being a major nesting mode lately. As a result, I've really been enjoying cooking at home more.  I've been ordering up a bunch of fresh veggies each Monday so I can have a stocked fridge to inspire me.

First up: Sunday brekky. Usually I have my eggs poached, but I couldn't be bothered with the faffing about, so I opted to just fry them up. I popped some sourdough bread in the toaster, squeezed some fresh orange juice and cut up some organic tomatoes and topped with some basil pesto I'd made the day before. (I also put some on the toast under the eggs). It was all on the table in less than five minutes.

Home-made pesto is super easy. A bunch of basil, a handful of parmesan, a handful of pine nuts, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Whizz it all up in a food processor and give it a taste and adjust if you need. It keeps for days in the fridge, or you can freeze it. I have it for lunch with wholewheat pasta (I just drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil through it to lube it up a bit more and shave some fresh parmesan on top, and toasted pine nuts if I can be bothered). It's a good way of using up leftover herbs and nuts. You can also substitute coriander for basil (hold the parmesan) or macadamia nuts for pine nuts. Have it as a dip or a pasta sauce or a spread. Whatever you fancy, really.

Second up: mid-week dinner. I've been trying to eat less meat lately, however it hasn't gone down too well with my meat-loving husband. I came across this recipe in one of my cookbooks and thought I'd give it a go. It was super tasty! And a really easy recipe. Perfect comfort food. And I loved that we had our own individual portions. I actually froze half of the mince. So next time, I'll just heat it up and make some fresh mash. In fact, next time I might even double the recipe and freeze three batches. It's that good.

Moroccan Cottage Pie

Adapted from "Delicious: Quick Smart Cook" by Valli Little

Serves 4-6 (in one big dish, or small individual dishes)

For the pie

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

650g lamb mince

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground turmeric

2tbs tomato paste

150ml red wine

150ml beef stock

½ cup roughly chopped pitted green olives

1/3 cup chopped mint leaves, plus small leaves to garnish

For the mash

2 extra-large potatoes, peeled and chopped

knob of butter

dash of milk (or ½ cup sour cream or crème fraiche)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the lamb mince and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes until browned. Add the dry spices, reserving 1 tsp turmeric for the potato mash) and the tomato paste and cook for a further minute. Add the wine and stock, bring to a simmer, then decrease heat to low and cook for 15-18 minutes until the meat is cooked and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the olives and mint. Transfer the mixture to a serving dish (or small individual dishes) and set aside. Meanwhile, cook the potato and remaining turmeric in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain well, then mash well. Season with salt and pepper, stir in butter and milk. Spread the mashed potato over the mince, and garnish with mint leaves.

I'd also bookmarked a recipe a while back on a food blog I read regularly, but I'd never got around to actually cooking it. I was looking for a side dish to the cottage pie that would complement the flavours but also add some veggies to the equation. Enter: Spicy Cauliflower.

I modified it a bit as I didn't have all the ingredients to hand, but it didn't matter. Even without the sesame seeds and jalapenos, it was a winner. I'll give it a go with those ingredients next time, but for my money, it actually didn't need it. What's more: the dish was even better when I ate the leftovers cold a few days later for lunch.

Spicy Cauliflower Recipe
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


1 teaspoon cumin seeds


1 big yellow onion, finely sliced


A pinch of turmeric


Sea salt

1 medium cauliflower, thinly sliced

4 dried red chilies, stemmed and halved


1 garlic clove, grated

4 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated


2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the cumin seeds and cook until they begin to crackle, just 30 seconds or so. Stir in the onions, along with the turmeric and a few pinches of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions caramelize a bit and turn lightly golden, roughly 7 - 10 minutes. Add the red chilies, garlic and half of the ginger. Continue to cook for another minute. Add the cauliflower and stir well. Cover the pan and cook the cauliflower over low-medium heat for 3 - 5 minutes, until just tender. (I added some water to the pan here to hurry along the steaming of the cauliflower). When the cauliflower is nearly cooked, remove the lid, increase the heat, and stir in the remaining ginger. Salt to taste, sprinkle with cilantro and enjoy.

Weekend dinner: Fish tacos!  I had some frozen cod fillets in the freezer and some tortillas that needed using up, when I remembered a recipe I'd bookmarked a while back. It's from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook (ugh Gwyneth!) and was a pretty great recipe. I actually made the fish two ways. One following her recipe (beer battered and fried - kinda surprising for health nut Gwyneth) and another more healthy choice (marinated in lime juice and coriander, then grilled).

The picture above is of the beer battered version. It was pretty fantastic. I followed the recipe pretty faithfully. You can read it here. I've made pico de gallo and guacamole before (I add chopped red chilli and lemon juice to mine) but I've never made salted cabbage. It was so easy and really very, very tasty. It definitely added a new element to the dish.

Lastly: dessert!  I have never really had a sweet tooth, but my pregnancy seems to have brought out the dessert lover in me. I had bought some fresh green apples and had not used these cute little single-serve ovenproof dishes we'd bought. Hey presto: apple crumble. 

I used this recipe as inspiration but I don't measure anything and substitute rolled oats instead of flour for the topping. I find it tastier - and I think it's healthier? Minus the two scoops of ice-cream! Whoops. But what's crumble without vanilla ice-cream? The dish I used fitted one green apple perfectly. You could of course make a bigger crumble in a bigger dish, but I like having my own plate!

Apple Crumble

Adapted from BBC Food

For the crumble

Rolled oats

A little bit of plain flour

Some brown sugar

Knob of unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

For the filling

1 green apple (per head), peeled, cored and cut into 1cm pieces

Handful of brown sugar

Handful of plain flour

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the rolled oats, flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time, rub into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Place the fruit in a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir well being careful not to break up the fruit. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Step by Step: roasted vegie salad

I'm loving my organic vegies lately. They're just so damn tasty. And they're good for my growing baby. Best of all: they really don't require all that much work to deliver a tasty meal. Here's an idea for a quick lunch/dinner.


STEP ONE ("We can have lots of fun!" Go NKOTB)
Pre-heat the oven to about 180°C. Chop up the vegetables roughly (this will take about five minutes, tops). I've used pumpkin, red onion, zucchini, carrots and whole garlic pieces, but you can use whatever you like. Normally I leave the pumpkin skin on, but today the skin was a bit too dirty so I chopped it off. A bit of a shame as I love when the skin caramelises.

STEP TWO ("There's so much we can do!" Ok I'm going to stop)
Pop the vegies into a roasting tray. Cover with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper and some freshly-chopped rosemary. Pop in the oven for about 30 mins. Walk away. (See, easy.)

STEP THREE ("It's just you and meeee..." Sorry couldn't help it)
Pop the vegies into a bowl or on a plate, then drizzle with a salad dressing (I used a mix of dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper and olive oil - all shook up) and scatter with fresh parsley, sea salt and pepper.

Yum, yum and yum. And healthy to boot.

And for those who have no idea who or what NKOTB is, here's a flashback (go to 2:45). You could play this while you're chopping your vegies! Dance moves and bad fashion are optional.

Cooking at home: roast chicken two ways

I love roast chicken and vegies. In fact, I think it's my favourite meal on earth. Especially when my Mum used to cook it. I always requested it on my birthday.

I had a craving for it this weekend, so I bought a whole chicken to roast (online from Fields) plus some veges - potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, red onions and garlic. Stuff the chicken with a whole lemon (first prick it with a fork and stick it in the microwave for 20 seconds) and then pop bunches of herbs under the skin (I prefer rosemary and thyme) and a few sticks of butter. Whack it on a roasting tray, drizzle it with olive oil and sea salt, then pop into a hot oven for 30 minutes. Add the vegies (I par-boil my potatoes before this step), and cook it all for another 30 minutes. Take out the chicken and rest it for 5-10 minutes (make the gravy with the pan juices then) before carving the chicken. Last but not least, pull the vegies out of the oven and voila - perfectly crispy skin and tender meat.

As it was just the two of us, we had quite a lot of chicken leftover, so for lunch the next day, I bought a fresh baguette from Baker & Spice on Anfu Lu. In a mixing bowl, combine diced chicken, chopped spring onions, a spoonful or two of mayonnaise, some salt and pepper and give it a stir. Put the mixture on the baguette for a yummy leftover lunch. Waste not, want not.

When life hands you lemons...

So I was chatting today with Mum about what recipes she's thinking about. Here's what she said...


“It’s citrus season in Australia at the moment, and my first thought is to make a Lemon Delicious, a kind of self-saucing soufflé. One of the cooks in the hotel I grew up in used to make it for us. I love it because it’s a lovely dessert if you have a heavier meal because it’s very light and you don’t feel full but it has the beautiful tang of the lemons in it.”

Lemon Delicious
“This recipe is from a book called French and Gourmet Cooking which was given to my by a girl I worked with in Sydney as a wedding gift. I double the recipe and make a big pudding in a very large glass soufflé dish because people always want more. A clear glass bowl looks best (make sure it’s tempered) as you can see the separation of the layers. Or you could make individual puddings in ramekins.”

3 eggs separated
6 oz caster sugar (scant cup)
2 tbsp plain flour
Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
Pinch of salt
Tbsp of dessicated coconut
Extra sugar (dessert spoon)
½ pint of milk (1 ¼ cups)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a beater until light and fluffy. Then beat in the flour, milk, lemon rind, juice and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites stiffly and whisk in two ounces of extra sugar (to make a meringue-style mix). Fold into the lemon mixture with coconut. Turn mixture into a casserole dish (I prefer a tempered glass soufflé dish) and set into a pan of warm water about half way up the dish. Bake for one hour at 350 fahrenheit (175 celsius). This pudding is delicious served with fresh cream.

Preserved Lemons
“Clean and sterilise jars. Cut lemons into quarters but don’t break the bottom (so it opens out like a petal) and stuff it with rock salt (I like Maldon) and pop into the jar. Squeeze some other lemons and put lemon juice into the quarterized lemon. Down the sides squash sprigs of rosemary, peppercorns, star anise, a clove, thyme, whatever you like. Top up the jar with hot water and seal tightly. Put it into the cupboard to preserve. It will take a good few weeks for all that salt to dissolve. When it’s ready, pull the quarter lemon out and take the pulp out with a spoon and discard that. When it’s ready, put it in the fridge. It should keep for about three months. Then you just shred the preserved lemon skin as you need it. It’s perfect in a chicken tagine, lamb cutlets, Moroccan-style salads, whatever you like.”

Other ideas for lemons:

“I always put a lemon in the cavity of a chicken when roasting. And I squeeze it all over the skin and vegetables to give it more flavour as it roasts.”

“If you ever see lemon myrtle olive oil, buy it. It’s delicious and adds flavour to stir fries, salads, chicken dishes, pasta. It’s beautiful.”

“And don’t forget a slice of lemon in your daily gin & tonic!”


Her last comment reminds me of a tea towel I saw on Etsy last year. A great motto for life, really.

Copyright: Dear Colleen http://www.etsy.com/people/dearcolleen?ref=ls_profile