Rocket and Roast Pumpkin Salad

Chinese New Year is the one day a year I struggle to observe half a day of vegetarianism. Once the clock strikes 12 noon, I eagerly resume the taking of souls. I've actually made this salad for lunch a couple of times, so it speaks volumes about how delicious it is. The pumpkin can be roasted in advance and I would recommend adding the dressing at the last minute as it tends to wilt the rocket. The recipe is from Taste.com.au but I prefer using Jap Pumpkin (rustically cut the pumpkin in one inch pieces and roast for an hour at 180°C) and baby rocket.

Lamb Osso Bucco

For New Year's Eve I made an amazing three hour slow cooked Osso Bucco from Matt Moran's cook book 'When I get home.' It had wonderful flavours but I had my doubts if I would cook something as elaborate for my work lunches, but as I was flicking through a Garry Rhodes cook book my little brother had borrowed from the library this recipe for lamb Osso Bucco caught my eye. The cooking time was half of the Matt Moran version so I thought I would give it a go.

The recipe called for lamb leg but I decided to purchase lamb chump chops as they were on special. Lamb chump chops sound rather unappealing but is the equivalent of the rump in steak. It isn't as tender some of the other cuts but full of flavour. I seasoned the chops and lightly dusted them in flour before browning them in a saucepan.

I then browned the onion, celery and added roma tomatoes. The recipe asked for the tomatos to be deseeded but I usually ignore this request. Once the vegetables were soften, I then added the wine, orange juice, orange zest, bay leaf and consomme. I then brough the items to a boil before braising the Osso Bucco in the oven for 1 and a half hours.

The finished product is amazingly tender and a lot less fuss than my first attempt at Osso Bucco.

Miss Baci thinks stolen tennis balls are just as tasty ... but perhaps a little more fun.

Pea and Ham Soup

The Pea and Ham Soup I'm cooking comes from the Australia Women's Weekly cookbook - Cook.

Pea and Ham Soup is such a wonderfully simple thing, 2 cups of dried peas, 1 chopped medium brown onion, 2 stalks of chopped celery, 2 bay leaves, 1.5kg of ham bone, 2.5 litres of water and a teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for two hours.

Remove the ham bone to cool, remove the ham from the bone and chop into bite sized pieces. Return the ham to soup and serve. In my case I portioned the soup into containers, ready for the freezer.

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

A bare freezer signals the need to make a big batch of work lunches and it's been a while since I made a delicious Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. My recipe comes from David Herbet's The Really Useful Cookbook. The first step is to make a simple sauce from 800g of tinned chopped tomatoes, two cloves of garlic and a couple of springs of thyme and to reduce the mixture for 20 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, I chopped 150g of spinach, two tablespoons of fresh basil and a clove of garlic. I then mixed the fresh ingredients with 500g of ricotta, salt, pepper and 1/4 of nutmeg. Prepare a baking dish and spread half of the sauce on the base.

After the mixture is combined, take a handful and spread it on half a lasagna sheet and roll the sheet into a tube. Lay the tube on top of the sauce with the cut side down. Continue this process until you have filled the tray.

Spread the remaining sauce on the top of the cannelloni and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Pop the cannelloni into the 200°c oven for 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the cheese is golden.

When the pasta is warm, cut the tray down the center and either serve or wait for it cool and the pop into the freezer. I've made this dish a number of times for work and it freezes and reheats extremely well.

Zucchini Slice

I was called to arms this morning so I decided to make a tray of Zucchini Slice for Baked Relief. Zucchinis cost a bomb at the moment but it's quicker and healthier than making a Quiche. Zucchini Slice is dead easy, able to be consumed hot or cold. Want to have a go yourself? Try this recipe from Taste.com.au.

Miss Baci wishes this rain would go away as it means no afternoon running and a higher likelihood of a bath as it's hard work to keep those white socks pretty. But it's better than storms!

I Like Pie!

There is something comforting about pie. It's full of gooey chunks of meat suspended in warm gravy and wrapped in flaky pastry. But pie hasn't always been this wholesome, in fact in the ye olden days the pie crust was close to inedible as designed to be seven inches thick to withstand hours of cooking.

But back to this delicious Beef and Vegetable Pie, which comes from the cookbook, 1000 Best Ever Recipes from AWW. It's one of my favourites as it used cheap gravy beef and a number of vegetables - potato, carrot, zucchini, onion, celery, peas and mushrooms. It makes an excellent freezer friendly meal but the only thing about the recipe is it tends to be a little liquidy. I would recommend thickening the gravy before you pour it into the baking dish.

For the food pornographers, here is a slice of the pie. It's simple, delicious and makes a great rainy day meal.

Classic Lasagna

Let's face, we live in an instant coffee, microwave society. We are all pushing to make deadlines and want everything like yesterday. However this does NOT excuse you from whinging, "I have no time to cook." If I had a dollar every time someone told me this, I would be a million zillion billionaire. I want you to make you to make time and there is no easier way to do than freezer food. Make a couple of different things on the weekend and you'll lunch for weeks. All you have to do is take it out and reheat it in the microwave. So easy.

One of the most freezer friendly recipes I have is for the classic lasagna. My recipe comes from the a 'Cook's Book of Pasta: Carbonara Marinara Napolitana.' This lasagna comprises of layers of Bechamel Sauce and mince. The mince is enriched with sauteed onion and garlic, tinned tomatoes, red wine, basil and oregano. It's really simple recipe and makes approximately eight serves. Cook, cool, freeze and make all your co-workers jealous!

'When I Get Home' - Matt Moran

Super star chefs are today's celebrities and Matt Moran is no different with two restaurants, a string of media engagements and two published cook books. Following the super star chef mould Moran's first cook book was a compilation of his signature dishes and largely unusable for the average home cook. However his second foray into the world of cook books is far more user friendly and comes beautifully presented with a die cut hard cover and tactile spine. 209 pages of modern Australian cuisine which includes recipes such as Haloumi with Watermelon and Mint and Smoked Trout and Asparagus Tart. I've recently made this tart twice and it is just outstanding. It's delicious, presents well but a word of warning ... do not try unless you have a spring form tart pan. It's a must have piece of equipment.

Smoked Trout and Asparagus Tart
Serves six.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
• 3 eggs
• 300ml cream
• 100ml milk
• 1/4 bunch dill, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 300g piece hot-smoked rainbow trout
• 50g parmesan (preferably reggiano)

Shortcrust pastry

• 250g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• pinch caster sugar
• 160g butter, slightly softened
• 1 egg
• 20ml milk

Method:

To prepare the shortcrust pastry, rub the flour, salt and sugar with the butter until you form a crumb consistency. Mix in the egg and milk and knead gently two or three times. Wrap the pastry in plastic film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Remove from the fridge and allow the pastry to come back to room temperature before rolling.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 5 mm and line a 25cm tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, several times, then return to the fridge for about an hour to rest.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Cut out a round piece of baking paper about 5cm larger in diameter than the tart tin. Line the pastry case with the paper and weigh down with some dried beans or rice. Bake for about 12 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes. Brush the inside of the tart case with some beaten egg and return to the oven for 2 minutes (this will prevent the pastry from becoming soggy). Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Slice each asparagus spear into three pieces. Blanch in boiling salted water for 10-20 seconds, then drain and cool in iced water. When the asparagus is cold, drain off the water.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk, dill, salt and pepper. Remove the skin from the trout and carefully flake the flesh, taking care to remove any bones you find in the process. Scatter the trout and asparagus inside the cooled tart case, the pour on the custard. Finely grate some parmesan over the top and bake for 15 minutes or until the custard is set. Allow the tart to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and cut into wedges to serve.

Source: 'When I Get Home' - Matt Moran.