This tomato pasta is a little bit unusual in that the tomatoes are not cooked but rely on the fresh, hot pasta to warm them and release their flavour. It is a wonderfully fresh and light dish and the combination of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil is a winning one. It’s perfect for Sunday…
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Peach, avocado and persian feta salad
Summer for me means many things – hot, humid days, thunderstorms, swimming in the pool, holidays with my family, playing canasta and listening to great jazz, reading novels, walking on the beach. And summer food is a big part of what I love about this time of year. There’s so many beautiful fruits and vegetables…
Read MoreSmashed potatoes with parmesan
Potatoes are one of my favourite foods and I eat them many ways – simply boiled, in salads, mashed with butter and parsley, or roasted in the oven. They take on other flavours magnificently and I like to experiment with different vegetables and herbs to go with them. I also like trying different varieties of…
Read MoreSticky roasted plums
Each year we travel to the small country town of Stanthorpe to celebrate the New Year with our dear friends Ewen and Elissa. They own a vineyard and winery and our time there is spent eating beautiful food and drinking their wonderful wines, laughing at anything and everything and talking about the things that really…
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Zucchini and mint salad – summer on a plate
Zucchini is a humble vegetable, and often overlooked because it is so easy to overcook it to a watery, mushy mess that tastes pretty blah. But, char-grilled on a griddle pan, tossed in a little olive oil, and then spiced up with chilli, loads of fresh mint, lemon zest and soft oozy feta cheese and…
Read MoreGrown-up’s chocolate mousse
Silky, incredibly rich, and made with bitter dark chocolate slightly sweetened with honey, a little of this very grown-up mousse goes a very long way. However, it is very simple to make and only needs a good quality dark chocolate to make it shine. It is most important not to put the mousse in the…
Read MoreGin and lemon jellies – for weddings, parties, anything
Every summer we buy a bottle of really good quality gin and enjoy a regular gin and tonic in the late afternoon as the heat of the day is starting to dissipate. Turning a G&T into a dessert has long been on my to-do list and after a trip to Wellington in late November…
Read MorePan fried haloumi with lemon and parsley
Haloumi is a sightly salty, semi-hard cheese that has its origins in Cyprus. It is at its best when cooked, and the Mediterranean flavours of lemon, parsley and olive oil are wonderful accompaniments. Good quality extra virgin olive oil and beautifully fresh lemons are the secret to really making this dish sing, so use the best…
Read MoreWicked salted caramel pecans
Salted caramel seems to be the flavour of the moment and there’s a reason why – it tastes so astoundingly good. If you have never tried it before you simply must, although it is really addictive and you might not be able to resist once you acquire a taste for it. These salted caramel pecans…
Read MoreChar grilled asparagus with herbs
Spring and early summer is my favourite time of year, and fresh asapragus is one of the reasons why this is so. There is nothing so delicious as fresh asparagus (particularly if your childhood experiences of this vegetable involved a can opener, white bread and a toothpick) and this way of preparing it is spectacular.…
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Simple food 