Gourmet on a Shoestring

Ingredients

• 1 large bag of washed Baby Spinach or Mixed Dark Lettuce leaves
• 2–3 rashers cooked Bacon cut into strips, or cooked Chicken (optional)
• 1 Avocado, sliced into chunks
• 1 Mango, sliced into small cubes
• ½ Cucumber, sliced
• ½ cup chopped Walnuts

  Dressing

• 2 tbspn Olive Oil
• 1 tspn Lemon juice
• 2 tspn Lime juice
• 1 tspn whole seed Mustard
• Pepper to taste (optional)

On a flat serving platter, arrange spinach and layer meat, avocado, mango and walnuts on top. Pour dressing over salad just before serving. It is de-licious!

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Preparation Time: 15 minutes  Cooking Time: 90 minutes  Makes: 30

For a last minute dinner party desert, I love these quick and easy chewy meringues.

Ingredients

• 4 Egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch of salt (or pinch of cream tartar)
• 220g (1 cup) Caster Sugar

Method

The most important thing to remember when making meringues is that moisture is their greatest enemy. Apparently moisture in the air, humidity, will prevent them from drying completely and will make them “weep”, however we live in a tropical climate so there is no avoiding humidity and I haven’t noticed any problems.

Bring your eggs to room temperature before using them – cold egg whites incorporate less air than those at room temperature. When you separate the egg whites from the yolks, separate each egg into a small dish rather than straight into a large bowl. This way, if a yolk breaks into a white, you will not spoil all four egg whites.

The salt will help to stabilise the meringues and help them stiffen before the sugar is added.

Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Have all the required utensils on hand. Make sure your egg whites, bowl and whisk attachment/s are free of any water, or fat such as butter, oil or egg yolks, as this will inhibit the egg whites from incorporating air and producing a good volume. It is best to use a stainless steel, glass, ceramic or copper bowl for whisking egg whites and not plastic as traces of fat are difficult to remove from plastic bowls.

1. Preheat oven to 120°C.
2. Place the egg whites and salt in a large, clean, dry mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
3. Add the sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking until just combined. The sugar should be added gradually but there is no need to whisk well after each addition. If the sugar is added too slowly, the resulting mixture will be fluffy and not smooth and will give the final meringues an open texture.
4. After the last of the sugar has been, added, continue to whisk for a further 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and glossy, all the sugar has dissolved and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted. The best way to test if all the sugar has dissolved is to rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger.
5. If it is smooth, all the sugar has dissolved. Keep a close eye on the mixture and stop beating as soon as it reaches this stage. If the mixture is overbeaten, the meringues will collapse during cooking and beads of sugar will form on their surface.
6. Spoon the mixture onto the lined trays to form the meringues. As a guide, each meringue will be about 2 level tablespoon measures of mixture.
7. Place the meringues into the oven and reduce the temperature to 90°C. When you place the meringues in the oven, the initial slightly higher temperature sets their outsides. The lower temperature then dries the meringues rather than bakes them. For slightly soft and chewy meringues, leave the oven on for 1 hour or until the meringues are crisp and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool in the oven.
8. Store the meringues in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Serving suggestion: add lemon curd (see my receipe), vanilla ice cream and some passion fruit or raspberries sprinkle on top. MMM!

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Prep and Cooking time: 60 mins Serves 6

This lasagne is very hearty yet also very fresh and light (low fat too!). You will eat your heart out and won’t leave the table feeling heavy. Delicious! To save money with this one, you can get the Ricotta from the deli, buy the Coles brand lasagne sheets, and grab whichever pasta sauce is on special.

Ingredients

400g minced Chicken
1 Red Capsicum, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Red Chilli, finely chopped (very mild)
440g can Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
575g jar Tomato-based Pasta Sauce
400g can Crushed Tomatoes
375g fresh Lasagne sheets
375g Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Tasty Cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Heat a big non-stick fry pan to high and add chicken. Break clumps up with a wooden spoon as you brown chicken.
3. Add capsicum, chilli, beans, pasta sauce and tomatoes, and stir to combine.
4. Grease lasagne dish with a small amount of olive oil (use a brush or spray). Cut pasta to size and place a layer on the bottom of the dish, then alternate sauce and pasta layers, finishing with a pasta layer (you should fit 5 or 6 layers).
5. Spread ricotta over the pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese.
6. Bake for 30mins or until cheese starts to brown slightly. Stand for 5 minutes, then serve with green salad.

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Prep time: 20 min Cooking time: 35 min Serves 6

This rich Italian dish is another of my favourites and is also great comfort food. Just the thought makes my stomach groan in hunger! This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart, and I find bacon bits is easier to find in your supermarket deli, cheaper and just as yummy.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
283g Pancetta, sliced into small rectangles (or 300g of bacon bits)
1 tablespoon Garlic (or two cloves)
500g Spaghetti
1 cup Thickened Cream
3-4 large Egg yolks
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Cook spaghetti in boiling water until al dente, about 8 minute. While spaghetti is cooking, whisk cream, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until well combined.
3. In a pan over medium heat fry the garlic and olive oil for a few minutes, then add pancetta (or bacon bits) and cook until browned. Drain on paper towel.
4. Drain pasta, and return to pot. Immediately stir in egg/cheese mixture until well combined
5. Add warm pancetta/bacon. Toss well.
6. Thin sauce with additional cream, if necessary. Serve immediately with more Parmesan cheese as a garnish.

(Alternative: substitute parmesan with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano – more expensive)

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Cooking time: 40 mins Serves 6

This recipe is one of my all-time biggest hits on the dinner table, and it used to be one of the only things I knew how to cook in my university days (thanks to my ex Greg!). It is a sure fire winner with anyone NOT on a diet (although dieters are usually happy to make an exception in this case). It is also one of my easiest and quickest recipes – I’m not usually one to buy pre-made sauces, but this pesto really makes this amazing and it would take you hours to make it yourself. You will never go to Fasta Pasta again!
(If you can’t find Leggo’s Sundried Tomato Pesto,  substitute with another concentrated red pesto.)

Ingredients

500g packet of fettuccine
400g chicken breast
¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
¼ cup sliced semi-dried tomatos
1 cup thickened cream (add more if you want more sauce)
1 jar of Leggo’s Sundried Tomato Pesto

Method

1. Chop the chicken into bite-sized cubes, and drain olives and semi-dried tomatos.
2. Bring your biggest pot full of salted water to a rapid boil, then add fettuccine and stir to ensure they don’t stick together.
3. Add chicken to a very hot pan with a dash of olive oil, and cook until just browned.
4. Add jar of pesto and let sizzle for a minute, then add the olives, tomatos and cream.
5. Cover and let it simmer on very low for 5 minutes, or until ready to serve.
6. Drain pasta and serve into bowls with a few big spoonfuls of sauce on top – this sauce is very rich so you don’t need much!

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Serves 5

A delicious, thick and hearty soup. So creamy and filling, but won’t leave you with a heavy feeling afterward, like so many other meals.

Ingredients

• 6 medium Potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 5 cups Chicken Stock
• 2 Leeks, chopped finely
• 2 teaspoons Butter
• 1 cup thickened Cream
• 1 Onion, chopped finely
• ½ teaspoon of Garlic
• 3 slices of Panchetta, chopped coarsely(or a handful of Bacon Bits – cheaper!)
• Salt and Cracked Pepper to taste
• 1 slice of thick bread in 1cm cubes (optional)

Method

1. In a medium pot over medium heat, combine the potatoes and stock and allow to simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile, if using bread bits, heat half the butter in a saucepan; sauté bread until browned and crisp. Put to the side. Then fry pancetta (or bacon) in a the same hot saucepan until crisp, and set aside.
3. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the leeks, garlic and onion to the saucepan with the remaining butter for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender (should look bright green and transparent).
4. Meanwhile, mash the potatoes in the pot they were cooking in.
5. Add the leeks, cream, and panchetta/bacon to the potatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Ingredients

• ½ Kent Pumpkin
• 1½  blocks of low-fat Australian Feta
• 50g Pine Nuts
• 1 Spanish Onion
• 1 bunch of Coriander (leaves only, chopped)
• Honey
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Chop pumpkin into bite-sized cubes, drizzle with oil, honey, and season with salt and pepper. Put in oven at 200 for 40mins.
2. Chop onion in thin strips and pan fry until soft
3. Add onion to pumpkin in oven when pumpkin is half done to crisp up.
4. Toast pine nuts lightly in pan.
5. Chop feta into small cubes and add pine nuts and coriander.
6. When pumpkin is browned, take out and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Add a bit of honey (to taste) over the whole mixture and gently mix.

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Prep and Cooking time: 6o min Serves 6

This Thai soup recipe, from my neighbor Irene, is AMAZING! It’s beautiful Thai flavours make a party in your mouth. Although there are a lot of ingredients, it’s very easy to make – once the prep is done, you can sit back and relax while it cooks. Serve it at dinner parties!

Ingredients

• 400ml Coconut Cream (CC Milk for those on a diet)
• 3 tablespoons yellow (or red) Thai Curry Paste
• 350ml Fish Stock (Fish Stock Cubes are cheaper)
• 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Caster Sugar
• 3 Lemongrass stalks, cut into thirds and bruised
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric
• 1kg Pumpkin, peeled and cut into large bite sized chunks
• 500g Fish (any type)
• 400g peeled raw Prawns (cheap bags in the frozen section at Coles)
• 3-4 small bunches of Bok Choy, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch Coriander, chopped
• Juice of ½-1 lime, to taste
• 2 cups Basmati Rice

Method

1. Begin cooking the rice (it doesn’t need to still be hot at serving time).
2. In a large pot, combine curry paste and small amount of coconut cream and fry to release aroma, whisk with wooden spoon until frothy.
3. Add rest of CC cream, fish stock, fish sauce, lemongrass, sugar, and turmeric. Bring to boil.
4. Add pumpkin to pot and cook at a fast simmer with the lid on, until tender.
5. Add seafood to pot and boil for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add bok choy and lime juice, and boil until bok choy is wilted. Pumpkin should now have made the soup thick and creamy.
7. To serve, place a ladel full of rice in the bottom of each deep bowl, then add a generous amount of soup and sprinkle coriander on top.

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Serves 4

Ingredients

1 packet of Rocket
3 peaches, sliced into 8 slices each
8 thin slices prosciutto, roughly ripped up
100g Parmesan Raggiano (use only a handful of thin slices)

Sauce
3 teaspoons mustard
3 teaspoons sugar
90ml olive oil
1.5 tablespoon of white vinegar
Garlic chives, chopped
Pinch of pepper and sea salt

Method

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. On large tray or bowl, lay rinsed rocket, prosciutto, peaches and parmesan, and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

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Easy, delicious and healthy finger food, suitable from 9 months old and right up to adult! I make this as a quick portable lunch for my baby (no teeth), the kids and myself. You can add any vegetables you like, zucchini is a great one too.

Makes 15 small pikelets.

Ingredients

• 100g Flour
• ¼ teaspoon Bi-carb Soda
• 150ml Milk
• 1 Egg
• 75g finely grated Carrot (approx. 1 carrot)
• 4 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan Cheese
• Butter for frying

Method

• Sift flour and bi-carb into a mixing bowl, along with the egg and milk. Whisk thoroughly.
• Add grated carrot and parmesan, and mix well.
• Heat the butter in the pan until hot and then add small spoonfuls of pikelet mix into the pan.
• When bubbles form in the pikelets, flip over.

Place cooked pikelets onto a paper towel until ready to eat! Can be served with a cheesy dipping sauce (see Béchamel sauce recipe) or some sweet chilli and mayonnaise.

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