Fig, Proscuitto and Blue Cheese Tart

Try using autumn fruits such as figs - paired with rich earthy cheeses and hams for a robust dinner that everyone will remember for all the right reasons.

1 sheet short crust pastry

3 medium potatoes

3 figs

100g finely sliced proscuitto

100g blue cheese - the stronger the better

100 ml light sour cream or plain European yoghurt

2 eggs

1/4 cup chives

METHOD:

Prepare shortcrust pastry and blind bake in hot oven for 20 minutes using baking beans (see picture).

Finely slice potatoes and fry in pan until lightly golden. Transfer to base of prepared crust.

Finely slice figs into small segments and arrange on top of potato. Places bunches of proscuitto around figs.

In small saucepan, melt cheese and add to cream or yoghurt. Once this has slightly cooled, whisk two eggs and add these to the mixture. Pour cheese sauce over tart, top with chopped chives and bake for a further 20 minutes or until set.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Spring vegetable soup

Soup is one of the most versatile dishes around - use whatever you have in your fridge or can find at the supermarket. I love making this soup in spring when green vegetables like asparagus and leafy greens are their most tender, but it's easy to make any time you like!

1 kg white potatoes - peeled

4 cups vegetable stock

4 cups green vegetables, such as asparagus, peas, zucchini, leeks and beans

2 white onions - finely diced

2 tblsp olive oil

METHOD:

In a frypan, add onions and oil and cook until soft and slightly brown. Transfer to one side. 

Add chopped potatoes to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook until potatoes are soft.

Pour potatoes into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer back to saucepan and add onions and stock.

Cook until mixture thickens. (if it stays too runny, add a little corn-flour).

Add sliced green vegetables and cook until vegetables are just soft, and not long enough to lose their colour. 

Serve with salt, pepper and crusty buttered bread. 

Steamed Asian-style pork and veal meatballs

Another one of my favourite recipes, these easy meatballs utilise the refreshing spices of Chinese cooking and go really well on a bed of hokkien noodles or a light salad. I use a double saucepan to steam my balls, but for a more authentic touch, why not use some bamboo skewers. 

750g minced lean pork

500g minced veal

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp Chinese five-spice

4 tsp fish sauce - optional. Find this in the Asian section at any large supermarket

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tblsp cornflower

1 cup chopped coriander 

1/2 tsp chili flakes - optional 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients except flour and mix well. 

Sprinkle flour on top and, using your fingers, mix until well combined. If mixture is too wet to stick together, add more flour. 

Shape mixture into golf-ball shaped rounds. 

Add balls to steamer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. When cooking with pork or chicken, you need to ensure that meat is cooked thoroughly to avoid getting ill. Test the balls by cutting one in half to se if it's cooked all the way through. 

When serving meatballs offer a bowl of dipping sauce as an accompaniment, such as soy, teriyaki or hoisin. 

Makes approx. 40 balls and serves 4 people. 

Individual lemon meringue pies

I used to make this recipe as one large pie, but found it too hard to serve as the lemon filling becomes to runny straight out of the oven. Individually, these pies present really well, and you can easily wrap any leftovers up for guests to take home (or store in the fridge for a decadent treat when everyone's gone home). I prefer using vanilla extract instead of vanilla essence because the taste is more robust and natural. 

4 sheets shortcrust pastry

1 large lemon

4 eggs

1 cup cream

2 cups caster sugar

5 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD:

preheat oven to 180 and grease a 6-hole texan muffin tray (texan muffins are the really big muffins).

In a saucepan add the 4 eggs, cream, vanilla and one cup of the caster sugar. Heat until all the sugar has melted and then continue simmering for another few minutes. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly. 

Remove the zest from the lemon and set to one side. Juice lemon. (it's easier to zest the lemon before you juice it - I learnt this the hard way). Add zest and juice to cream mixture. 

Mould pastry into muffin trays and trim away any excess. Until you get good at this, you might find it easy to allocate one sheet of pastry to each muffin tray. 

Pour cream mixture into pastry cases until they are half full. Bake in oven until lemon mixture is set and golden on top. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 150.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites until soft peaks are formed. You can tell when the whites are at the right texture by shaking the bowl gently - the egg white peaks should not move or collapse. I have heard that you should be able to tip the bowl upside down at this stage and the eggs won't fall out, but I'm not quite game to try this.  Gradually add sugar to the egg whites whilst beating on high with a hand-held beater. Continue beating for at least 6 minutes or until you can run the meringue mixture between your thumb and forefinger without the mixture feeling gritty.

Spoon the meringue mix onto the tarts and bake until the meringues are just brown. 

Serve straight from the oven whilst still hot with ice-cream or cream. 

If you want to experiment with this recipe, substitute lemons for passionfruit, lime, orange or any other tangy fruit - and voila! You have your own unique dessert!! 

Poached pears with blue cheese sauce

I was inspired to create this recipe by one of my favourite cooks - Donna Hay. Her recipe was for Waldorf salad, and I think the only common ingredient in the two dishes is the blue cheese! I am still experimenting with this recipe, so expect it to change a little in the future (however it still tastes great the moment). 

Although this recipe cane be made year round, it'll be best made in late autumn when most pears are in season. Pears with a dark skin (such as Corella) work a treat, but lighter pears will also work well giving a sweeter, lighter texture to this dish. This recipe goes well with pork, but can easily be turned into a dessert on its own by removing the cheese sauce and stuffing the cooked pears with chopped walnuts, cinnamon and sultanas. 

4 large pears

3 cups red wine

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

100g blue cheese - use Danish blue for a strong taste, or blue brie for more creaminess

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup crushed walnuts or almonds (optional)

1/3 cup chopped chives

METHOD:

Cut tops of pears and use a corer to remove core. Slice pear into slices roughly 7mm thick.

Add wine, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg to a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn back the heat and add pear slices, simmering until cooked through - around 10 minutes.

In another saucepan add cheese, sour cream and chives. Heat until cheese melts and mixture is smooth and hot. Take care not to boil the sauce as it will develop a skin on top.  Add crushed nuts.

When pears are cooked, remove from wine and arrange on place. If you rearrange the pear back together you can spoon some sauce into the cavity where the core was. Add more sauce over top of pear if desired.

DESERT OPTION:

If making this recipe as a dessert, don't slice the pears after coring. Poach on their sides, but turn onto their other sides after 10 minutes. They will need to cook for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped nuts and sultanas before they cool down. Serve drizzled with honey and a little cream on the side. 

Savory Muffins

Start with this basic savoury muffin recipe, and your options are only limited by your imagination! Start off with something fail-safe like cheese and bacon, and as your skill grows let your imagination be your guide.

4 cups grated cheese - try tasty, colby for a more mild taste or a mix of tasty and parmesan if you want to add more bite.

3 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

pinch of herbs - for the basics try paprika, rosemary or chives

4 tsp sugar

1 3/4 cups milk

METHOD:

Heat oven to 200 and grease well a 12-cup muffin tray by running baking paper through softened butter and coating the bottoms and sides of each muffin well. These muffins will stick if you don't grease the tray well and can be a little tricky to get out. Even when using a non-stick tray these buggers will still stick if the tray is not greased. 

Place cheese, flour, spice, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix lightly with your (clean) fingers until combined. 

In another bowl whisk the eggs and then add milk. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix ingredients lightly - take care not to over-mix otherwise the muffins may not rise as well. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. The muffins will come out of the oven looking great if the trays go into the oven a little over 3/4 full. You can also sprinkle a little extra cheese or any other topping over the top of the muffins before baking.

Bake for about 15 minutes until muffins look golden on top and spring back when touched lightly on top (but make sure you don't open the oven too often).

When trying the following combinations, remember the following: If you add wet ingredients (like tinned corn or chopped vegetables) , add a little extra flour and cheese. If you add dry ingredients (like bacon) add an extra egg or some milk if the recipe appears too dry and doesn't look like it's sticking together. I usually add roughly 1 or 1 1/2 cups of extra ingredients.

tinned corn and capsicum 

leek and bacon

prosciutto and asparagus

blue cheese and ham

celery and mushroom

Mushroom and Pesto Tart

I've had this recipe for quite a few years now - it's deceptively easy to make, and tastes fantastic! I try to use Swiss Browns whenever I make it, but if they're not in season or hard to find, and large mushroom will be fine. I would steer away from using button mushrooms, as you need something flat that'll sit well on the pastry, and you'll need mushrooms where you can see their gills (see photo). You can use a jar of pesto if you're running short of time, but you'll notice it tastes so much better if you make it yourself.

The truffle oil is a bit hard to find, but well worth it. I picked mine up at Simon Johnston - it's one of my best finds of 2008!

6 large mushrooms

1/2 packet filo pastry - find this in the dairy case at any large supermarket)

1/2 cup pesto 

1 small piece feta

olive oil

white truffle oil to finish (optional)

PESTO:

1 bunch basil

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

METHOD:

Heat oven to 180. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cut filo into two long rectangles - big enough to place three mushrooms end to end on it.

Add pesto to the pastry and place the mushrooms on top. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake for 20 minutes, or until pastry is brown.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle feta on top. Drizzle with truffle oil.

TO MAKE THE PESTO:

Remove stalks from basil, and place all ingredients in a blender and blend till processed. Make sure there is still some texture to the mixture. 

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