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Sep 29th

quick roast vegie tray

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This is a quick and delicious side dish that helps to brighten up any plate and tastes fantastic!  We’ve served this with both whole eye fillet and roast lamb racks, but would go just as well with a roast chicken, a simple steak or bbq sausages.  I try to do a monster sized tray full so I have some leftover to toss with greens to make a salad for lunch the next day.  Change it up with your favourite vegies but make sure you stick with the red onions as this is what really gives the dish that beautiful caramelised flavour.

ingredients
enough for 6 sides

2 zuchinnis
10 chat potatoes
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, washed
2 red onions
2 bulbs australian garlic (or any garlic with large cloves) broken up into cloves with skin left on
2 sprigs rosemary – stems discarded
4 sprigs thyme – stems discarded
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
s&p

method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Cut the potatoes in half and par boil, skin on.  Meanwhile, slice the zucchini thickly and cut the onions into eight wedges. Once the potatoes are par boiled, toss in a large bowl with the other vegies, garlic, herbs, oil, butter and s&p.  The vegies should have a bit of a sheen to them, so don’t be afraid to go crazy with the olive oil if you think they need more.
Line the largest tray you have with baking paper and spread the vegies out.  You want them to be snug but not overcrowded as otherwise they will just stew rather than get a deliciously brown crispness. Bake for approx 30. or until the potatoes are golden.

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Jan 20th

argentinian bbq feast

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This Argentinian bbq feast has become a favourite at home. It’s reasonably quick and easy to prepare, and is full of vibrant colours and flavours.  It looks great thrown together on a large wooden chopping board, jamie style.  You can pick and choose elements of this dish, and while you really only need either the salsa or the chimmichurri to accompany the beef, I’ve prepared and posted the recipe for both, so you can take your pick!

Beef is a staple in Argentinian cuisine, and is generally grilled on the bbq and served with chimmichurri sauce.  Their secret to beautifully juicy, flavoursome beef is plenty of salt, and it is truly amazing how much flavour the salt brings out in this recipe.

I’ve adapted and combined a number of donna hay and delicious magazine recipes for this feast.  The potatoes, sour cream and salsa are also great accompaniments to a roast chicken.

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Jan 22nd

sopa de lima – a summer soup

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I’m not quite sure what has brought on the sudden obsession with Mexican cuisine in Brisbane. It seems to be the flavour of the moment, with numerous restaurants like Guzman y Gomez and the Burrito Bar popping up left, right and centre. But whatever the reason, we’ve embraced the Mexican fever at home and have started a bi-weekly tradition of Mexican feasts.  Although, there are only so many tacos and burritos a person can take, so I have extended my repertoire, and in the process, have discovered some fresh Mexican flavours.  One dish that I really enjoyed was sopa de lima which translates to lime soup – a Yucatan specialty. Like burritos or tacos, you can still get everyone involved in the dish, by placing the bits and pieces in bowls, the soup or stock in a large jug, and have everyone assemble their own creations at the table.  It’s a very light, fresh soup, which I think is much better suited to summer than winter.   The soup, or broth rather, is based on the chicken stock that you have to make first. The avocado, corn chips, coriander, chilli, lime and feta give it great contrasting elements which really make the dish.  The great thing is, you can keep some of the chicken aside, and serve it with burritos or tacos afterwards if you just can’t get enough of the Mexican favourites… it’s great panfried with some cumin and garlic.

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