The Hangry Chef

Nothing goes better with a sausage BBQ then potato salad. This is a nice, light summery one that you're friends and family will love, which can be a good thing-but also a bad thing if they demand you make it for every occasion!! You will need... 2kg of washed chat potatoes 1/2 lemon, finely zested and juiced 1/4 bunch of dill 1/4 bunch parsley 1/4 cup capers (or more if you like!) 1/2 spanish onion 1/2 cup cornichons (again, more if you like!) For the aioli dressing... 2 egg yolks (i use smaller, free-range eggs, but if you use larger eggs one yolk should suffice) 1 clove garlic 1 Tbs lemon juice 1 tsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard salt and pepper, to taste 1 cup vegetable oil 2 tbs luke-warm water Method... 1. Cook the potatoes the night before by bringing a pot of salted water to the boil, then placing them in whole* and cooking until just soft (check with a sharp knife-if you put the knife in and it slides straight out then its cooked, but it the po...

It's no secret that one of my favourite cuisines is Thai. I love the wonderful flavours and spices used in authentic Thai dishes, but unfortunately it's not something I cook a lot of at home due to the fact that sometimes the sheer amount of ingredients and time that goes into making a yummy meal is a bit daunting. That, and I live in close proximity to about 5 good Thai restaurants. But truth be told, there's nothing more satisfying then cooking your own at home, the wonderful fragrance that wafts throughout the kitchen as you sauté the spices is mouth-watering! This is actually the third satay recipe on my blog (I know, I have a satay addiction!). This recipe is done in traditional Thai style, with marinated chicken skewers and peanut dipping sauce. If you're looking for a quick stir fry recipe, I have one of those here . I also have another satay recipe that contains a fair few extra ingredients and coconut milk (and can go either way as skewers or a stir fry)...

I'm quite partial to a pasta salad, and it just so happened I was feeling inspired and decided to throw one together with ingredients from my fridge and pantry and it was one of the tastier pasta salads I've ever had! I also just so happened to have buckwheat pasta in my pantry, making this wheat and gluten free, I also had a leftover roast chicken breast from the night before that I cut up and added to it but you don't have to add it if you don't like. You will need... 250gr dried pasta spirals 1 small carrot, peeled 1 large stick of celery 1 round tomato 2 shallots 1 heaped Tbs low fat aioli or whole-egg mayonnaise 2 heaped Tbs low fat sour cream 1/2 tsp dijon mustard 1 lemon, juiced salt and pepper 2 slices rasher bacon a small handful of chopped parsley Method... 1. Boil the pasta in salted water to al'dente using packet instructions, drain and place under cold running water to stop it cooking. 2. Cook the bacon to crisp and place on paper to...

These are a hands-down summer must eat. They're so light and flavoursome that you'll wonder where they've been your whole life. I'm happy that they were easy to make, and I think the stand-out component of the dish is the sauce (which was also super easy to make- thank you Jamie Oliver!)... Let's stop dithering and get into it shall we? You will need... (makes 4-5 tacos) 450-500gr of white fish- haddock, cod or gemfish work well in this! 2 large, juicy limes 2 shallots 2 kiwi fruit 1/2 yellow capsisum 1/2 ripe avocado, diced 1 bunch fresh coriander, washed 1 large green chilli, deseeded tabasco olive oil salt and pepper 1/4 small red cabbage 1 small tomato, diced 4 or 5 small (8 inch) white corn tortillas fresh yoghurt for serving Method... 1. Start by slicing the fish into nice thick pieces and place on a plate. I removed the skin off mine and took out a few bones that were left in, if you aren't confident doing this yourself you can ...

I'm not going to lie, I'm guilty of buying the boxed 'just add water' falafel mix. It's pretty gross, so if you're wandering the isles of your local supermarket don't bother buying it, just grab a tin of chickpeas and a tin of four-bean mix instead and you'll have the yummiest falafels ever! You will need.. 1 400gr tin of chickpeas 1 420gr tin of four bean mix (Edgell does this, but if you can't find it you can use extra chickpeas or other tinned beans) 2 cloves garlic 2 shallots 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground turmeric fresh chopped parsley and/or coriander 1/3 cup plain (or gf) flour 2 egg whites 1/4 tsp chilli lemon zest salt & pepper olive oil for frying Method... 1. Drain the chickpeas and beans and rinse well, peel the garlic, trim the shallots, separate your eggs 2. Combine garlic, spices, lemon zest and shallots in a food processor until chopped, add the herbs, chickpeas and beans. Pulse until ...

You all know I love a dumpling... All different kinds  of dumplings... Home made or bought , as long as they're tasty! I've used store-bought wonton wrappers before, and I've made the fluffy, pillowy dough used for pork buns.. But I wanted to make my own simple dumpling wrappers, so I did a bit of research and  stumbled across this recipe . I made a few small variations as I went along and made them depending on what I thought would work and they turned out pretty damn delicious! You will need... (makes about 18 dumplings) For the wrappers; 200gr plain flour 1/4 tsp baking powder   pinch salt 100ml water cornflour, for dusting (you don't need much) For the filling; 250gr pork mince 1 garlic clove, chopped small thumb of ginger, finely diced 1 tsp lemongrass paste  1/4 tsp dried red chilli flakes 1 shallot, thinly sliced ground black pepper, pinch 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp garam masala 2 sprigs coriander, choppe...

Ingredients... 2 sheets shortcrust pastry 1 Tbs olive oil 1/2 onion, peeled and diced 1 garlic clove, crushed 175gr chopped spinach, excess liquid removed 4 eggs ½ cup fetta, crumbled ½ cup grated parmesan cheese 60ml natural yoghurt 90ml milk 1 cup cooked rice salt and pepper Method.. 1. Cook the rice by placing 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan. Place on the stove, covered, and bring to the boil. Stir, replace lid and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 12 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside for 5 minutes-make sure rice remains covered at all times. 2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease pie dish with canola spray, then press shortcrust into dish. Prick the base with a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes until pasty is pale golden. 3. Heat the oil in a frypan and fry the onion and garlic over a gentle heat until soft. 4. Crack the eggs in a large bowl, and whisk together, add the spinach, cheeses, yoghurt, milk and the onion mixture with a little s...

I've probably mentioned this before, but scallops are my favourite seafood. A Costco recently opened up about 50 minutes drive from my home and we make the trip every 3 months or so to stock up on items that we use on a regular basis and can buy in bulk (it's just me and the hubby and two puppies at home so we don't need a lot of stuff in bulk- except dog food!), so because Costco stocks fresh and frozen seafood at really compatible prices, I always buy a tray of scallops while I'm there to keep in the freezer. Other seafoods can work well in this dish, like prawns or even lobster if you're feeling fancy! You will need... (2 serves) 2 Tbs olive oil 1/2 small brown onion 2 cloves garlic 1 cup of Arborio risotto rice 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 30gr butter 30gr parmesan salt and pepper 1/2 cup corn kernels 50gr chorizo sausage, skin removed and diced 8 scallops, with or without roe- your choice, removed from shells, quickly rinsed and patted dr...

Caesar salad is definitely my go-to salad if I'm out for a light lunch. I love it with some grilled chicken, and its only good if its put together the traditional way- I've seen it served with whole lettuce leaves and  slices  of sourdough bread. NO. The lettuce needs to be chopped, it needs crisp squares of bacon and proper croutons. The egg can be coddled, poached or boiled, but if it has a hard yolk I like it added at the end as a garnish and not mixed through because that chalky yolk through my salad does nothing for me. As you can see I'm quite particular about my caesars and to be honest I was a little apprehensive when I embarked on this journey of making a vegan caesar dressing. The Thug Kitchen Cookbook  is vegan so the recipe is basically just lettuce and croutons with this dressing, and while I went to the effort of making the vegan dressing my husband wasn't going to be content with a bowl of lettuce and toasted bread so I did the boiled eggs, parmesa...

For all the non-Catholics out there, yesterday marked the beginning of Lent. I won't go into the religious details, but it means that every Friday, from now until Easter, we abstain from meat and opt for seafood or fish as a protein alternative (staunch Catholics do this every day during Lent, not just Fridays!). So I thought that this would be a great excuse to reshare some of my all-time favourite seafood recipes! These recipes are great for any type of meal; healthy breakfasts, lunchbox fillers, easy weeknight dinners or for Sunday lunch sessions with friends or family. River Cottage Mussels #1 is River Cottage Mussels with bacon, greek onion and cider. The bacon in this recipe breaks the seafood rule so... Just pretend you can find something as equally as delicious as bacon to replace it with... You can throw in some garlic, celery, carrot and capsicum instead if you like. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to avoid alcohol during lent also, but this recipe is too...

I've got a hankering for Japanese food at the moment- I think after all the hamachi and seared tuna I ate while I was away I'm having withdrawals. I was looking up restaurants in Sydney we can go to this weekend so I can get my fix ( Cho Cho San , UME and Sake are the top contenders) and realised I've never posted a simple sushi recipe. Shame on me! Most of us wouldn't attempt sushi for fear of it being too difficult, or too time consuming, but I'm here to tell you it's quite simple. You can use whatever ingredients you like, and if you're planning on putting on lunch for family or friends it's really special and you can make platters food look amazing with minimal effort. This recipe is for norimaki, which are sheets of dried seaweed filled with rice and assorted fillings such as seafood and vegetables. You don't have to stick to this type of sushi, you can cook the rice as instructed in the method and use it to make nigiri, which is a littl...