Recipes To Try

http://pinterest.com/aussiebethie/

Collection of Recipes that have caught my eye and made me get in the kitchen!

Australian Meat Pie.

The meat pie is considered somewhat of an iconic food in both Australia and New Zealand. And while over the years tastes have evolved, the pie continues to have a firm place in the hearts and mouths of both countries. Meat Pies are very popular at sporting events and on construction sites. They also make delicious party or picnic food and are simple to make.



 Ingredients: 
1 Tbs of olive oil
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
400 grams of ground, lean beef (beef mince)
1 Tbsp of cornstarch
3/4 cup of beef stock
1/8 cup of tomato paste
1 Tbsp of Wocestershire sauce
1 tsp vegemite or substitute
1 vegetable stock cube
4 sheets frozen, ready-rolled pie pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
4 small pie tins & baking tray

Tomato sauce (ketchup)

Preparation: Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add ground beef and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned. Combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of beef stock and stir well. Set aside. Add remaining beef stock, Wocestershire sauce, tomato paste and Vegemite to beef. Stir well to combine. Add cornflour mixture and stir. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and cool. Preheat oven to 220°C. Place a pie tin on pastry and cut a circle around it. Repeat process to make another 3 circles -- these are the pie tops. Set aside. Place pie tin on pastry again and cut a circle that's slightly larger than tin (about 1/2 inch bigger) -- this is the pie base. Repeat process to make another 3 bases. Press base pastry into pie tins and press up the sides. Fill with meat mixture. Brush rims with water. Place pie tops over meat. Use a fork to press edges to seal. Trim edges if necessary. Brush tops with egg. Place pies on to a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve with tomato sauce (ketchup).

 

Fettucine Carbonara

Easy restaurant quality carbonara made in a flash. A recipe that I like to adapt and usually include shallots/chives as well as mushrooms and lots of bacon. You can also include garlic in this recipe.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 8 rashers bacon
• 450g fettuccine
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup (60g) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1¼ cups (300ml) cream
• Black pepper
• bunch of shallots/chives
• 1 small onion, chopped
• mushrooms (quantity as desired)

Preparation method

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 12 minutes

Trim bacon and cut into chunks. Fry in fry pan over medium heat until crispy, remove and drain on a paper towel. Cook onion, shallots and mushrooms and put aside.

Boil a large pot of water add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt and cook the fettuccine for 9-10 minutes, or till al dente. Drain and return to pot to keep warm.

Beat the eggs, cheese and cream in a bowl, then add the bacon and vegetables. Pour over the pasta in the pot and toss gently with tongs.

Return the pan to a very low heat and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened - don't overheat or the eggs will scramble. Season well with black pepper and serve.

Roasted Asparagus


Asparagus and shallots roasted with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar. Delightfully simple and delicious

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
• 4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
  

  Preparation method

  Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 20 minutes
  1.

  Preheat the oven to 200 C.

  2.

  Place the asparagus and shallots in a large bowl, and pour the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar over. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly. Spread the asparagus out in a single layer on a baking tray.

  3.

  Roast for 20 minutes or until tender and bright green. Shake the tray about half way through to roll the spears over so they cook evenly. Remove from the oven and drizzle the remaining vinegar over the asparagus. Toss lightly to coat, and serve immediately.

Australian Fish and Chips.

Whether wrapped in paper or served on a china plate, this is classic comfort food.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• FOR THE BATTER
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup beer
• 1 cup cold water
• 
  FOR THE FISH & CHIPS
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and washed
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 4 large or 6 small fillets of flathead, bream or other white fish
• 2 tablespoons flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• Salt and lemon wedges, to garnish

Preparation method

Prep: 40 minutes | Cook: 35 minutes

To make the batter, whisk the self-raising flour, salt, beer and water together until smooth. (This can be also be done in a food processor; transfer the mixture to a large bowl for dipping.) Cover and stand for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into chips about 5 mm thick. Put them in cold water for 5 minutes to remove the excess starch, then drain well and pat dry on a clean tea towel.

Half-fill a deep-fryer or large, deep saucepan with oil and heat to 195°C. Blanch the chips, in two batches, in the hot oil for 4–5 minutes, or until very pale golden. Remove from the oil, drain well on paper towels and set aside.

Allow the temperature of the oil to drop to 175°C. Coat the fish lightly in seasoned flour. Stir the batter vigorously and, using tongs, dip two fillets of fish into it. Lift out the fillets and allow the excess batter to drip back into the bowl.

Carefully lower the fillets into the hot oil, submerging them with the tongs, and cook, turning once, for 4–5 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Using a large wire skimmer or slotted spoon, lift the fillets out of the pan and drain on paper towels. Keep warm while dipping and frying the remaining fillets.

Increase the oil temperature to 200°C and fry the chips for 2–3 minutes more, or until crisp and golden. Drain well on paper towels and season with salt. Arrange the fish and chips on heated plates and garnish with the lemon wedges. Pass some full-flavoured vinegar separately. 

Australian Sausage Rolls.


You can never go wrong with these Sausage Rolls as a snack, lunch or party food and you can decide how big or small you want them to be. Make sure you have heaps of tomato sauce to go with them.






 Ingredients

Serves: 40

• 500g sausage mince or pork mince
• 1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 3 sheets puff pastry
• Milk for glazing

  Preparation method

  Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 30 minutes
  
  

  Preheat oven to 200C and lightly grease a baking or biscuit tray.

  
  

  Mix mince, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add lightly beaten egg and Worcestershire sauce and mix in well.

  
  

  Cut each pastry sheet into three equal-sized pieces. Make a roll of the mince lengthways on each piece. Brush the edges of the pastry on each side of the mince strip with milk. Roll each strip firmly then brush the top with milk.

  
  

  Trim the edges if required, then cut each long roll into small or average sized sausage rolls- whichever you wish.

  
  

  Place on a greased oven tray. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mini Quiche.


These mini quiches are so quick and easy you could get your little one to help you. They are great for entertaining, for kids' parties and as a snack and also great for school lunch boxes and can be whipped up in no time! These are also great as a quick breakfast. These can be frozen and reheated in oven or toaster oven or in microwave on paper towel.

Ingredients

Serves: 24

• 3 eggs
• 4 rashers of bacon - diced
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large - diced (You can use red onion for extra colour instead of a brown onion)
• 2 Tablespoons of tasty cheese - grated
• 3 - 4 pre-made frozen puff pastry squares
• salt & pepper to taste
• Dash of thickened cream - Optional
• Sprinkle of fresh or dried Parsley - Optional
•  

   Preparation method

  Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes
  
  

  Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C.

  
  

  Lightly grease 2 patty cake pans (12 cup) with cooking spray or butter.

  
  

  In a bowl, mix the eggs, bacon, onion, cheese, salt & pepper, cream & parsley (optional)with a fork until all mixed together well.

  
  

  Using an egg ring, glass or pastry cutter, cut circles out of the defrosted puff pastry and place into the greased patty cake trays (you can use muffin trays but the patty cake ones fit better).

  
  

  Spoon the mixture into the pastry.

  
  

  Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.