Sicilian Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Pine Nuts & Currants

Sicilian Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Pine Nuts & Currants I am always looking for new ways with pasta as it is something we eat at least once a week. I love all pasta but it is really nice to come across a dish (thanks Rick Stein) that is true to its origins and has that real authentic feel (and taste) to it. The sweet, earthy and salty combination of the cauliflower, anchovies and currants gave it the perfect balance of flavours and the toasted pine nuts gave it the perfect texture. So too did the gorgeous toasted breadcrumbs that stuck to every silky strand of spaghetti, bulking up the dish and adding another level of flavour. This was beautiful. Prep time: 2o Minutes Cooking time: 30

Minutes $$ Medium Budget Serves 4 500gm of spaghetti, cooked according to packet instructions (about 11 minutes for al dente`) 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil 350gm of cauliflower, cut into florets 6 anchovy fillets, chopped 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 small brown onion, finely diced A pinch of saffron threads 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes 2 pieces of day old bread, crusts removed (any will do but I used light rye) 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts 1/4 cup of currants Juice of 1/2 a lemon Sea salt and cracked pepper 2 tbs of chopped flat leaf parsley Fresh parmesan and lemon wedges to serve Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and cover with

water. Season with a little salt and bring to the boil for about 6-8 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife. Drain, reserving the cauliflower water. Cut the bread into chunks and place in a small food processor. Blitz until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Heat a frypan and add half of the oil. Fry the crumbs for around 8-10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Using the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the onion until soft before adding the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes. Continue to cook until the anchovies have broken down and then add the cauliflower, saffron, lemon juice and the cauliflower water. Simmer for about 5-6 minutes and then use a potato masher to gently mash the cauliflower so that it resembles a thick but slightly chunky sauce. Add the pine nuts and currants to the sauce. Add a little more cauliflower water if the sauce is too thick and once you have drained the pasta, add 2/3rds of the breadcrumbs and 1/2 of the parsley to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and place the spaghetti to the pan and then toss with a pair of tongs until well combined. I like to add another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil at this point, just to bind it altogether. Divide the pasta between 4 serving bowls and sprinkle over the remaining breadcrumbs and parsley. Top with a smattering of freshly grated parmesan and serve with lemon wedges.

South Indian Lamb Curry It is absolutely no secret how much I adore a good Lamb Curry and it amazes me how many variations there are. This is an Em s Food version that has the ever present traditional blend of delicious spices as well as peppery curry leaves, fragrant bay and coconut cream that are reminiscent of the South Indian Curry variety. Let us not forget to mention the large chunks of slow cooked lamb shoulder that literally melted in your mouth, the crunchy toasted almond topper, and the cooling yoghurt that completed this curry Nirvana. Sheesh, my mouth is watering. To keep the price down, I buy a boned shoulder roast, trim the excess fat and cut it into largish chunks. You would be surprised at the mark up on meat if someone has to prep it for

you and I often find the dice is way too small. I want a mouthful of lamb, not a morsel! Prep time: 30 Minutes 2-2.5 Hours $$ Medium Budget Cooking time: Serves 4-6 11/2 tbs of ghee* or 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil 800gm of diced lamb shoulder (the larger the chunks the better in my book) 1 brown onion, halved and sliced top to bottom 4cm piece of ginger, grated 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced 2 sprigs of fresh curry leaves, stalks removed and discarded 3 fresh bay leaves 7 cardamom pods, bruised with the flat of your knife 11/2 tsp of fennel seeds 1 cinnamon stick 2 tsp of turmeric 1/2-1 tsp of chilli powder (depending on your fire rating) 1 tbs of ground coriander 1 tbs of ground cumin 400gm tin of cherry tomatoes (diced are fine if you can t get them)

1 cup of water 250ml of coconut cream Juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/2 tsp of sugar Sea salt and Cracked Pepper 1 bag of baby spinach 1/2 a bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks roughly chopped, some reserved for garnish Greek yoghurt for dolloping 1/4 cup of toasted slivered Almonds Poppadoms & brown or white basmati rice to serve Heat a large heavy based pot and melt the Ghee or butter and olive oil until bubbling. Add the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the curry leaves, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds to the pan and fry until aromatic, approximately 1-2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and lamb pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously until the lamb is lightly browned. Add the turmeric, chilli, coriander and cumin and again, stir to coat the lamb in all the spices. Your kitchen should be smelling pretty awesome by now. Pour the water, lemon juice and tomatoes into the pot, season with salt, pepper and sugar and mix to combine. Tear off a piece of baking paper and tuck it down, right on top of the

lamb. This will stop any steam escaping and keep the lamb meltingly tender. Place a lid on and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 1.5 2 hours, stirring periodically. The lamb is ready when it pulls apart really easily. Remove the lid and baking paper and stir through the coconut cream. Continue simmering with the lid off for a further 30 minutes before stirring through the baby spinach and coriander and allowing it to wilt for a minute or so. Serve the curry with rice and top with a dollop of yoghurt, a sprinkling of slivered almonds, the remaining coriander leaves and poppadoms. *Ghee is a clarified butter that can be found in the Indian section of the supermarket. It gives your curries the most amazing flavour! Spanish Style Stuffed Peppers with Chorizo & Cous Cous

I can claim this one as a made-from-scratch, 100% Em s Food brain inspired recipe. I put a fair bit of thought into the dish as I really wanted it to carry those gorgeous Spanish flavours of Chorizo and Smoked Paprika. It was super simple to make as Cous Cous is ready in five minutes and I used my trusty Nutri-Ninja to whizz up the sauce so that all I had to do was reduce it slightly and cook off the red wine that it was laced with. These were really good! For this recipe I used the little sweet baby peppers that are available at both Coles and Woolworths. The reason being is that I wanted to use yellow capsicum as I find them sweeter than red or green and the colour is so awesome but they were unavailable. If you can t get the mini variety, by all means use any type of capsicum. They will taste equally divine and probably be quite significantly cheaper. It just so happened that the mini peppers were on sale that day too.wooohoooo! Winner!!

Prep time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 45 Minutes $$ Medium Budget Serves 4 4 packets of tri coloured Mini Peppers or 4 large Capsicums 1 cup of wholegrain cous cous (normal is fine) 1 cup of boiling water Sea salt & Pepper Extra virgin olive oil 2 Chorizo sausages, diced 1 red onion, finely diced 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced 1 tsp of smoked paprika 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon 8 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stalks discarded 1 cup of frozen baby peas 2 tbs of chopped fresh parsley 100gm of Fetta, crumbled Baby watercress or chopped parsley for garnish For the Sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika 1/2 tsp of dried oregano 1 tbs of red wine vinegar 1 cup of red wine 2 x 400gm tin of diced tomatoes 1 tsp of sugar Sea salt & pepper Pre heat the oven to 180 C. To prepare the capsicums, slice the top off and run your knife tip around the interior of the capsicum and then use your fingers to pull out the seeds and veins. If the bottom of the capsicum is uneven and won t sit straight, just slice a little off the bottom to even them up. If you happen to slice a little too much off and there is a hole in the bottom, don t panic as they will be sitting in the sauce. If you are using large capsicums, place them in a lined baking tray and drizzle the inside with a little olive oil. Bake them in the oven for approximately 15 minutes to soften slightly. I found the baby ones did not need any pre cooking and I like a little crunch anyway. Allow to cool slightly before stuffing. Place the cous cous in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and pour the boiling water over the top. Cover with cling wrap and set aside for 5 minutes. When all of the liquid is absorbed, fluff the cous cous with a fork and set aside.

Place the garlic, smoked paprika, oregano, red wine vinegar, red wine and tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper and whizz until you have a smooth sauce. Set aside. Heat a frypan until nice and hot and add the chorizo. Fry until it has rendered out the oils and is nice and golden and then add the onion and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until the onion has softened and then add the thyme leaves, smoked paprika and chilli flakes. Fry for a further 60 seconds or so and then add the lemon juice and rind. Once the lemon juice has evaporated, add the baby peas and fry until they have just defrosted and are nice and green in colour. Add the mixture to the cous cous along with the chopped parsley and mix well to combine. In the same pan that you cooked the chorizo in, add the tomato sauce. Bring it to a simmer and allow it to reduce for about 5-7 minutes until nice and thickened. This will also get rid of the raw wine flavour. I used individual ramekins for this dish but by all means use a large casserole if that is all you have. Pour the sauce into the bottom of the ramekins or casserole. Use a spoon to divide the Chorizo mixture between the peppers, patting the mixture down with the back of the spoon so they are nice and tightly stuffed. Place enough mixture in so that it is piled nice and high on top before carefully nestling them in the sauce. Sprinkle over the feta cheese and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the tops and fetta are nice and golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the baby

cress or chopped parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with a nice green salad. Thai Chicken Larb Salad So it was 40 C here the other day and I was not in the mood for slaving over a hot stove. Hubby was going to be home late so I needed a dish that he could eat later (as there was no way I was going to wait), that wouldn t wilt from the dressing and would be as nice for him as it was for me. Clearly I am wife of the year and this meal was just the ticket. I can t tell you how much I loved this dish. It was so fresh and light but full of the fresh, punchy Asian flavours that I absolutely adore. Have I told you lately just how much I love food?

By the way, the leftovers were sublime the next day. You will be the envy of the office with this baby in your lunch box. Prep time: 20 Minutes $$ Medium Budget Cooking time: 10 Minutes Serves 4 Oil for frying 800gm of lean chicken mince (preferably free range) 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced 3cm piece of ginger, finely minced 1 stalk of lemon grass, finely sliced and then chopped (you could use a food processor to mince the aromatics) 1 green chilli, sliced (seeds removed if you don t like it too spicy) 4 kaffir lime leaves, centre spine removed then rolled in a bunch and finely sliced 3 tbs of fish sauce Juice of 2 limes 1/2 a red onion, halved and finely sliced top to bottom 11/2 tbs of caster sugar 1 bag of bean shoots 1 cup coriander leaves

1/2 cup of mint leaves 1/2 cup of thai basil leaves (double the mint if you can t get thai basil) 1/2 cup of toasted granulated peanuts 1 sweet crunch lettuce (available at woolies but iceberg will do), core removed and leaves separated Lime wedges to serve If using an iceberg lettuce, remove the core by banging the base of the lettuce, quite firmly on the bench. This will loosen the core and it should just pull out. Run cold water into the base of the lettuce, this will make it much easier to seperate the leaves. If using the sweet crunch (my new favourite lettuce), just cut the bottom off and the leaves will pull away really easily, more like a cos lettuce. Rinse the lettuce well and then place in the fridge while you cook the meal. This will ensure a super crunchy lettuce cup. Heat a wok to nice and hot and add a little oil. Fry the chicken mince in a couple of batches, using a wooden spoon to break it up during the cooking process until it is starting to turn golden and is cooked through. Once all the mince is cooked, place the garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli slices to the wok (you may need a little more oil) and fry for 1-2 minutes before adding the mince back to the wok. Toss to combine and then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the salad. You may want to give it a stir now and then to release the heat. In a small bowl, whisk the fish sauce, lime juice, caster

sugar and kaffir lime leaves until the sugar has dissolved. Just before serving, add the sliced onion and pour the dressing over the mince then toss well to break up the onion and coat the mince. In another bowl, combine the bean shoots and herbs and toss. I would serve this platter style like the photo. To assemble, place a little mince in the bottom of the lettuce cup, top with the bean shoots and herbs and sprinkle over peanuts. Serve with an extra squeeze of lime If you have leftover Thai herbs, you may want to consider cooking these dishes: http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/thai-basil-beef-stir-fry/ Quick Beef Pho http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/green-curry-turkey-balls-withmixed-peas-noodles-asian-herb-salad/

The Godfather Burger with Zucchini Parmesan Chips Gourmet Burgers are all the rage at the moment with Burger joints popping up all over the place. The thing is, I like my burger to be healthy, not oozing with orange coloured cheese, fatty bacon and limp lettuce. This Italian inspired burger was the absolute gear, made with fresh ingredients but still comprising of that Burger Wow factor. Juicy beef patty, homemade pesto, aioli and a simple salad were the makings of a great burger but the thick slices of fresh mozzarella wrapped in basil leaves and thin slices of prosciutto made it a burger fit for a Mafia Boss. Bellissimo (finger tip kiss!)

Prep time: 20 Minutes Cooking time: 30 Minutes $$ Medium Budget Serves 4 500gm beef mince (I like to use regular for burgers, stops the patty drying out) 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 tsp of dried oregano 1 tbs of worcestershire sauce 1 heaped tsp of dijon mustard 1 tbs of tomato paste 1 egg, whisked Sea salt and Pepper 4 Ciabatta rolls, halved crossways 4 tbs of aioli (I use Taylors brand, nice whole egg aioli or make your own if you prefer) 4 tbs of homemade pesto (see link below for Em s Food recipe) Baby gem lettuce leaves 2 tomatoes, sliced 1 small red onion, sliced For the Mozzarella parcels:

8 slices of thin prosciutto 1 whole buffalo mozzarella, sliced into 1/2cm thick rounds (plain mozzarella would be fine also) 8 basil leaves For the Zucchini Parmesan Chips: 2 large zucchini, sliced into thick chips 1 egg, whisked 1 cup of panko crumbs 1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan Sea salt and pepper Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling Preheat the oven to 200 C Place the bread crumbs and parmesan in a shallow bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Dip the zucchini batons in egg and then coat with the breadcrumb mix before placing on a lined baking tray in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Place the mince in a large bowl with the garlic, oregano,

worcestershire sauce, dijon, tomato paste and egg. Season well with salt and pepper and use your hands to combine the mince well and then form into 4 equal sized patties. Place them on a lined baking tray and use an egg flip to flatten down so they are approximately 1.5cm thick. Pop in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. To make the mozzarella parcels, lay one piece of prosciutto on a board and place a slice of mozzarella in the centre. Lay a couple of basil leaves on top of the cheese and fold the edges of the prosciutto in. Turn it upside down onto another piece of prosciutto (in the opposite direction to the first piece, like a cross), so that the seam side is sealed. Fold in the edges of the second slice and pat it down to seal it. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto etc. Heat a BBQ plate to nice and hot (you can cook this in a pan) and cook the beef patties on both sides for approximately 5 minutes. Set aside to rest and then cook the prosciutto parcels, seam side down first. They will only take a few minutes either side but are ready when you can just see the cheese starting to ooze. Place the buns on a grill for a few minutes until lightly charred on both sides. To assemble the burger, place a nice dollop of aioli on the base of the bun. Top with lettuce, tomato and onion slices. Place the meat patty, mozzarella parcel and a dollop of pesto on before topping with the bun. Serve with the zucchini chips and get ready to enter Burger Heaven.

For Em s Food pesto, check the link below. You may use store bought and I might forgive you Basil Pesto Sticky Pork Meatballs with Glass Noodle Salad This was a triumphant little dish that I came up with, using

pretty much what I had in the fridge. Not having kids in the house at the moment means that I need to get a tad more creative, otherwise I will be throwing out a whole heap of fresh food. This was delightfully simple to make, budget friendly and healthy. The perfect summer midweek meal. Prep time: 30 Minutes $$ Medium Budget Cooking time: 20 Minutes Serves 4 Peanut oil for frying (veg, canola, rice bran are a good substitute) 500gm lean pork mince 2 tbs of red curry paste A handful of coriander stalks, finely chopped 2cm piece of ginger, grated 1 clove of garlic, finely minced 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup of bread crumbs 2 tbs of fish sauce 1/4 cup of light soy sauce 1 tbs of honey Juice of 1/2 a lime Zest of 1 lime

1/4 cup of granulated peanuts, toasted in a dry pan 1 red chilli, sliced (optional) 1 cup of coriander leaves for garnish For the salad: 200gm of rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes 1 carrot, finely julienned* 1 cucumber, halved, deseeded and finely sliced diagonally 2 radishes, halved and finely sliced 2 tbs of rice wine vinegar Juice of 1/2 a lime 1 tbs of caster sugar Place the pork mince, curry paste, coriander stalks, garlic, ginger, egg and breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl and use your hands to combine. Dampen your hands and use them to roll golf ball size meatballs. Heat a large frypan and add a little oil. Fry the meatballs on both sides until golden (you may need to do this in batches). Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, lime zest and honey. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Place the meatballs back in the pan and use a spoon to coat

the meatballs. Allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes, basting or turning the meatballs occasionally. Once cooked through, remove the meatballs from the heat and allow to cool slightly before serving. In another bowl, combine the rice wine vinegar, caster sugar and lime juice with a fork or whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Place the carrot, cucumber and radish in the bowl and toss the vegetables to coat. Drain the noodles and then cover with boiling water for approximately 30 seconds, drain again and run under cold water. To serve, divide the noodles between four serving bowls. For nice presentation, place them to one side and then divide the salad between the bowls on the other side. Place the meatballs on top and spoon over the sticky sauce. Garnish with the peanuts, chilli and coriander leaves. You may be wondering how I get my carrot julienne so fine. I have a wonder tool that looks a lot like a flat peeler but has a little serrated edge on it. You can by them at most kitchen shops or online and they are very reasonably priced. I use mine all the time and it really takes a lot of the hard work out of the equation, fantastic for presentation too. Check the link below https://www.house.com.au/baccarat-cuisinepro-y-julienne-peeler