Category: Blog

Pancake is a generic name for a flattish cooked batter of starch, liquid and other ingredients. They may be sweet or savoury; decadent or healthy; big or small; meals or snacks. With so many varieties you could probably find a different variety of pancake with each country you visited, whether it be ‘Poffertjes’ in The Netherlands, Okonomiyaki in Japan or the daunting pancake stack of the U.S.A. In Australia and New Zealand, you will find the humble pikelet.

Today we will have a look at three different pancake recipes. Firstly, the Crepe, from France followed by Japanese Pancakes and finally a pancake style you may find on any good breakfast menu in Australia.

The Crepe

In France, crepes have religious significance and date back to the fifth century. They are traditionally served on the Christian Holiday named Candlemas and are enjoyed throughout the world.

The batter is very simple and is noted by the fact that it has no significant raising agents in the recipe and hence is very thin.  The flavour could be described as neutral. Additional ingredients added later can make the crepe either sweet or savoury. Crepes Suzette is an example of a sweet dessert crepe that can be prepared table side. Being very thin they can also be rolled into a cylindrical shape and filled with crème patisserie. There are lots of possibilities and they can be made in advance and also frozen for future use.

Savoury crêpes are called Galette and can be served with a multitude of fillings. In Melbourne’s Flinders Lane, the restaurant Roule Galette served me their delicious ham and egg version.

Crepes

Ingredients for about 12 crepes:

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup water
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup plain flour
• 20 g melted butter cooled
• vegetable oil for cooking

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Combine the flour and salt
3. In a separate bowl combine by whisking the eggs, milk and water
4. Whisk the flour mix into the egg mix thoroughly to make a smooth batter
   
5. Finally mix in the melted butter
6. Ready

Cooking the Crepes:

1. A suitable sized crepe is around 15 cm diameter and should plate up nicely if you were rolling or folding the crepe. A flat non-stick pan with a minimum base diameter of 18cm should allow you to attain reasonable shape. A measured amount of batter is also important – around 50ml to 60 ml. A one quarter cup measure would be suitable. Initially, after heating a little oil in your pan, tip off the excess oil. I use kitchen paper soaked in oil and rubbed over the hot pan for subsequent crepes. The pan should be hot enough to set the batter but also allow the batter to run as you tilt the pan.
   
2. Heat the oil in the pan
3. Tip of excess
4. Holding the pan by the handle pour into the batter a little off- centre
5. Tilt the pan around the full 360 degrees to attain a circular shape
6. Return to heat
7. Cook for 1 -2 minutes. Light golden colour is good
8. Turn with spatula and cook for a little less than a minute
   
9. The side now facing you is the presentation side
10. Turn the crepe out onto a plate
11. Ready
    

Notes

For a thinner batter add a little more milk.            

A simple accompaniment is fresh lemon juice and icing sugar.

Japanese Fluffy Pancakes

Words to describe Japanese Fluffy Pancakes include addictive and delicious. Tricky is another word that can crop up when at first you prepare them.

Originating in Honolulu in the early 2000’s they have since become a Japanese staple and are popular throughout the world. They are relatively low in carbohydrates requiring only a little flour. A down side is that they ‘deflate’ as they cool.

While not compulsory equipment, these pancakes are often made in moulds similar to large egg-rings. This gives most people the ability to aim for restaurant standard. Free-form is also OK. The cooking process requires the pan to be lidded and slightly steam the pancake.

Japanese Fluffy Pancakes

Ingredients for two generous pancakes:

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 egg yolks
• 25 ml milk room temperature
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• ¼ cup self raising flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• salt scant
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 30 g caster sugar
• water for steaming
• unsalted butter for cooking

Method

 

1. In a bowl mix the egg yolks, milk and vanilla
2. Add the flour, salt and extra baking powder to the egg mix
3. Whisk to form a smooth thick batter
4. Meanwhile melt a little butter in your pan over a low heat
5. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form
6. Continuing to whisk gradually add the sugar. Continue until all of the sugar has dissolved and a meringue has formed
   
7. Carefully fold the meringue into the batter. Do not overbeat.
   

Cooking:

1. Check that the pan is not too hot
2. Using a set measure place the batter in the frypan. Let it find its own height
   
3. Repeat until you have some well spaced pancakes to suit the size of the pan
4. In the same order place another scoop of batter on top of each one
5. Add about 10ml water to the pan (avoiding the pancakes) and cover the pan with lid
   
6. Cook for 1 ½ minutes.
7. Add a third scoop to each pancake before replacing the lid
   
8. Cook for a further 4 minutes
   
9. Turn the pancakes and add a little more water before replacing the lid
10. Cook for a further 4 minutes. Serve immediately
11. The finished pancakes can be served with your choice of sweet topping
    

Blueberry & Ricotta Pancakes

Pancakes in Australia were championed in the 1960’s by the establishment of the Pancake Parlour Restaurant Chain in Melbourne. Sixty years on Pancake Parlour is still running as a family business.

When I was apprenticed in the early seventies pancakes were generally not a feature item on a breakfast menu and the breakfast buffet was still in its infancy. In Sydney if you wanted pancakes ‘Pancakes on the Rocks’ was the place to go.

Short Stacks (two pancakes) and Stacks (three and up), which were on offer then at breakfast, highlighted our pancakes American origins, but being an inventive bunch we came up with lots of options which pushed pancakes into ‘anytime’ eating.

In Australian restaurants and cafes their in house recipes can be very similar, opting for lighter batters. Once again differences can be achieved by adding ingredients such as fruit to the batter and also the toppings and sauces.

My recipe can be used as both a pancake recipe and a waffle recipe, which is very handy when you are catering for grandchildren.

Blueberry & Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients for 3 servings:

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 egg yolks
• 250 ml milk
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence
• 150 g self raising flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 30 g caster sugar
• 25 g melted unsalted butter
• 2 egg whites
• 150 g blueberries washed and dried
• 150 g fresh ricotta broken up into smaller lumps
• blueberries garnish
• 20 g butter for cooking

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In a bowl mix the egg yolks, milk and vanilla
3. Add the s.r.flour, salt, baking powder and sugar
4. Whisk to form a smooth batter
5. Mix in the melted butter
6. Stir in the blueberries
7. Gently fold in the ricotta
   
8. In a separate clean bowl whisk the egg whites to a meringue consistency
   
9. Gently fold in the egg white. Stir until the egg white is well distributed
   
10. Should be used within 30 minutes
    

Cooking:

1. In your frypan, over medium heat, melt a little butter
2. When the butter is sizzling add a generous scoop, say 220ml
   
3. Tilt the frypan to distribute the batter to give a diameter of around 12cm
4. Cook for 2 – 2½ minutes – bubbles will start to appear. Turn the pancake
   
5. Cook other side for about 1 – 1½ minutes
6. Repeat until all the batter is used
7. Serve one or two pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup
8. I topped mine with honeycomb butter, toasted almonds, some more blueberries and a dusting of icing sugar.
   

Honeycomb butter

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 50 g unsalted butter softened
• 50 g light cream cheese room temperature
• 1/8 tsp vanilla
• 40 g honeycomb crushed

Method

 

1. Using a whisk, cream the butter until it is pale
   
2. Add cream cheese and vanilla. Continue beating
3. When the butter and cream cheese is nice and fluffy whisk in the honeycomb
4. Ready
   

Ah, Spring has arrived! Crisp mornings, clear blue skies, warm days. Or so I thought, for by the second week of September it had reverted to soup weather.

So today another soup recipe but with a number of variations for you to try.

Potato and Leek soup had its origins in 19^th century France and could be regarded as a peasant style of soup which was elevated to classic status with its ultimate variation being the chilled soup, Vichyssoise, invented by the French Chef Louis Diat while working at the Ritz Carlton in New York in the early 20^thcentury.

I had always assumed that any recipe to do with leeks probably came from Wales or Scotland. How wrong I was.

While many different recipes can be found depending on where you were in France, the common ingredients were leeks, onions, potatoes and stock. This soup is another example of a potage – a broth thickened by the weight of the ingredients.

Potato and leek Soup

Ingredients for 2 litres

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 6 generous serves

Course: Soup, Vegetarian

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 20 ml olive oil
• 20 g butter
• 3 onions peeled, 4mm dice
• 2-3 leeks trimmed, split 6mm cut, cold rinsed
• 3 potatoes peeled, 6mm dice
• bay leaf
• thyme sprig
• 2 litres vegetable stock
• seasoning

Equipment

• You’ll need a single medium sized saucepan for this recipe.

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Sweat the onion in the oil and butter for 6 minutes. Avoid colouring
   
3. Add leek and sweat for a further 5 minutes
   
4. Add potato and herbs
5. Add stock, bring to boil
   
6. Simmer for twenty minutes
   
7. Adjust seasoning. Remove and discard herbs
8. Ready
   

Notes

Check the leeks for sand and soil even if they look clean. Trim and cut and then cold rinse.  I used a good quality one litre vegetable stock, supplemented by some powdered stock and water.

Variations:

Potato and leek soup makes a good base soup, lending itself a number of tasty preparation methods.

Puree:

Using the basic recipe, take half of the cooked vegetables out and puree them with a stick blender, before returning them to the hot soup.  That way you have the thickness of the puree combined with the textures of the individual ingredients.

Vichyssoise:

Using the basic recipe, blend the finished soup and then strain the puree through a fine strainer. Chill the soup. Add 300ml of fresh cream. Adjust the seasoning and strain again. Serve chilled with chopped chives.

With Chicken:

Replace the vegetable stock with chicken stock. Garnish the hot soup with strips of poached chicken breast.

With bacon:

Start the basic soup recipe with 200g diced bacon. Sweat the bacon for 8 minutes before proceeding with the rest of the basic recipe. Finish with 200ml fresh cream. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot, topped with a sprinkle of chives and croutons.

In Newsletter # 11 I touched on an early Sydney Hotel, the Adam’s Hotel. That hotel went the way of many fine buildings in 1960’s Sydney when it was demolished in 1969.

The Adam’s hotel’s unique charm was replaced in 1975 by the Brutalist architecture of the Sydney Hilton Hotel, which at the time, with nearly 600 rooms was Australia’s largest hotel. This was the Hilton group’s third appearance in Australia with the Chevron Hilton, King’s Cross opening in 1960 and the Melbourne Hilton on the Park opening in 1970.

In early 1975 I had finished my apprenticeship, and I had been lucky enough to work with a French Chef who had been transferred from the London Hilton to work in Sydney. He had arrived early, and the new hotel wasn’t ready, so he worked at the Hyatt Hotel (where I worked) for a number of months. When the Sydney Hilton opened, he asked me to work with him. It was the first time I was head-hunted, but I still had to survive the interview process.

On the day of my interview with the executive chef, I joined a queue of many hundreds of other job seekers. I didn’t stay in that queue for long for my mentor passed by and whisked me away to see the boss. The feeling of guilt I had for queue jumping didn’t last long.  For memory I started in the main kitchen one week before the Sydney Hilton Hotel opened.

Unlike many hotels today, the Sydney Hilton had multiple food and beverage outlets. The hotel featured four stand-alone restaurants; six bars, three of which ran menus; a nightclub; a service bar to cover two of the restaurants, the 24-hour room service and the function/events floor. Also, within the hotel we had a staff cafeteria which was open 24 hours a day.

I started in what was then regarded as Sydney’s best restaurant – The San Francisco Grill, at the Sydney Hilton Hotel. It was the place for celebrities and the well healed to be seen and with food and service to match. The cuisine in the Grill room had a West Coast of North America influence, in particular the Fisherman’s Wharf precinct of San Francisco. The decor featured lots of dark timbers and polished brass. It was also a time of no breathalyser or fringe benefits tax with many long lunches being held in the restaurants private dining room. Over time I worked in a number of the other food outlets that I mentioned above, before returning to the San Francisco Grill as Chef de Cuisine.

The following recipe was inspired by the Bouillabaisse at Di Maggio’s restaurant, which like the restaurant I once worked in, is long gone. The accompanying dipping sauce is called Rouille and has a separate recipe card

Seafood Gumbo

Really important. Because this is quick to cook, make sure you assemble all the ingredients, before you start cooking. Avoid over seasoning or too much liquid. Remember you can always add, but you can’t take away.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 tsp minced garlic or 4 cloves peeled and finely chopped
• 150 g onion – One medium sized peeled and finely chopped.
• 1 tsp minced chilli
• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 150 g celery – washed peeled, cut julienne
• 150 g carrot – washed peeled, cut julienne
• 100 g leek – the white part split, washed, cut julienne.
• 150 g fennel washed, cut into julienne
• 500 ml fish stock
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 300 ml white wine
• 40 ml lemon juice
• Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
• 200 g tomato - ripe blanched, skin and seed removed.
• 18 Green prawns -shelled tail on, de-veined
• 12 Mussels -in shell
• 2 squid tubes – cleaned cut into twelve pieces
• 450 g white fish fillet – skinless boneless, cut into six pieces. 300g net
• 12 scallops - out of shell. 100g
• 12 oysters – In the half shell out of shell
• chopped parsley.

Equipment

• A five litre Dutch oven or similar sized saucepan.

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Sauté the garlic and onion in the oil, over low flame for 2 minutes. A little colour is acceptable.
3. Add chilli, paprika, cayenne. Stir in for 1minute.
   
4. Add celery, carrot and leek. Continue cooking/stirring for another 2minutes.
   
5. Add liquids, bring to boil. Turn down to slow simmer.
   
6. Add tomato. Check seasoning.
   
7. Add Mussels and Prawns. Bring back to a slow simmer. Should take less than two minutes.
   
8. Add Scallops and fish. Bring back to slow simmer.
   
9. Add oysters, parsley. Taste test. Adjust to suit.
10. Serve in large pre-warmed bowls with the rouille on the side
    

Notes

Substitute the seafood to suit your taste.
Decrease/Increase the spice to suit.
The ingredient list looks a little daunting; however you can break the recipe into two separate jobs. Firstly the vegetable broth which would include everything but the seafood and parsley. You could even consider cooking this the day before. The second part is naturally the seafood.

Rouille

When you search for a recipe for rouille you generally will find the starch ingredient will be bread with the potato variety less common, but effectively it achieves a similar result. Apart from an accompaniment for the soup it also makes a great dip with crackers.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Sauces, Side Dish

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

• 100 g cold boiled or steamed potato peeled.
• 1 red capsicum washed, split, deseeded, roasted and skinned.
• 4 cloves garlic peeled
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and pepper
• 2 egg yolks
• 20 ml lemon juice
• 100 ml e.v. olive oil
• 30 ml warm gumbo stock liquid only

Equipment

• you’ll need a stick blender for this recipe

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In a bowl place the potato, capsicum, garlic, cayenne, seasoning, egg yolks and lemon juice
3. Blend to a smooth paste
   
4. Slowly add the olive oil while continuing to blend
5. Thin with a little gumbo stock
6. Ready
   
7. Serve with crusty bread

Early Italian migrants to North America brought with them traditional recipes which naturally they adapted to suit the local ingredients. One of those original recipes was parmigiana which is an eggplant dish topped with a tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was adapted to suit both chicken and veal.

The basis of the meat parmigiana is thin breaded veal which we commonly refer to as schnitzel. Its origins can be traced back both Austria and Northern Italy and shouldn’t be confused with a similar dish called Picatti.

In Australia we embraced the schnitzel, particularly the chicken variety a few decades ago. Now it would be almost impossible to find a pub or club in Australia that did not have chicken schnitzel on the menu.

I remember when I was apprenticed in the early 1970’s; veal schnitzel was a specialty of the restaurant I was working at. It was pan-fried in a mixture of good quality oil and butter. You would probably have found veal schnitzel on the menu in most restaurants offering cuisine from Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries.

So how did the chicken schnitzel become so popular in Australia? Well basically it came down to a few core reasons. For the customer it was the appeal of the crunchy breadcrumb coating and the reasonable price. For the pub or club, it was a no-brainer. Chicken schnitzels were easy to prepare and even easier to cook; pan-frying was out, and deep-frying was in. A big advantage of chicken as opposed to veal was price stability throughout the year. I think a big reason was that people were not deep-frying food at home because it is just too expensive and messy; and we do like deep-fried food.

So, I have slightly digressed, for the subject of today is parmigiana and depending on where you live in Australia the term parmigiana can be used pretty broadly.

In Victoria, in 2018 the then premier, Dan Andrews released a statement intended to stifle debate on whether ‘parma’or ‘parmi was the correct term when used in conjunction with buying a beer. Parma and Pot won the day, but the debate still rages, and pub menus are still running with both Chicken parmigiana and the eggplant variety.

In N.S.W. the national love of abbreviating names continues, and people refer to chicken schnitzels as ‘schnittys’. Taking the discussion a little further you will find that a ‘parmi’ night (my preferred spelling) can also refer to a chicken schnitzel without the said tomato sauce and cheese but with an array of different toppings and sauces.

At the end of a day chicken schnitzels are an expensive way of buying breadcrumbs

So, I thought for today I would show you a simple, easy and a little different way of preparing chicken parmigiana.

The no crumb chicken parmigiana:

Coating a thin slice of raw chicken with breadcrumb can increase the weight of the finished schnitzel by 50%

By deleting the breadcrumb, you will be decreasing the weight and also minimizing the amount of carbohydrate in the coating and hence the amount of chicken you use per person should be increased.

Skinless chicken breast fillet is your best option for this recipe, but you can also get a good result using skinless thigh fillet.

The coating for this recipe is a light dusting of flour and beaten egg. But firstly, let’s have a look at the all important tomato sauce recipe; in fact, two recipes, both using a small saucepan.

Tomato sauce #1

per person

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Sauces

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 125 ml Classic tomato sauce from newsletter # 13
• ¼ tsp minced garlic
• ½ small ripe tomato blanched, peeled, deseeded and chopped (4mm dice)
• Dried basil to taste

Method

 

1. In a small saucepan combine the four ingredients and heat
2. Simmer slowly for 10 minutes. Ready
3. Ready
   

Chicken Parmigiana

per person

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 150-180 g chicken breast fillet
• minced garlic to taste
• ground paprika to taste
• plain flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 30 g grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tspn chopped parsley
• 15 g olive oil
• 15 g butter

Assembly Ingredients - per serve

• 120 ml tomato sauce
• 30 g grated mozzarella cheese

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Flatten or cut the breast fillet to an even thickness of around 4mm
   
3. Season both sides with a little garlic, paprika, salt and pepper
   
4. Light dredge the chicken in flour, pat off excess
5. In a small bowl mix the egg, parmesan and parsley
6. Dip the chicken in the egg mix. Ensure good coverage
7. In a non-stick frypan melt the butter with the oil over medium heat
8. When the butter is hot enough to foam place your coated chicken fillet in the pan
   
9. Add a little more egg mix to the chicken’s top side. Cook on medium heat for two minutes
10. Turn the chicken and cook the reverse side for a further two minutes.
    
11. Take out and place on absorbent kitchen paper.
12. Ready

Assembly:

1. Set your oven to grill setting, or turn on your air-fryer
2. Place the cooked chicken on a suitably sized oven able dish
   
3. Coat the chicken liberally with the tomato sauce and top with cheese
   
4. Grill the chicken for about 3 minutes until the cheese is bubbling

Notes

An ideal side for the chicken is a vegetable risotto.

For a smooth tomato sauce use your stick blender.

I used baby bocconcini instead of mozzarella. 

 

In a country like Australia where we enjoy authentic cuisine from many different countries it is still possible to find offerings that are unique to a smaller part of Australia.

Yes, it is surprising that variations in cuisine do occur within Australia; some dishes have become national icons like the meat pie, the Democracy sausage and the lamington. The same dish may also be known by a different name in a different part of Australia. Today’s recipe is an example of a dish that is famous for its relative isolation – Tasmania’s Curried Scallop Pie.

SUCCESS

From Smithton in the island state’s North-West, to Tasmania’s state capital, Hobart, in the South-East and many points in between, when the scallops are running the curried scallop pie is being baked.

But before we look at the pie recipe, let’s have a quick look at Hobart’s famous Salamanca Markets where you will definitely find this tasty speciality.

Chris and I had only visited the markets once before, in 1983, having missed it on two more recent visits. The July 2025 Tasmanian visit was my ninth and Chris’s fourth (yes, we love Tasmania) and this time we made sure we were in Hobart on the Saturday, when the Salamanca Markets are always on.

The markets have been running since 1972, and they had become much larger since our previous visit. Nestled close to the picturesque harbour with the backdrop of the re-purposed Heritage sandstone warehouses the markets stretch about 500 metres along Salamanca Place from the Davey Street intersection.

For those people where the very mention of a market evokes thoughts of “the same old stuff”, Salamanca has more than 350 stalls that offer something uniquely Tasmanian including food, wine, woodwork, spirits, handicrafts and so much more.

The markets open at 8.30 am and we arrived a little before they officially opened to find that most stalls were ready to trade. The morning was chilly, but the skies were clear, and the sunny weather continued.

Starting at Davey Street end, Chris and I worked our way down Salamanca Place’s gently sloping pavement past the various traders offering leather work, clothing, souvenirs, books and packaged foods. For memory there was only one stall offering takeaway food in this area.

Once you pass the first 100 or so stalls, Salamanca Place levels out and from here you will find more than thirty stalls offering take away foods. Also, in this area you will find fresh fruit and vegetables, distillers, winemakers, confectionary, ice cream and toys. There are also lots of other non-food stores distributed throughout this area.

Naturally it was the food stalls that were of great interest with so many locally made products on display. The quality and variety of the hot food offered made you want to purchase something at every stall, but we had to pace ourselves.

It was in the take-away food section that we were reacquainted with the curried scallop pie.

The Curried Scallop Pie

One of the features that Tasmania is renowned for is fresh fish and seafood.  No point in Tasmania is more than 80 kilometres from the sea (as the crow flies), so fresh fish and seafood is generally plentiful; and July is the tail end of the scallop season.

The curried scallop pie (it’s also available as Mornay) shouldn’t be treated like an ordinary meat pie. I have only seen it sold as an individual serving. This pie would not be successful at the footy. Scallops are placed in the pastry raw and then the cold curry sauce is added, followed by the pastry lid. The baking process will cook the scallops and at the same time thin the curry sauce, so the sauce is a bit runny. You could make the sauce thicker, but this would be less traditional.

Each baker has their own preferred spice mix – their proprietary blend (or so I’m told). This would give a point of difference. Further differences can be achieved by adding other ingredients – onion, carrot, celery and potato. These ingredients would need to be finally chopped and used sparingly otherwise you run the risk using less scallops than is recommended; and that number varies, but between four and eight scallops per pie, depending on size, would do the job.

The sauce will be a derivation of another “Mother sauce” our fourth one – Veloute. In this case it will be made with basis of fish stock.

Finally, the pastry should be shortcrust pastry. It can be store bought but avoid puff pastry. The recipe provided is quick, easy and any leftover uncooked pastry can be frozen.

Shortcrust pastry

It is well known that making pastry dough by hand can give varied results with temperature being the main culprit. Basically the warmth of your hand softens the butter too quickly and this can be worse when the air temperature is warmer in summer. By-pass the problem by using a food processor. I used the attachment on my stick blender.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course, Pastry

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Ingredients for three individual pies:

• 220 g cups plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 115 g unsalted butter diced and chilled hard
• 2 ½ tbsp plus 1 tbsp iced water

Equipment

• The pie tins inside measurements was 10cm x 14cm with a depth of 2.5cm

Method

 

1. Assemble your ingredients
   
2. Place the flour and salt in your processor and give it a quick pulse to mix
   
3. Add the cubed butter and intermittently pulse the processor for about 30 seconds.
4. The mixture should look like a course breadcrumb
5. Add the 2 ½ tbsp of chilled water. Process again for up to 10 seconds
6. There should be some change, but it won’t look like a ball of dough yet.
7. With your fingers see if the mixture comes together. If not add a little more iced water and give it a quick pulse.
8. Turn the mixture out and quickly work into a ball
9. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and chill for one hour
   

Notes

The addition of caster sugar with the flour and salt will give you a sweet shortcrust pastry.
Don’t be tempted to substitute margarine instead of butter.

The Curried Scallop Pie

As already mentioned the curry sauce is a veloute. Basically it is prepared in a similar fashion as béchamel sauce. The roux is cooked a little longer, perhaps a minute and the milk is replaced by stock – in this case fish stock. The amount of roux will dictate the thickness of the sauce. A little extra texture comes with the added vegetables and the curry powder. I used fennel, which is a good accompaniment for seafood.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Curry Sauce:

Ingredients for 750ml sauce:

• 65 g butter
• 80 g onion peeled, finely chopped.
• 80 g potato washed, peeled, finely chopped
• 80 g fennel washed, finely chopped.
• 20 g curry powder
• 55 g plain flour
• 500 ml fish stock
• 5 ml lemon juice
• 100 ml cream
• Salt
• ground white pepper

Assembling the pie:

• 10 g butter melted
• 100 g shortcrust pastry as per recipe
• 4 - 8 Tasmanian Scallops per individual pie The weight of mine were 150g
• 160 g curry sauce
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 10ml milk

Method

 

Curry Sauce - method:

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In your saucepan on a moderate heat melt the butter on your stove top
   
3. Sweat the onion and fennel for 2-3 minutes. Avoid colouring
   
4. Add curry powder and gently cook for a further one minute
   
5. Add the flour, combine well and cook for a further one minute
   
6. Take off the heat and add the fish stock and lemon juice. Mix well to break up the roux. Return to the heat and bring to the boil. Sir until you have a smooth sauce
   
7. Add potato. Simmer for 12 minutes
8. Add cream. Bring back to simmer for 1 minute
   
9. Check seasoning
10. Ready
11. Chill the sauce before using it in your pies

Assembling pie - method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180c
2. Lightly grease the pie tin with melted butter
3. Roll out the pastry to approx 2mm thick
   
4. Line your pie tins with the pastry. Avoid air bubbles under the pastry. Avoid stretching the pastry
   
5. Trim the pastry to the edge of your pie tin
6. Chill the pastry for a few minutes to firm the pastry up again
7. Gather scraps into a ball and roll out the pie top to suit the size of your pie
8. Fill the base with the scallops and enough cold sauce to give a domed effect after you lid the pie
   
9. Brush the edge of the pastry with the egg yolk mix
10. Cover the filled base with the pastry top
    
11. Seal the pie by crimping the base and top together
    
12. Brush the top of the pie with the egg yolk mixture
13. Cut a couple of steam holes in the top of the pastry
14. Place in the your oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and the sauce is bubbling through the steam holes
    

Notes

I used non stick metal pie dishes, offering a better heat transfer than ceramic or glass.
Place a baking sheet on the shelf below the cooking pies to catch any overflows

The leg of lamb that we won at the golf club resided in our freezer for a few weeks until we entertained a couple of friends. This recipe is similar in preparation to pulled beef/pork or chicken and like those other recipes it is a great dish to prepare the day before and the finished product also stores well in your freezer. You can substitute lamb shoulder and naturally the lamb can be boneless.

Shredded Middle Eastern Lamb with yellow Rice

Four to six servings

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Ingredients spice mix for the lamb

• 1½ tsp cumin, ground
• 2 tsp coriander stem finely washed & chopped
• 1½ tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cardamom, ground
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp milled black pepper
• Juice of one lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp garlic, crushed
• 1.5 kg leg of lamb or
• 2 kg boneless lamb shoulder or
• 900 g boneless leg of lamb
• 3 cups water boiling from kettle

Ingredients for the Rice

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, medium size peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 400 g can chickpeas drained, rinsed and drained again
• 2 ½ cups water plus a little more.
• 1½ tsp ground turmeric
• 3 tsp garam masala, ground
• 3 tsp coriander, ground
• 3 tsp cumin, ground
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ tsp milled black pepper
• ½ cup currents

Garnish - to serve:

• lemon wedges
• plain yoghurt
• coriander leaves (washed)
• fresh tomato diced

Method

 

Method (for lamb)

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 c.
2. For the lamb spice mix, combine all the ingredients in a bowl
   
3. Place the lamb in a roasting dish and coat the lamb all over with the spice mix
4. Pour one cup of boiling water into the bottom of the pan
   
5. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes
   
6. Invert a similar dish on top of the roasting pan to form a cover over the lamb. It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit. Alternatively cover with aluminium foil. If the seal is loose you may need to add a little more water occasionally to ensure an even cooking process and to prevent burning the roasting pan. Return the lamb to the oven
   
7. Cooking time should be around 3½ hours
8. Lamb is ready when the meat can easily be pulled away from the bone with a fork
9. If you think it is ready, take out of the oven and rest the lamb, covered at the back of the stove. If not, continue to cook as before. You can’t really overcook the meat as long as it still has water in the covered roasting dish.

Method (for rice)

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In a medium sized saucepan (capable of being lidded) add the olive oil and on a medium heat sweat the onion and garlic until it becomes translucent
3. Add rice and continue cooking until the rice is hot and coated with the oil
4. Add the other ingredients, except currants and water. Mix in well
5. Add water, bring to simmer, turn the heat down to a very low setting
6. The “consistency” should be similar to a thick sauce when stirred
7. Cover the pot with the lid. It will continue to absorb the liquid. Basmati rice usually takes about 12 - 15 minutes to cook
8. After about 10 minutes, stir in the currents and add a little more water to allow for the absorption qualities of the currents
9. At the end of the cooking cycle give a stir of the rice to break it up (fluff it up). Replace the lid and push to the back of the stove. It will stay at a good serving temperature for a good half hour

Putting it together

1. While the rice is cooking take the lamb out of the liquid, place on a large plate. Pour all of the remaining liquid into a jug. Let it settle and then remove and discard what should be a fair bit of glossy fat on the top of the liquid
2. Transfer the liquid to a pan and on medium heat reduce the liquid to concentrate the flavours and thicken slightly
3. While the liquid is reducing, strip the meat off the bone, discard any skin and “non meat” findings. Shred any large chunks to strips. A mixture of sizes is OK
4. Add any juices collected on the plate to the reducing liquid (sauce)
5. Add the shredded lamb to the sauce. You may have to do that in batches. Coat the lamb well
6. Finally turn out the rice onto a warmed platter or individual plate. Divide the shredded lamb evenly onto your plates or pile it onto the single platter
7. Finish with some strategically placed dollops of yoghurt, tomato and coriander leaves. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serve
   

Notes

Notes:

Naturally you can use fresh garlic or bottled. I find bottled Australian garlic a better flavour than an imported product.
Lamb shoulder is a cheaper cut.
Increase or decrease spices on the meat if you prefer.
You could replace the water for both the lamb and rice with a low salt chicken stock.
Remember that flavours concentrate as water evaporates and hence salt will as well. You can always add, but it is harder to take away.

Traditional lasagne ticks most the boxes when it comes to comfort food. But it can be so much more as it lends itself to a number of variations including seafood, chicken, and vegetarian and let’s not forget gluten free pasta.

Within my own community lasagne is a go-to dish that is offered as a wellness meal, and I am often asked for the recipe; so here it is.

But first let’s have a look at a common problem – estimating the amounts of the sauces and pasta you need; having too much sauce finds you searching for a supplementary lasagne baker; having too little sauce means you are going to have to make more sauce.

Firstly, your lasagne baker should be 6cm – 7cm deep. Bakers made from glazed ceramic, glass or enameled cast iron is best

Next check the volume of your baking dish (if you don’t already know it). This can be done by filling your dish with a measured amount of water. The one I am using takes 3 litres; hence the finished product will be approximately 3 kilograms, which will give you 10 -12 portions.

Standard packets of lasagne sheets are 375g (fresh or dried). You don’t have a lot of options here, but surplus fresh pasta can be frozen, and the dried variety can go back in the pantry. Depending on the dimensions of your baker you may have to cut the pasta to size. The 375g pkt was just enough.

The meat sauce can account for 50% of the weight of the finished lasagne.

The cheese sauce will add a further 30%.

So, for the 3kg lasagne I will need 1.5 kg meat sauce and 900ml of cheese sauce to add to the 375g pasta and the grated cheese to top the lasagne.

Finally, most lasagne sheets are sold ‘instant’ or ‘ready to bake’. If you are using the dried variety your sauces will have to be slightly thinner. Alternatively, the dried lasagne sheets would benefit from quickly dipping the pasta in warm/hot water as you use each sheet.

You’ll need a medium sized lidded saucepan for this recipe.

Lasagne

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Ingredients for the 1.5 litres meat sauce:

• 20 ml olive oil
• 120 g onion finely chopped
• 120 g carrot finely chopped
• 120 g celery finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic crushed
• 800 g lean beef mince
• 20 g plain flour
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 400 g can crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 2 cups rich brown beef stock
• 1 cup dry red wine
• salt and pepper
• chilli flakes – optional
• worcestershire sauce - optional

Ingredients for Mornay sauce:

• 800 ml full cream milk
• 1 onion peeled
• 2 clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 black peppercorns
• 40 g butter
• 35 g plain Flour
• salt
• ground white pepper
• 200 g grated cheese – Gruyere cheddar, parmesan mix

Pasta sheets:

• 375 g lasagne sheets
• Hot water (if you are using dried lasagne sheets)
• 200 g cheese mix

Method

 

Meat Sauce

1. Prepare your ingredients
   
2. In your saucepan, heat the oil and sweat the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for about 4 – 5minutes. A little colour is OK
   
3. Add the mince and break up by stirring until there are no large lumps of mince. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated.
   
4. Stir in tomato paste. Cook for a further 1 minute. Take off heat.
   
5. Stir in the flour – enough to absorb the fat and oil. Place back on the stove and cook for a further 1 minute
6. Stir in the stock and tomatoes.
   
7. Add the herbs. Turn the heat down to low.
   
8. Give the sauce a stir before lidding the saucepan
9. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
10. After 1 hour take lid off. Stir occasionally for 20 minutes
11. Add red wine. Take out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and discard. Ready.
    
12. Keep warm, ready to assemble your lasagne
    

Mornay sauce

1. Mornay sauce is a derivative sauce from a French ‘mother sauce’ – béchamel. Previous newsletters have looked at both espagnole and tomato sauces. Bechamel  or White sauce is the base for many other  sauces including Mustard, Nantua, Dill and Horseradish. You’ll need a small saucepan, whisk, spatula and a strainer plus a bowl to heat the milk, for this recipe.
   
2. Push the 2 cloves into the onion, do the same with the bay leaf by making a small incision with a knife
   
3. Place the onion, cloves and bay leaf in the milk
   
4. Heat the milk to just under simmering temperature. Do not boil the milk
5. In a saucepan melt the butter and add the flour to form a roux.
   
6. Cook on a medium heat for about 1 minute. Avoid browning the roux. Take off the heat and cool slightly
   
7. Remove the onion from the hot milk and discard.
8. Add the hot milk to the roux. Whisk until the roux has dissolved. Return the saucepan to the heat and continue whisking
9. The milk will thicken and then boil. Turn heat to low and continue whisking for 1 minute. Take off the heat. At this stage you have prepared Bechamel
10. Stir in the grated cheese until it has melted.
11. Strain the sauce. Ready. Keep warm ready to assemble your lasagne

Assembly:

1. Set your oven at 170c
2. In your baker cover the bottom with about 3mm of mornay sauce
   
3. Place one lasagne sheet on the mornay sauce
   
4. Cover the pasta with one quarter of meat sauce
   
5. Add another pasta sheet, followed by another ¼ of the meat sauce
6. The next layer will be lasagne sheet followed by a layer of mornay sauce
7. The next two layers will be pasta sheets and meat sauce
8. Top the last meat sauce with pasta sheet and cover with the rest of the mornay sauce
9. Finally top the mornay sauce with the cheese mix
   
10. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the sauces are bubbling.
    

Notes

Milk can burn easily – make sure you regulate the temperature and stir constantly.
I find that the microwave can heat the milk perfectly (without stirring)
Grate the cheese directly from the block. Avoid pre- grated packaged cheese for the sauce. If you have no alternative but pre-grated, avoid boiling the sauce after you add the cheese.  I used Jarlsberg cheese which is a good substitute for Gruyere cheese.

Portion leftovers and freeze them in labelled containers.

A few newsletters ago I made mention of the term – ‘service a la Francaise’ – the buffet.  At a similar time in history the Russians had developed service a la Russe. Service a la Russe involved the carving of meat at a customer’s table. The French (again) took this concept a degree further and came up with Gueridon Service where food was actually cooked beside the customers table. This was done with the aid of trolley which was equipped with a burner, quality frypans and ingredients.

True Gueridon Service only existed in high-end restaurants and apart from the entertainment value for customers it gave an outlet for staff to show their skills. Most importantly it not only stimulated customer’s senses, it also stimulated demand for this same level of service.

How did it work?

Have you ever been sitting in a restaurant (a good restaurant) and after going over the menu from front to back, still been left wondering what you will order. Then something happens – a server carries a meal to another table; it looks good; it smells even better; was that sizzling you heard; you look at the menu again; finally you ask for guidance from your server.

That’s what you order.

What has happened is that three your five human senses have worked together to evaluate a dish – sight, smell and hearing. Your server has filled in the blanks – taste and touch (temperature and texture).

In Australia there are more than 50000 restaurants and cafes and only a small percentage of those establishments would be classified as high-end; fewer still are ‘fine dining’ and only a handful would offer an interpretation of Gueridon Service.

The Hilton’s ‘San Francisco Grill’, the Wentworth’s ‘Garden Court’ and Romano’s Restaurant are all long gone. The ‘Chef’s tables, tableside gelato bars, Teppanyaki  bars are modern interpretations of what some would consider a resurgence in Table Cookery.

But what has happened to some of the Table Cookery signature dishes? Fortunately not all have disappeared, but unfortunately they have been relegated to almost insignificance. If you had spied a favourite dish from years ago, ordered it and been left disappointed, you wouldn’t be the first customer. Steak Diane is one such dish.

Steak Diane  

As with many famous dishes, this steak has a vague European history but with many contenders putting up the collective hands as being the original inventor. Strangely enough it appeared in Australia in 1940 and at same time it appeared in the U.S.A., by then the recipe was anything up to twenty six years old and still being refined.

The original ingredients were thin cut, best quality steak; butter, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt, chopped parsley and with garlic as an option. WHAT! Garlic was optional? Clearly there was work to be done.

It is generally believed that once Steak Diane departed Europe and arrived in pre WW2 United States, dry mustard, lemon juice, chives and brandy found their way into the recipe. The brandy would have been almost certainly included in the table cookery version. But overall for me to call it a sauce at this point is a bit of a stretch. Enter fresh cream.

Today’s recipe is hopefully what you would expect. Once you have assembled your ingredients (which are not too onerous) it’s a pretty quick dish to prepare. Indeed your side dishes of choice will probably take longer. It would be great with Lyonnais potatoes and steamed vegetables.

If you are preparing it for guests, drag them into kitchen, dim the lights and flambé your work, they will be impressed.

Steak Diane

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 160g fillet steaks trimmed
• 10 ml Olive oil
• Butter
• 1 French shallot peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 15 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 20 ml Demi-glaze
• 10 ml Brandy
• 120 ml Cream
• Salt and cracked pepper
• Parsley washed, picked and finely chopped -1 Tbsp finished

Equipment

• A stainless steel or non-stick frypan is all that is required for this recipe.

Method

 

1. Prepare ingredients
   
2. Prepare the fillet steak. Cut of flatten to about 5 mm thickness
3. Heat the oil in the frypan
4. Pat the steak dry and season with salt and cracked pepper
   
5. Seal the steak in the frypan for 1 minute before turning. Seal the other side for a further 1 minute. Turn the heat down and take the steak out of the pan to rest on a plate.
   
6. In the frypan add the butter and when the butter is sizzling add the chopped shallot and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat.
   
7. Add, Demi-glaze, mustard and Worcestershire sauce
   
8. Add any collected juices from the steak. Reduce the liquid a little. Avoid scorching
9. Return the steak to the pan
10. Flambé with brandy
11. Add cream. Bring the sauce to the boil
    
12. Take out steak and place on pre-warmed serving plates
13. Reduce the sauce (if needed) to a coating consistency
14. Add chopped parsley to the sauce. Ready
15. Serve the sauce over the steak

Notes

Diane sauce is a stand-alone sauce that can be adapted to chicken, pork and lamb. It is also delicious on chips, as many a pub goer would know
I used reduced beef stock in place of Demi-glaze (Gravy)

Today we have a look at a British breakfast/ brunch dish with Indian sub-continent origins – Kedgeree. Many recipes that I feature have a story but kedgeree has a history. Traceable back to the year 1340 ‘khichuri’ was a similar dish that had rice and lentils as ingredients and occasionally fish. It gained popularity with the British when India was part of the British Empire. Eventually Kedgeree found its way back to Great Britain. Again there are a number of variations in how it is prepared  and presented but common ingredients include cooked rice, curry powder, butter, smoked  Haddock and boiled egg.

When I serve Kedgeree I prefer top the rice with a single poached egg instead of the quartered boiled egg. The runny yolk mixes well with the rice as opposed to the hard-boiled egg and it feels more Australian.

But firstly we’ll have a look at how to poach not one, but multiple eggs, which is handy if you have guests for breakfast and you would prefer to all eat at the same time.

How to poach eggs:

Some appliances and utensils are sold as egg poachers. Lidded pans with individual metal or plastic cups and silicon moulds both offer a cookery method that is not poaching. Recently I saw a recipe for poached eggs cooked in an air-fryer – NO!

Poaching is a ‘moist’ cookery method used for preparing delicate foods that require less cooking such as fish, fruits and eggs. You can use milk, stock, diluted wine and in the case of poached eggs, water. The cooking temperature is between 70c – 80c, which is lower than simmering. A good way of achieving the correct temperature is to bring the water to the boil and then turning the heat down until the water stops simmering.

Of the many videos showing you how to successfully poach an egg, I can’t recall seeing more than one egg being poached at a time. A single egg takes about three minutes to poach, so if you were poaching eggs for three people (two eggs each) the last egg would be ready 18 minutes after the first egg was done, or longer if someone wanted hard yolk. If you need a single egg or multiple eggs this is how I do it.

Step 1.  Assemble your equipment and ingredients. You’ll need a small un-lidded saucepan – say 2 litres or a small shallow pan, say 60mm deep, both preferably non stick  or stainless steel;  a plastic slotted spoon to avoid scratching the pan surface; one small ramekin; absorbent kitchen paper; a small bowl with chilled water. Remember to use the freshest eggs available.

You’ll need four fresh eggs and 50ml of white wine vinegar.

Step 2. Bring to the boil in your pan or saucepan enough water to poach the four eggs. Add the vinegar. Turn the heat down till the water is just below simmering.

Step 3. Crack the eggs in the ramekin one at a time and gently lower the egg into the water. In a clockwise direction, do the same with the other eggs. Depending on the size of pan  you could put the final egg in the centre.  This should take about one minute. Adjust the heat up to compensate the drop in water temperature, but avoid boiling the water.

Step 4. Using the spoon, starting with egg number one, gently make sure the eggs haven’t stuck to the surface of the pan.

Step 4. If any of the eggs are not immersed, spoon the hot water over them or add a little hot water from the kettle.

Step 5. When you think the eggs are to your liking, lift the first one and test with your finger tip.

Step 6. In order, take the eggs out and place in the chilled water. This does two things – it stops the cooking process and negates the vinegar flavour.

Step 7. Discard the poaching water (unless you require more eggs) and replace with fresh simmering water. When you need to serve them place the poached eggs (which by now should be around room temperature) into the fresh simmering water for 20 seconds before taking them out and placing them on the absorbent paper. Ready.

Notes:

• As long as you don’t overdo the vinegar, you may find the flavour acceptable without refreshing the eggs, particularly in the case of Eggs Benedict
• The pan I used can take up to six eggs

Kedgeree

While you could consider using leftover cooked rice, Kedgeree would benefit from fresh rice cooked pilaf style. This is rice cooked by absorbing just enough water or stock. Some recipes call for the separate poaching of the smoked fish in milk; I prefer steaming the fish on top of the rice.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Kedgeree ingredients for 2 – 3 servings:

• 100 ml milk
• 250 g -350g smoked haddock fillets
• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 10 ml Olive oil
• 1¾ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 small bay leaf
• 3 Cardamom pods split (optional)
• 2 Curry leaves optional
• Salt
• Cracked pepper
• 50 g butter
• 2 small French shallots or 1small onion both peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic peeled, finely chopped or minced.
• 10 g Curry powder I use ‘Clive of India’
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Juice from half a lemon
• 100 ml cream
• Parsley rinsed, picked, roughly chopped. ¼ cup finished.
• Coriander optional prepared the same as parsley
• chives to garnish

Equipment

• You’ll need a lidded saucepan and frypan for this recipe. A steamer style top for the saucepan would be helpful, but not essential

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. Macerate the smoked haddock in the milk for 30 minutes and then drain
3. Prepare the smoked haddock into pieces that will fit within the saucepan or steamer’s diameter
4. Heat your saucepan with the oil and add the dry rice; stir with a wooden spoon to prevent the rice from scorching on the bottom of the saucepan
   
5. After 2-3 minutes add the stock, bay leaf, curry leaf, cardamom. The stock should boil at first before recovering. Season carefully now for better distribution.
6. Stir the rice until it starts boiling again. It should have the consistency of a thin sauce. Turn the heat down to lowest temperature and give it a final stir.
7. If you are using a steamer top for the fish place it on top and lid the saucepan. If you aren’t, just lid the pot.
8. After about 5 minutes, quickly check the rice to make sure it is cooking by giving it a stir. Alternatively the heat may be too high and the rice is sticking; in either case adjust the heat. Lid the pot
9. If you are not using a steamer top, place the fish directly on top of the rice now to cook. Try for a single layer of fish so it will cook evenly. Lid the pot
10. After another 10minutes, both the rice and the fish should be done, regardless of which way you steamed the fish
11. Remove the fish and let it cool a little.
12. Remove the rice from the heat and carefully ‘fluff’ up the rice, before replacing the lid. Try and retrieve (and discard) the leaves and the pods. Leave the rice saucepan at the back of the stove to keep warm.
13. With your fingers, flake the fish, being careful to remove and discard all the bones and the skin. Keep the flaked fish at the back of the stove
    
14. Meanwhile heat the frypan and melt the butter. When sizzling add the onion and garlic.
    
15. Gently cook for 2 minutes before adding the curry powder and ground cumin
    
16. Continue cooking for a further 1 minute
    
17. Stir in lemon juice. When it has evaporated add the cream. Bring to the boil.
    
18. Either in the rice saucepan or a large bowl break up the rice (a dinner fork or chopsticks works well). Fold in the hot curry cream, mix well. Add the parsley and coriander. Mix well.
19. Finally, carefully fold in the smoked haddock
20. Serve with a poached egg and buttered toast. Garnish with chives.

Notes

I made up a vegetable stock with a powdered stock base.
I soak the fish in milk to make the fish less salty. Be careful with your seasonings as the fish will still be salty.
The fish will also add liquid to the rice so be careful not to add too much stock
Smoked haddock may still have fine bones particularly at the thicker end of the fillet
The fish will take longer to cook in a steamer top
In Australia, smoked salmon is a popular substitute for smoked haddock. However smoked salmon does not require cooking. Just fold through the salmon the hot cooked rice or alternatively just arrange the salmon on top.
As with any ‘green food’ extended cooking can leach the colour out to give a less appetising appearance. So be careful with your green herbs and any other green vegetables such as peas that you might consider adding
In our kitchen we have a glass top stove. These stoves not only take longer to heat up but they also retain heat. Take this into account when turning down the heat to a low simmer.